Coping with glue ear/deafness - Any tips?

[bluebear]

2 and a half year old ds has just been assessed as having a large hearing loss due to glue ear...he will be assessed again in 3 months then put on the (long) waiting list for grommits.
Any advice on dealing with a partially deaf toddler - in particular, how to cope in busy noisy places eg playgrounds/shops - when he wants to run about?
Thanks BB

grommets do stop infection to a large extent by avoiding build-up of fluid and keeping the middle ear well-ventilated and thus lessening the chances of it becoming a breeding ground for bacteria.
I've yet to meet an ENT consultant who doesn't describe xylitol as a red herring. Yes there are some studies claiming some benefit, but even more studies done afterwards showing that there is none and that the 'positive' ones were poorly conducted.

Try putting him on a decongestant .... that'll "thin down" the gluey stuff and it might not clog up the tubes so much ....

That's what our ENT surgeon suggested - whilst DD waited for her grommit operation ...

HTH

Thanks all, the weird thing is ds has never had an ear infection - lots of colds/coughs and all the common childhood viruses but the GP has never found any involvement with his ears. He was using a xylitol toothpaste until recently (it's now been remarketed as unsuitable for under 7's).
Spoke to dh last night and he is tempted to let ds become a meat-eater in order to cut down on the dairy..have thought that maybe changing his beakers of milk for soya milk may be a good start as cheese/yogurt doesn't seem to be soo bad.
Thanks for everyone's thoughts..I sent him to nursery today with a long letter explaining how he needs to be treated (although hopefully they will know already).

Crystaltips - our audiologist mentioned decongestants but said that the effect tends to wear off in a matter of weeks and there can be a rebound effect when they come off them.
JJ - just noticed your question - audiologist said one of the best 'clues' for glue ear is that the problems come and go (ds is having a good week this week so I can't imagine how 'deaf' he is during a bad one/when he has a cold)
We have a general peadiatrician appointment next week (GP referred us due to the dribbling) which we have waited 5 months for so will take advantage of making a fuss especially over the 'wrong referral' (should have been referred to EN and T) and see if he can be bumped up the list a bit.... he lip-reads sooo well..I am so proud of how he's been coping, when we had no idea what he was going through!

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Can thoroughly recommend the hearing aids route. DS has had them since about 18mo, and the new digital ones are making a huge difference. Having said that we went on the list for grommets at Xmas having been told it is a year's wait - and are being seen next week through one of those new NHS schemes to cut lists (so ask about that too, I think it is called Patient Partnership or something?) Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

i have found this thread very interesting as my DS2 has failed every hearing test since 8 mths (now 18mths), at the last test (Dec) I was told he would be referred to an audiology clinic but I am still waiting for the appointment.

I haven't been overly concerned as his speech is developing well and he often repeats words and can easily follow instructiona. However, he does have repeated colds and dribbles often but has only ever had one ear infection. Do you think I need to be worried? Bluebear does your ds repeat words and understand you when he doesn't have a cold?

Stripey - he always understands me.. as long as he can see my face when I'm talking (he lip-reads when his ears are bad)..he didn't repeat words until quite recently (he is now 2 and a half).
He copied words at 10 months but by 1 year of age he stopped speaking and just made noises for a while...by 18 months he would 'gabble' nonsense and could say 'Duck, Dadda, and Dah (car)', that was about it until 23 months when he started increasing his vocab. and joining words.
He can now talk in sentences but nearly every word is mispronounced and there is often some meaningless gabble with a few recognisable words.

The Audiologist said that ds hears talking as mumbling and can pick out the occasional word and to a great extent that's what he's copying.

If your ds2 is talking ok then he must be able to hear, so if I were you I wouldn't be that worried. Our Audiologist said it's very common for kids to fail 'distraction' style tests.. the tests she used were much more sophisticated, and in particular measuring the pressure inside the ear cannot be 'faked'.
Hope you get your appointment through soon, and hope it gives you some peace of mind.
HTH

Thanks, I find myself convinced he can hear OK but do worry as he can't seem to pass the distraction test. They couldn't measure the pressure properly last time as he wouldn't stay still but did say there was a lot of mucus in his ears. Trouble is every time he has had the test he has had a cold. I don't know where he gets them all from?? I am hoping he will be OK next time he has a test.

Good luck with the grommits.