Gromits question

[Dophus]

My DS1 (25 months) is probably going to have to have gromits (seeing the consultant next week). Just wondering whether it involves an overnight stay in hospital. ALso how long htey take to recover? e.g. before he could swim again.
Thanks

Hi Dophus. It's usually a day case. It takes longer for the surgeons to wash their hands than to do the actual procedure.

Re recovery time. Well, there'll be a permanent communication through the hole of the grommet between the middle ear and the outside so theoretically water can always get in the ear. However, due to the water's natural tension it doesn't tend to go in under normal circumstances but may do so if you use soap or other bubbles in the bath water (which change the tension and the water can then go in).

When I was looking into this (DS had 4 sets of grommets) I found a study that showed no difference long-term between children whose parents were advised to avoid water getting into the ears and those not given this advice.

Why is your little one getting grommets?

thanks - recurrent ear infections. Every time he gets a cold he ends up with a popped drum and weeping ears.
He gets a cold about every 2-3 weeks throughout winter. I know he'll eventually grow out of it so we'll see the pros and cons when he sees the consultant next week.

Message withdrawn

He'll grow out of it, no question, it's just that it can take so long until it happens. DS is now 7 and he's finally outgrown it. He has a hearing loss too, which is why he had the grommets done so many times, as we couldn't afford for him to get deafened even further every time he had an ear infection. When I was looking into this there was no conclusive evidence of a long-term difference made by grommets but it was too awful seeing him struggling and we decided to have it done. Considering the amount of stuff pouring out of his ears afterwards, better out than in. Good luck.

Yes, they tend to fall out. DS's first set of grommets lasted well over a year. The other 3 didn't last as long, only a few months at a time, but at least got him over the winters.

They seem to come in and out of fashion!

I always know when they are starting to congest as he starts falling over all the time, he then has sever pain for a day and then gunk. I worrk about his hearing (his speach is unclear) and the long term effects.

Good to hear that recovery is quick