Grommets

[eidsvold]

Looks like my dd may have to have them... wondering if anyone else's children have had them and how they found it??

my dd had them - yonks ago! she was always a bit nasal and always saying 'what?'- we found out through school health checks and she had to have her ears syringed (not very nice) following which they decided she needed grommets and so she did - no problems and they eventually fall out - I think hers came out in the bath - it was a long time later though!

Both ds1 & ds2 had them. they both had adenoids and tonsils removed too. It helped them both hugely particularly ds2 who suffered dreadfully - he slept badly (night terrors), had dreadful tantrums, didn't eat well, plus ear infections and catarrh. For him it was the best decision we ever made.

My ds had them this year. Failed countless hearing test and constantly had ear infections and discharges. Best thing we ever did. Hears and speaks perfectly now. Day of the operation was awful for me. But he was running around 10 minutes after coming out of recovery!

I had them when I was about 8. They are absolutely no problem - you don't know they are there or anything. I think mine just dissolved?!?1 Not sure, but certainly didn't have them taken out or anything.

I remember being sat in assembly in primary school and not being able to hear the head speaking. Also remember getting lots of earache and having ear drops, syringing (yuk!).

No probs after grommets.

It's extremely common in children I think.

Nothing to worry about!!

in july we were told that DS needed them. i told the consultant that we weren't keen and asked were they any alternatives? he said that grommets would be the best fix but whilst DS was waiting to have them we could try Otovent. this invloves DS blowing up a balloon using his nose, (there's a little device at the end of the balloon to make it easy to do) by blowing the balloon this stretches the tube between the inner and outer ear, curing the glue ear. he said it only worked if we would commit to doing it regularly. we were prepared to give it a try.
6 weeks later we returned to hospital, hearing check - better tahn normal!! no sign of glue ear, no fluid at all in the inner ear!!!

consultant was delighted, even brought a colleague in to show improvement in results.

however, DS now has a cold and despite continuing with the Otovent his haering isn't good at the moment . we go back to the hospital in Dec and still no appointment has come thro' for the grommets. so we ahven't lost anyhting.

If i wwas you i would give Otovent a go whilst you wait; we saw a big improvement after using it for 2 weeks.

let me know if you want further info

DS1 had them in August (he is 3). Grommets are in place and glue ear improved but still failed hearing test so is now having further investigations. Can't say I or he enjoyed the op but he was over it very quickly and playing in the park the same day. So although grommets are OK be aware that if hearing is the problem they may not necessarily be the solution.

Hi AuntyQuated. I'd be very interested to hear more of this, as my son has a terrible problem with excessive ear wax, and at times his hearing is awful. I am reluctant to go down the medical route (I have a deep mistrust of the medical profession in general...not all of it mind tries not to upset anyone on MN) unless absolutely necessary, so this sounds like it's well worth a go. Can you tell me more? Thanks

My ds had loads of ear infections and was always on antibiotics to clear them up. He had glue ear which in fact had made him 50% deaf, we dont know how long this was for. Just before he was 3 we had grommets put it and it was fantastic. Before the op he couldnt say apple. He would say "A A" instead. On the day of the op he said apple. It was quite a moment. His speach came on loads after that although he is still a bit behind for his age, he is now 4 and a half. I would have no hesitation in going for grommets, they are so very tiny, just like a very small plastic bead. His were still in 11 months later which was amazing. A friend of mines dd was offered them years ago and she refused them, she regrets it now as it put her behind and she didnt catch up with the rest of her class until she reached secondary school. The op itself is routine, we went in at 7.00 am I think....we even took our 9 month old daughter with us.........and we were leaving the hospital at 1.30 pm. Of course it was difficult when he went under but it was very very quick.

a little info about Otovent

Just picked up this thread and it's all very interesting as ds (2 years 8 mths) has glue ear and will be assessed for the possibility of putting in grommets soon. His language has been a bit slow (some words rather oddly pronounced - but cute of course!) but it might also be affecting his behaviour as he seems to be lashing out at other children for no reason. Will look into Otovent but suspect that he will reject that as he would not use an inhaler at all.

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Aimsmum - I've had tonsils and adenoids out (age 4) and grommets in (age 8) - no ill effect!

My son had them and later had his adenoid and tonsils removed. Both operations worked wonders. The grommets were for his hearing, the adenoid/tonsilectomy was for his breathing.

Watching him go under was hard, but just for me (not him).

Aimsmum, there are some things that are normal after the adenoid/tonsil op. One major one is throwing up blood. It's frightening, but completely normal. When my son went in, I asked about it here and that was the bit that was most useful for me to know. Here is the info I got on it. (Thanks again to everyone who helped me!)

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