Can a 2 year old's ears be syringed?

[Volodya]

My 2 year (25 month) old ds has been referred to a pediatric ENT consultant because his ears have been blocked for months with wax and fluid and now the GP has confirmed that he's also harbouring an unusual bacterial infection in his ears which can't be cured with the usual child-friendly antibiotics. I'm worried about this because I've only just begun to realise that he really can't hear very well - he's quite a way behind his contemporaries in speech development and he often only reacts to what I am saying when he is looking at my face or when I am gesturing...

The GP wasn't able to comment on what the consultant would do when we see him, but having looked on the internet it seems that many consultants are reluctant to syringe a 2 year old's ears in case of causing damage. However I've also read that the wax-eating drugs which may be given instead can also damage the ears...

Does anyone have any experience of this? Anyone whose young child has been through a similar thing and had their ears syringed or cleaned? Also, once the problem has been dealt with, are they able to catch up with other children in terms of language development? I'm feeling quite bad about this because I didn't react quickly enough back in Oct when I first realised he had a problem with his ears (bad smell, pulling at them a lot, etc) and I'm afraid the problem may have got quite a lot worse in the meantime. Any comments or suggestions much appreciated... thanks.

i don't have anything to suggest sweetheart (i would have thought that once his ears clear, assuming there is no underlying issue, that speech and hearing will catch up (speech is tied into hearing))sorry but hopefully someone can come along soon and help you. i would suggest that you also stop beating yourself up about this (((((((((((((((((((volodya))))))))))))), the main thing is that something is been done and your ds will get the help he needs. i hope things work out xxx

They may put some gromits in his ears (they'll clean them out first), they are tiny little tubes that go in the ear drum to drain any fluid that gets stuck. I suppose it just depends on the consultant though. They may just clear them out. It depends on where the bacterial infection is. If he's had alot of ear infections and has some hearing loss they normally put gromits in though.

i woudl also suggest that you keep bumping your thread by just typing 'bump' or '.'
goo dluck. fm xxx

My GP said they didn't do gromits any more.

He was only about twelve, though, so I'm not sure if it's true ...

Please don't feel bad, Vol. My ds has the most appalling ear wax .. it's almost jet black and very sticky. I've taken him to the GP several times about it (he's 3), but they've told me that his ear canal is clear and there's nothing to worry about. Having been reassured about that, they told me not to clean them at all, as I could damage his ears. I understand that, but it's kind of embarrassing for both of us when his ears are so obviously 'filthy.'

This in no way equates to your poor little ds, but I wanted to let you know that general advice about this type of problem is sadly wanting at the moment, and it's natural to feel confused about what you could or couldn't have done.

My step-son eventually had gromits at the age of four, and his speech and vocabulary was perfectly normal for his age-group within three months of the treatment.

Good luck

my dd had grommets put in about a month ago...there are problems in some areas getting funding though....

Volodya, it sounds like he maybe has glue ear - in which case syringing won't help because the the main problem is fluid in the middle ear ie other side of eardrum. They can check this at the appointment.

This will often resolve itself so often they'll wait and see a bit. Has his hearing been properly checked?

It may be worth getting him on the waiting list for speech therapy (talk to Health Visitor) as this will take a while to come through in any case.

Try not to worry too much, glue ear is very common and often resolves itself. If not then it can be fixed. Any speech problems should also be pretty easily fixable if due to temporary reduced hearing.

good luck!

Thanks very much everyone!

Bumping...