My dd needs her hearing checked again -

[katepol]

who do I go and ask to arrange it - GP or school nurse?
She has intermittent glue ear since she was about 2 (she is now nearly 7), but was discharged from the hospital a couple of yrs ago - her hearing was not quite poor enough for grommets.
Hwr, her not being able to hear clearly, especially when there is background noise is really impacting on her and us. Not sure which is the quickest route to get her some help?

I'd say the GP - you can get a referral from your GP

My DS1 is same, glue ear on and off. Last time it was bad I phoned school nurse and she got us an appointment at hearing clinic the following week.

I would second the school nurse. If GP is anything like mine you would get the response of "Let's leave it for a few weeks to see if it clears of it's own accord" All well and good unless it doesn't clear up in which case the GP will then refer you. at least the school nurse will refer her straight away.

Thanks ladies . I agree with hennipenni re GP's response alas. Not sure how to go about contacting school nurse but I assume school can tell me.
Trouble is, this problem is on and off, but isn't really getting any better, although we were told it would as she got bigger and her tubes grew.
She is a dreamy child anyway, so not being able to hear properly is a real bugger. Her ears are waxy most of the time, but she never gets proper ear infections, just periods of time when she can't hear you unless she is looking at you. Public places are a nightmare too.
Any idea of solutions other than grommets?

Hi

I'm an Advisory Teacher for Hearing Impaired children (although currently on maternity leave!)

I know the impact that recurrent glue ear can have on children in school so I would urge you to insist GP refers you for hearing tests at local clinic or hospital.

Other solutions instead of grommets - some people like to go to cranial osteopaths to help ease the pressure. Children usually do grow out of glue ear by your daughter's age as the eustachian tube moves and allows fluid to drain away rather than building up and blocking middle ear.

If it is affecting her school performance ask the teacher or the Special Needs Co-ordinator to refer her to a Sensory Support Service (not sure where you are based but if you let me know I can find out name of service) Someone like me would then go in and advise teacher on preferential seating, acoustics and monitor how your daughter is accessing speech in noisy environments. However they can only go in to school if they have up to date info from a hearing test so that needs to be done first.

Please do feel free to ask me any other questions, hope that helps in the meantime.

we have had dd looked at by a cranial osteopath and also our homeopath and it has helped immensely. you might want to consider that

we have had dd looked at by a cranial osteopath and also our homeopath and it has helped immensely. you might want to consider that

Hi Scubes and Squimlet - thank you very much for your replies .

We have tried cranial osteopathy and I was hopeful, but several months of treatment when she was about 4 yrs old didn't seem to make any perceptible difference unfortunately. I am inherently sceptical of homeopathy though .

I think if dd had been having painful infections we might have got more help, but as it was the only how her hearing was on the days she was tested that was judged, then nothing much happened as while it was impaired, it was not THAT bad.

DD is bright and so is able to compensate at school, so again the problem has never seemed that severe. However, we notice a lot, esp compared with her siblings. It is also very noticeable at gym and swimming where there is background noise.

At school, she has a tendency to 'tune out', which is partly an attention thing, but also linked to not being able to hear clearly. Quite often she will check out what everyone else is doing before she starts a task which obviously can lead to problems. Like I said though, she is achieving, so it is hard to quantify what effect it is having.

Your job sounds very interesting Scubes - and rewarding too... Your input has steeled my resolve to chase this up. I am in B&H btw.

Can I just ask, what strategies would you advise if any results come back borderline, so not significant enough for intervention. We do get dd to sit at the front when it is bad, but other ideas would be gratefully received....

Hi,
My dd1 is suffering aswell.no painful ear infections but very very poor hearing, which is frustrating for her & us. she will be starting school full time in sept, and I'm really worried about her missing out on things. Like your dd, she watches everyone else 1st .
she went to clinic in oct, and jan but there has been virtually no improvement in the glue ear - have you haerd of an Otovent??

Her speech suffers aswell, altho i did ask clinic about this, they didnt seem worried, but dh has trouble understanding dd sometimes
i think adenoids (sp?)are a factor tho, in our case.Has that been mentioned to you?
( got to sort out my nickname - sorry!

Hi all

Yes my job is very interesting and rewarding although have to admit I am enjoying being a stay home mum for a few months!

Katepol can you clarify where B&H is then I'll get you some local info - my brain is a bit fuzzy since childbirth and I'm trying to go thru a list of counties but my mind fails me!?

Some management strategies would include:

1. Pupil should be near sound source, ideally within 2 metres

1. Pupil should be able to see speaker's face, if other pupil's are contributing teacher should repeat their contributions

1. Teacher should avoid moving around classroom when giving instructions

1. Teacher should avoid standing in front of light source such as window as this puts their face in shadow making lip reading difficult

5.Ensure pupil is looking at you, say their name and get eye contact before giving instructions

1. Try not to give too many instructions at one time.

1. Give further explanation whenintroducing new vocabualry or concepts

1. Check pupil's understanding through open questioning

1. Pupil may have difficulty discriminating quieter consonant sounds, tense markers and plurals and may miss these out in their own written work

10.Pupil will have greater difficulty hearing in high levels of background noise or in large halls, playgrounds

11. A conductive hearing loss can fluctuate within minutes so pupil may hear well in the morning and not be so responsive in the afternoon.

I realise these may be difficult for you to express to the teacher but this are just some ideas we give to schools.
The National Deaf Children's Society have leaflets on Conductive hearing losses as a result of glue ear so it would be worth going on their website - they also have a parents forum so you can get advice on hearing tests etc.

I would still say that if it is affecting school performance in any way then advice from a Sensory Support Teacher to the school teacher would be good. Sometimes teachers underestimate the imapct a fluctuating loss can have in noisy environments such as classrooms.

Some parents end up using hearing aids on a temporary basis rather than going down the grommet route and that can be effective but you would be advised by the hospital on this depending on degree of hearing loss. I would say that if she is not growing out of the glue ear then further investigation would be good anyway so you could use that as your bargaining tool with the GP!

I see lots of children with glue ear and your little one is having to compensate an awful lot at school to keep up which I imagine makes her quite tired.

Hope this helps, do keep asking questions though!

Katepol, may I ask why no grommetts? DD has had two lots in now nd the difference when they are in is remarkable, she changes from being a switched off, tired little girl to one who starts to catch up very quickly with her school work, is a completely different happy little girl who is a lot more confident in herself. She found it very very hard at school prior to grommetts even with intervention like scubes suggested.

my dd was like hennipenni she completely changed when she had her grommetts fitted - she now has her hand up in class all the time she was so withdrawn when she started in reception she was on the SEN list and we were worried about her developing seletive mutism (she was very reluctant to speak at pre-school)

She is so so so much happier/confident etc

Thanks again ladies. Sorry no time to respond properly - but esp thanks to Scubes. I will come back and ask more q's!
As for why 'no' to grommets, it is just that they didn't work for the two children I know who had them, but we will consider if that is recommended. HP and CG - it is lovely to hear that they have worked for your dc's