glue ear and crazy behaviour - I need some reassurance

[Jenkeywoo]

dd is 3.5 - diagnosed with glue ear a couple of months ago - she has 50db hearing loss and is having grommets fitted on the 9th May.

Her behaviour is getting weirder and weirder - she is screechy and whiney and is having tantrums all over the place. she has started lashing out and tonight slapped dh round the face over something ridiculous like the wrong pyjamas.

I have heard that glue ear can affect behaviour and I really hope this is the case - she is out of control and seems so so upset - she is insecure and always needing extra cuddles and love which I am giving freely of course.

I really hope when she has her op I get the old dd back - she used to be such fun to be with.

Have you told her about the op?

She may have all sorts of fanatsies about what is going to happen but prob hasn't got language sophisticated enough to discuss it with you?

If you haven't told her yet I'll bet that she has guessed something big is going to happen but is scared because she doesn't know what.

At 3.5 she needs lots of time to get her head round hospitals etc - got any good books to read with her? A doctors set to play doctors and nurses together?

Have you been to visit the hospital? My dd was invited for a pre-op play session at our hosp because some enlightened nurse had read that recovery time is quicker if children are fully informed and have seen the surroundings before the event.

My DD has had two sets of grommetts and her behaviour was very similar to your DD when the glue had built up again, we were told that this was due to her feeling isolated in a world which to her was like listening to everything underwater and through cotton wool at the same time. her behaviour changed immediatly after the ops to the lovely little girl that she used to be.

thank you hennipenni that really gives me hope. Gagarin, yes she does know that the op is coming up and at the moment is really excited about it - she has a couple of books and seems quite calm but it's true to say that underneath she could be worrying.

any sort of hearing problem can have a massive effect on behaviour.