Glue ear and hearing loss in toddler

[Havanawinter]

My just-turned-2-year-old was referred to ENT because of repeated ear infections and ruptured ear drums. They have found he has “moderate” hearing loss and glue ear in both ears. The consultant told me to stick my fingers hard in both ears as he spoke to me, then said that’s the level my son can hear at. He then said he wasn’t concerned as his speech is very good, but to me that level of hearing loss is a bit scary. He wants to leave it and reassess in a year.

The consultant was lovely and said he doesn’t want to give him grommets because they do more harm than good in the long run. I fully believe he has my son’s best interests at heart, but now I’ve had time to process it I’m quite upset and not sure if I should seek a second opinion? It’s really hard to be detached and logical when it’s your own child so I’d greatly appreciate any opinions!

I haven't got any experience but do know that you can join the National Deaf Children's Society and it's free. They might be able to give you some information and support

DS had grommets fitted at age 6 but also had his adenoids removed. The adenoids are lymph nodes at the back of the nose and often become enlarged and block the drainage from the middle ear causing glue ear.
DS’s heating instantly improved. His surgery was daystay and when we returned home he turned on the TV and straight away complained that it was too loud.
The grommets stayed in for nearly three months but the glue ear didn’t recur. His permanent am SIL trails and dribbling also cleared up since drainage for snot and saliva was easier and he could breath through his nose at last.
He had been under ENT from birth due to being prem. They tend to keep an eye on sight and hearing. ENT surgeon was happy to monitor until 5 hoping it would clear itself. But at 5 he advised surgery so that DS would not slip behind with reading. Phonics relies of good heating.

That should read permanent nasal snail trails.

My son is 18 months and I took him for a hearing test 2 weeks ago (because he was barely babbling at all, definitely not speaking) and was told he has mild hearing loss which is probably caused by ear infections. They said there’s basically nothing they will do except reassess him in 3 months and hopefully it will have improved by then. The consultant was also lovely and said these things can clear up in warmer months? He has since started babbling way more so it’s a possibility it has cleared up a bit. But I also feel a bit lost, wondering if there’s more I can do..!

My ds had ear infections and glue ear and had grommets fitted, he stopped falling over within a day and talking within a week. I'd recommend them but we are all different!

What is the harm he is concerned about? Sometimes these problems do resolve as the child grows but sometimes grommets are very much needed.
My DD had hearing loss caused by glue ear and constant ear infections. We had to battle for grommets but she was constantly poorly and becoming antibiotic resistant.
It's a very minor operation, about 20 minutes long. My dd was home a couple of hours afterwards and didn't even need calpol. They transformed her quality of life, no more ear infections and constant antibiotics.
I personally would get a second opinion. The reluctance is often due to funding. They wanted to leave my DD to suffer and by the time she got treated the surgeon said her inner ears were a mess.

Have they offered hearing aids. The audiology service I worked with used to for persistent glue ear just to tide them over until the glue ear resolved.

Yes, seek a second option.
Hearing loss will surely affect speech. How can it not? When a child is learning to speak and the can’t hear. It will also affect friendships.
DS - now a teen - had glue ear, ear infections, hearing loss because of glue ear. dribbling as well. From very young to 4/5 years old.
Aged 6 we moved to another European country. The doctors we saw were horrified that he hadn’t had grommets put in. Grommets were inserted, adenoids removed. His Ari pods were enlarged - no one had ever mentioned this to us in the Uk.
He was like a different boy. He could hear perfectly. His speech improved etc.
Did the consultant say what the harm of grommets could be? It’s a quick operation.

Thanks all, I really appreciate the perspectives. He said he wasn’t a fan of grommets because in 5% of cases they can perforate the ear drum which requires repair. He said he rarely fits or recommends them. The options the consultant discussed were a low dose of long term antibiotics, hearing aids or grommets. He personally didn’t feel DS met the threshold for any of those, which is very reassuring, but I just can’t get the level of hearing loss DS is experiencing out of my head. I just don’t see how it’s normal and how his speech can fully develop? The consultant said we should read books to DS with us facing him instead of on our laps so he can learn to lip read.

I think I will make a non urgent GP appointment and discuss the possibility of a second opinion.

Temporary hearing loss Grommets or Hearing Aid. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childrens_health/4718608-temporary-hearing-loss-grommets-or-hearing-aid

I had a thread similar. My son has aids now and it's been great, they are like glasses I think in that he 'needs' them but when he hasn't got them in it's not the end of the world. We also realised this is why he's so terrible at riding a bike but the aids don't resolve that.

DS had grommets in both ears twice, once at 2 and again at about 3 and a half when they had grown out. He went from not speaking to speaking more or less immediately after the first op.

They wanted to give my dd constant low dose antibiotics, but I was really uncomfortable with it given that she had been on so many antibiotics already and she was becoming resistant. She was violently sick after the first dose so I didn't give her any more.
Obviously all procedures carry an element of risk, but I would be more worried about the ear drum repeatedly rupturing through infection rather than a small chance of a grommet causing a rupture. Strangely we weren't ever told they carry this risk.
There's also the negative pressure that glue ear causes in the ear, it can be very painful and damage the ear drum.

I would definitely ask for a second opinion. My DD had glue ear at age 1 and had grommets put in. It took a long time to recover her speech and she had a significant speech sound delay until age 5 when she got a second set of grommets and speech therapy. She now has a lovely clear speaking voice. At the time I was working with a leading deafness charity in my country and I spoke to ENT specialists and speech therapists and all recommended the grommets. She had her adenoids removed at the same time as the second set of grommets.

In my family we have very narrow Eustachian tubes leading to recurrent childhood ear infections and perforation. My mum has permanent hearing loss as a result. I spent years on almost permanent antibiotics. The grommets were a superior solution IMO.

Hi all, my toddler has had 7 Ear Infections, 2 lots of tonsillitis and sinusitus in the last 16 months. We are currently under ENT and awaiting a hearing test. My daughter is nearly 3 and is speech delayed. 4 weeks ago we were really getting somewhere with her language developing and had up to 40 words and then she developed 2 ear infections in a row and now its almost gone again. The ENT consultant said that everytime they get an ear infection they basically have to start with the language again. We have lots of referals to various places as I think professionals think she may have Autism but obviously dont say that. Ive been really anxious about all this for months. ENT said that they will put grommets in depending on hearing test results. Has anyone had any similar experiences that they could share with me please and any insight in to what the audiology hearing test will involve? Thank you