Anyone’s DC had grommets/adenoids out at the age of 2?

[Virtualinsanitie]

My 2 year old DS has been diagnosed with bilateral glue ear and we have an appointment with a private ENT consultant at the end of this month.

DS has a speech delay and can only say a handful of words which SALT have said is likely down to the glue ear. He also has all the symptoms of enlarged adenoids; mouth breather, restless sleeper, constant green snot etc.

Has anyone’s DC had grommets/adenoidectomy at the age of 2? Everything I read says surgery is usually only done aged 3 and up. Obviously I don’t want to put him through a GA/surgery just for the sake of it, but I’m so conscious of how behind he is with his speech and how it’s an important age for development etc, I would rather it was done sooner rather than later if it’s going to help his speech.

It would be great to hear from anyone who has any similar experiences please!

Yes, my youngest DS did, aged almost two. His speech came on in leaps and bounds and he had no further issues.

@DramaAlpaca thank you! Do you mind me asking how he coped with the surgery? Great to hear that his speech improved as a result.

Hi @Virtualinsanitie he coped perfectly well with the surgery. Honestly, not a bother. They bounce back quickly at that age.

My son had grommets before he was 2 - it really helped, and he stopped having ear infections. However, when the grommet fell out the hole in his eardrum didn't heal, and he had an eardrum made from his own tissue put in when he was 9 - all has been well since

@DramaAlpaca thank you!

@Run4it2 glad to hear your DS has had no issues since; I’ll see what the consultant says and go from there!

My eldest had adenoids and tonsils out just after her 2nd birthday. No grommets as she has a lot of scar tissue on the war drum.

The surgery was fine. She was in for a couple of days afterwards as she has very severe sleep apnoea and they want to be sure her oxygen levels were stable.

Pain was not much - she was drinking and eating yoghurt straight after, normal food within a day. Calpol for 48 hours and then no need for anything else after that. She wasn't unhappy except for 20 minutes directly after the surgery when she seemed confused and was very, very thirsty. Bit clingy for about 3 hours so I sat on her hospital bed with her on my lap and we watched rubbish TV together.

One thing that she diidnt like - all her sinuses and everything were totally backed up with gunge. The nurses came and suctioned her noseevery few hours. She hated that and my goodness you would not think that much icky stuff could fit in one small head!!!!! Pretty gross.

7 now and she might need a repeat operation - adenoid tissue can grow back in young children, which is one of the reasons they prefer to delay when possible.

@TinyTeachr thank you for sharing your experience! The post-op recovery is my concern as my DS doesn’t like to sit still 🤣

My experience is much the same as @Run4it2 except ds has had several ops to try and fix his hole and none have taken. He has some hearing loss on that side and was fitted with a hearing aid but he won't wear it and manages well enough without it.
Changes in pressure can be an issue as well as swimming. He wears mouldable ear plugs when in a plane or swimming.

Yes, I'm paranoid about him wearing a swimming hat and earplugs when swimming! Post op recovery was fine - he screamed for an hour after coming around from the anaesthetic, then ate some toast and happily ran around for the rest of the day - it clearly felt different because he was wobbling his head like he was testing it!

My ds had tonsil and adenoidectomy when he was 2. He was fine recovered quickly and was keen to get back to playing out. My best advice is to keep the pain relief topped up on a timer as per prescription - don't let them get to the stage where they're sore and whingy in the first few days

Thank you 🙏🏼

My DS doesn’t suffer with recurring ear infections but is clearly struggling with his hearing as he lip reads and this is affecting his speech and the sounds he can make.

So glad I found this thread. My son is 21 months old and since starting nursery he has had constant ear infections and his speech has completely regressed. Fairly certain he has glue ear so we’re seeing a private ENT next week (after 3 months being messed about by the NHS)

My DS had grommets at 2 and a half for glue ear. Completely fine- a bit upset when he woke up but then eating and playing within the hour and we were home that afternoon.
His speech hasn't massively improved but SALT think this is an issue of forming sounds. His hearing has so I think it was worth it because now he can hear the sounds correctly.
We had insurance so could go private- NHS very slow from what I've heard.

Did your DS fail multiple hearing tests before they would do the grommets? The consultant said that, despite the glue ear, they wouldn’t do grommets on my DS before he turns 3 as he had a satisfactory hearing test. So I feel a bit in limbo really.

Yes. My granddaughter. And 5 years later she had the grommets done again.

Mine did, recently, although on arrival the surgeon said she'd rather not do adenoids on the first surgery due to recovery and just gromets, then if that didn't work come back for adenoids. Speech is coming on well now and he's not had an ear infection since

My daughter was 3.5 when she had tonsils, adenoids removed and grommets fitted. My daughter had severe sleep apnoea, grade 4 tonsils & adenoids as well as significant hearing loss - I think she could only hear over 50 decibels. She also had a constant runny nose

The ENT specialist agreed to operate on our very first appointment. We had an appointment within 3 months of seeing the specialist but we had some spectacular bad luck with my DD's health which meant that the first & 2nd scheduled op was cancelled. She finally had it 5 months after our first appointment.

I'm not going to lie it totally changed her life. Before she constantly looked poorly and honestly a little neglected. She has thrived since and her hearing has now improved to normal levels.

He failed two. No ear infections but speech delayed.