Grommets

[TwoBlue]

Well after ages believing that my 27 mth old DS Samuel had a hearing problm, i finally bit the bullet and saw a specialist..

First he removed COPIOUS amounts of compounded wax from his ears !!
Docs comment was "he probably weights 6 kilos lighter now!"

Then he did a hearing test and it was VERY obvious that he wasnt hearing all the sounds... anyway so it appears he has the middle ear problem with the fluid etc and needs grommets...

So we have him booked for next month
General anasthetic making me feel a bit anxious....

Has anyone had this done to their kids, any stories for me
support...?

i actually was attacked today by my "friend" who was angry that i didnt try "natropathic" ways to remove the fluid first so i am feeling a bit annoyed and a bit bad about that now.... :(

Have i done the wrong thing??

[Lunar]

NO WAY! You have done the right thing don't worry about your 'friend'.

DD1 had to have grommets when she was about 18months but because she had ears smaller than a newborn at the time they couldn't get them in but performed another procedure instead to release all the fluid.

You will see a change in him quite quickly. I wouldn't hesitate for her to get them put in now, she will probably need to have her tonsils out soon so I might ask if the ENT can try get them in again. She suffers from glue ear, so always has an abundance of wax in there:rolleyes: .

Alot of the times all that natural stuff doesn't work anyways. Go with your instincts.
Good Luck!!

[TwoBlue]

Thanks Emysmum thats just what i needed to hear :hugs:

[cwsmum]

:hugs: Try not to worry, you are not doing the wrong thing. It's a minor op, only takes about 15mins from what i can remember mum & dad telling us. My sis (2yrs younger than me) had grommets from about 2yrs old til she was 12 or 13yrs old.

As soon as they were put in she could hear better, and was heaps happier. I remember after they came out each time and the fluid/wax started to build up again she would start sitting closer and closer to the telly, thats how mum knew it was time to take her back for another lot :laughing:

My dad and cousin also had grommets as children and they all stoped needing them once they got to about 12 or 13 yrs too.

Samuel will be fine, he'll probably be a totally different child once they are in :)

[bronny-jane]

i had grommets when i was younger, i always had ear infections but after my op i was fine.
that was years ago so im sure his outcome will be way better.
im glad my mum let me have the op, it was terrible being in constant pain

[TwoBlue]

Thanks guys :hugs:

Like you say Cwsmum i too believe Samuel will be a different child after its done... we have had so many "behavioural" problems with him lately and i really think this is going to help.. poor little guy must be feeling so frustrated !!

[FourAngelKisses]

Brooke had grommets put in when she was 22mths old. It was the best thing I ever did for her as she was born deaf because of glue ear and always had ear infections. When I say always, I mean week in and week out for 22mths. They put her on double strength amoxil for a full month just so she would be weel enough to have the surgery done.

It is a very quick operation, all over and done with in about 10-15mins. Brooke was dressed and ready to go home 20mins after she got out of the operating theatre. When she woke up from the anesthetic, she pulled the oxygen mask off, sat up and started talking to the nurses, lol.

She had said her first word a week prior to surgery, the following week she was using 10-15 word sentences. One thing though, try to avoid noise for about a month after. If you have ever seen anyone get a cochlear implant turned on, it's a similar thing with grommets. They are super sensitive to noises. If someone a couple of blocks away was mowing their lawn, she would be screaming because it was so loud for her. This lasted about 3-4wks.


Best of luck!!!

[cwsmum]

This will probably fix the behavior probs...now that you have mentioned that, my sis was a horror before hers were done :rolleyes: She also ended up needing her tonsils out and adenoids(sp?) done...she was sick heaps and a terrible snorer, once all that was done she was fine.

Is Samuel going to stay overnight in hospi? I only ever remember my sis having day surgery for grommets.

[TwoBlue]

One thing though, try to avoid noise for about a month after. If you have ever seen anyone get a cochlear implant turned on, it's a similar thing with grommets. They are super sensitive to noises. If someone a couple of blocks away was mowing their lawn, she would be screaming because it was so loud for her. This lasted about 3-4wks

Thanks ! I hadnt thought of that !!



Is Samuel going to stay overnight in hospi? I only ever remember my sis having day surgery for grommets.

Its just day surgery thank goodness... dont know how i'll go not providing brekky for him that morning though!! :rolleyes:

[FourAngelKisses]

Thanks ! I hadnt thought of that !!

No one told me about it, I had to find out the hard way. It was only after I asked why she was crying for lawn mowers and light aircraft that I found out why, lol.

[TwoBlue]

lol poor Brooke but how wonderful that she was hearing all those sounds !!

I cant wait to hear Samuel talk more :thumbsup:

[FourAngelKisses]

I'm sure his talking will take off like a wildfire. :D

[TwoBlue]

I'm sure his talking will take off like a wildfire. :D

:smiliedance: i hope he says "i love you mum!! " really soon !!

I need to hear it :o

[cassi*girl]

I too had grommets when I was little (about 4 or 5 times I think) and I sometimes wish I could get them again!! My DH also had them when he was little (twice).

Our ds is now on the waiting list for them (which can take up to 12 weeks :() and I am hoping it will make a big difference to his behaviour too. He has always suffered from ear issues so it will be nice to not have him constantly on medication to try and give him some relief. Gee I hope they work :fingerscrossed: .

I am not all that worried about the op as ds has had 3 already so we are pro's at it - NOT! You always worry it is only natural and VERY hearbreaking. It amazes me each and every time how quickly he has bounced back. Kids are amazing.

Anyway, goodluck and keep us informed!!

Sandi :)

[TwoBlue]

Thanks Sandi !

Will keep you all informed :)

[poshBecks]

Hey Trace.
Some good friends of ours have a little boy with gromits. The difference is amazing!!
When he got them he kept saying. "whats that?" It was excellent!

Maybe it might help solve some of Sam's frustrations? :fingerscrossed:

Your a great mum btw Trace. Dont worry about what your friend said! :hugs:

[skyejax]

hi there, my daughter has just had grommits, she has had constant ear infections since 6mths old but they wanted to see if they would settle down. so she had to hav hearing tests every 3-6mths, to make sure she was going along fine but at 1yr she started to show signs of hearing deteriorating so of to ent for us and she was placed on waiting list as i dont have insurance at time.so we had to wait 12 mths. but the dirfference in here was instant. the behaviour changed and she was telling us to shoosh for afew days. and her speach came roaring along. she even started saying sentences within a few weeks.
i also had grommits myself when i was 14,15 and again at 16. unfortunatelly it wasnt really a common done thing when i was a bub or i wouldnt hav the scarring from ear infections on my drums like i do. but it is definately worth it.
good luck:fingerscrossed: u r doing the right thing.
mary

[FourAngelKisses]

Wow, I can't believe you had to wait 12mths. Brooke only had to wait 4wks (public system) and for her tonsilectomy, she only had to wait 2wks (public again).

[Gloominous]

Wow, I can't believe you had to wait 12mths. Brooke only had to wait 4wks (public system) and for her tonsilectomy, she only had to wait 2wks (public again).


We had a waiting list of 2 yrs for an appointment just to see the ent doc!! Needless to say we went private instead, but it was definately worth it. The sooner the better I say! 1 1/2 yrs later DD is still sensative to sound though.:(

[Baby Girl]

I had grommets put in when I was a kid and they have not helped at all - i still have one in my left ear and the scar tissue around my ear drum and in my ear canal won't let it release. If I want it removed I have to go in for day surgery :thumbsdown:

I have heaps of operations on my (left) ear and all they kept saying was the grommets will help it drain and then it can heal - hah!! From the constant reinserting of the grommets I now have major scarring inside my ear and my ear drum doesn't vibrate properly so I only have about 30% hearing in one ear....

I know they work for most people and I hope they work for Samuel but please find out everything you can and make a very informed decision. Make sure you find out about the reputation of the specialist and finally,


GOOD LUCK, I HOPE IT ALL GOES WELL :fingerscrossed: :D

[angelickaren]

hi samsmum04

i my two boys have both had gromments my first son who is now 10 yrs had his fisrt set at 10mths old from bad ear infections and he has now had 8 sets and he still needs to see an ent to be monitored only down side for him is that because of so many sets he has bad scaring and whe he gets a bad build up of fuild his ear scar tissue bursts open and leaks and things needs to go to ent to get the fluid sucked out but he needed them and his went well under with a genreal

second son never had a ear infection at all at 2yrs i thought he has never really made many baby noises and was not speaking so took him to speech therispt and she said to me oh he is just a lazy boy and his older brother talks for him at 3yrs he was not making much more progress so when 1st son went to appt with ent i asked him about 2nd son he said bring to se me he had a bad build up of fluid but never had an ear infection though so next day both boys had gromments put in now my 2nd son is now 5yrs and has to got to special school language class due to he never heard the first sounds and he was tested at 4yrs witha a speech assement was 4yrs old but talked at a level of 2yrs 3mths i was so angry at myself i never knew he had a problem i just thought he was a little lazy was i wrong

do what is best for your son and dont feel bad about helping him drs know what best he needs to hear those sounds or he will have more trouble later he may still need help if he has not heard thouse sounds he will be behind other kids who have heard them good luck with his op

[FourAngelKisses]

Apparently you can get stainless stell grommets that are permanent. I was going to look into them for Brooke if she needed more than one set.

[Funkychicken]

tracey, my nephew had his done when he was about 6. When he woke up from the operation, he whispered in the sweetest voice, "Mum, I can hear you!". It was absolutely priceless.:thumbsup:

[TwoBlue]

tracey, my nephew had his done when he was about 6. When he woke up from the operation, he whispered in the sweetest voice, "Mum, I can hear you!". It was absolutely priceless.:thumbsup:


:crying: Oh Sal, this made me cry

Thank you so much for sharing that with me

and thanks to everyone else for their input and advice also