https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 12:02:01 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662715 Thu, 08 Dec 2016 09:39:41 +0000 irene 2662715@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: Thinking about it we are the same as your LO... DS was delayed in speech before we got the tubes, and I have been so worried! We are bilingual so we already wonder oh maybe that's a part of the factor too. But part yf the reason we didn't want tubes was because we worried about hearing damage and he was already speech delayed. But once we got the tubes done, he snaps right back and his language exploded. So obviously we were worrying about the wrong things. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662710 Thu, 08 Dec 2016 09:34:41 +0000 irene 2662710@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't have any advice, but I am with the "Tubes changed my life" gang. We had ear infections non stop since DS started daycare at 1 year old. I couldn't work because he is basically out of school every other week when the antibiotics was finished. We were more hesitant than you are about tubes! We did it after going through this for half a year or more, and all the problems has lifted up, DS was no longer suffering through the pains and fevers, poor thing, and life was normal. It was so magical.</p> <p>He is going to be 5 in January, and I do have to say that one side of the hole hasn't been healed up yet. ENT is monitoring it every half a year and our doctor said he is not worried. DS hears and speaks fine, and maybe his hearing is slightly off on that ear that still hasn't been healed. With that said, I still would have done the tubes if we were to do this all over again. It is just pointless to make DS (and us) suffer through it hoping to wait for him to grow out of it.</p> <p>For swimming classes, we just put an ear plug on the ear that still has a hole in the ear drum.</p> <p>For you, however, if you feel that she is getting better and seems to be growing out of it, then delay the surgery by all means. If she gets another ear infection then schedule it and don't wait anymore. You know? We had to do it because there was no sign of stopping. So each person is different... good luck!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662693 Thu, 08 Dec 2016 09:06:44 +0000 MamaG 2662693@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@My Only Sunshine: our EnT recommended plugs only if she had prolonged submersion, like swimming under water. Clearly at 1 swimming under water wasn't happening 😂 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662672 Thu, 08 Dec 2016 08:03:18 +0000 My Only Sunshine 2662672@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@travellingbee: Weird! I wonder if it's just different ENT's recommendations. Ours told us to use plugs for baths and showers and for lakes/ponds/ocean but not for the pool because the chlorine kills any bacteria that could get in there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662580 Wed, 07 Dec 2016 20:19:39 +0000 travellingbee 2662580@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@My Only Sunshine: we have never had to put plugs in for anything! I wonder why yours had to? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662505 Wed, 07 Dec 2016 15:39:55 +0000 rpparker 2662505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: @Iced Tea: @travellingbee: @My Only Sunshine: @josina: Thank you all for weighing in! It seems like tubes are highly beneficial but that it's also clear when they really need them! I'm going to hold off for now and see how the rest of the winter goes. Again, thank you for sharing your experience! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662253 Wed, 07 Dec 2016 00:12:24 +0000 gingerbebe 2662253@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son started daycare at 16 months and got NONSTOP ear infections from January to June. He finally got tube surgery in June, but by then he was clearly speech delayed. He didn't have the 18 month language explosion everyone talks about and the audiologist says its because he essentially had been hearing under water for 6 months. What words he did have were poorly pronounced because he obviously wasn't hearing clearly. He didn't qualify for Early Intervention because he was only about 6 months delayed and he needed to be 8 months or more (he got evaluated at 24 months and he needed to be more than 30% delayed). He started a 2 year old preschool program in September to help with his speech and at 27 months he JUST finally had his language explosion in November and we're hitting all those 18-20 month old milestones now. </p> <p>The tubes have been fabulous for him. His pronunciation is so clear, he hears well, he's singing songs and talking and interacting with us, and he's finally stringing 3 word phrases together. He also went from getting raging ear infections and illness all the time to being out ONE DAY from school since September (well except right now with HMF, but he just has spots and is acting totally happy). </p> <p>DS2 is 6 months old and has had two ear infections in the last 6 weeks (ear infections seem to run in my family) and DH is really eager to get him tubes sooner rather than later so we avoid the speech issue that our older son had. This is saying a lot because DH was SUPER paranoid about the tube surgery and grilled the ENTs and audiologists when DS1 needed them. DH demanded we get a pediatric anesthesiologist, so we drove to a surgery center further out, but that was the only way he would consent to having it done. Now DH is THE biggest fan of tube surgery and feels awful that he made DS1 wait the extra few weeks for him to get all the consults DH wanted done. DS1 did awesome in surgery - they got him in first thing in the morning, he freaked out a little bit after surgery (common with the meds they give him), but was happy as a clam afterwards, ate breakfast, and went to daycare. He's had ONE ear infection since surgery in June (it was actually right after surgery and apparently its common?) and needed the drops and an oral antiobiotic, but has not had a single one since. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662169 Tue, 06 Dec 2016 17:37:09 +0000 Iced Tea 2662169@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Since she's doing better, I would forgo the tubes for now. </p> <p>My niece and nephew both got tubes and had difficulty with the anesthesia. It wasn't dire, but it was scary. I would wait if you aren't sure it's worth it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662158 Tue, 06 Dec 2016 16:48:26 +0000 travellingbee 2662158@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have been so pleased with the tubes but if she has had colds and hasn't gotten an infection then I would wait. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662142 Tue, 06 Dec 2016 16:09:33 +0000 My Only Sunshine 2662142@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD has tubes and they were a lifesaver, but it was pretty obvious she needed them. She had at least an ear infection a month for 8 months straight, even when cold and flu section ended. </p> <p>In your situation I think I would wait and see too. The surgery is minor but it's still surgery. And the tubes are a little bit of an inconvenience - you have to put plugs in for bath and if you go in a lake. </p> <p>I would definitely err on the side of not doing it rather than doing it if I wasn't sure. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662114 Tue, 06 Dec 2016 15:25:54 +0000 josina 2662114@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS had 5 ear infections from 3 months to 8 months and we were going to schedule an appt. with an ENT. Within that time DH switched jobs so we had to wait till his new insurance kicked in (and also switched daycares). So glad we waited because he hasn't had an ear infection since. (He's 2 now).</p> <p>I would lean toward waiting if she's been healthy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662099 Tue, 06 Dec 2016 14:54:44 +0000 rpparker 2662099@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Truth Bombs: Thanks for the input. Everyone who has gotten tubes says they are a life saver but like you said she's been fine a month!</p> <p>@Foodnerd81: That's so helpful! Our ped's cutoff is 3 within 6 months so she has met that criteria but I feel like she really just had one bad one since it was clustered all together in our month of sickness! Augmentin is what finally cleared it for us too but it was horrible to give it to her! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662091 Tue, 06 Dec 2016 14:37:50 +0000 Foodnerd81 2662091@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, we did not get tubes, but were really close. My pediatrician's guidelines for considering tubes were either 4 infections within 6 months, or 6 in a year, I think? Whichever it was we had 5 ear infections within 6 months. We had a consult with an ENT, but by that point LO had had a cold and NOT gotten an ear infection- which was the first time all year a runny nose didn't turn into a bad infection. So he recommended waiting and seeing if she got another ear infection before scheduling the surgery- basically he said one really bad infection or two back to back, he would recommend we do it at that point. But as luck would have it, she outgrew them and hasn't had one since- thank god. Had she gotten another I definitely would have done it because they affected her so much, it was awful (for both of us). She was 2.5 to 3 years old during this time. </p> <p>So, in your case I think I would wait it out. If she gets another ear infection or back to back ones, schedule the surgery. If she goes a few months without one I'd hold off. </p> <p>Also during that six months of constant sickness we discovered amoxycillin doesn't cut it for my LO's ear infections, but Augmentin does. The last one we went straight to Augmentin and it cleared it up faster (but I know it's harder on their little stomachs). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662087 Tue, 06 Dec 2016 14:32:36 +0000 Truth Bombs 2662087@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm very pro tubes as both my kids had them at 10 months when we ran out of options. But if your kids has been infection free for a month straight during cold and flu season, I would hold off. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tubes-or-no-tubes#post-2662086 Tue, 06 Dec 2016 14:29:06 +0000 rpparker 2662086@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Trying to decide if I'm just getting cold feet about tubes...</p> <p>My LO is 17 months old and started part time play school in August. From the first of September until end of October we were slammed with illness. HFM, ear and sinus infection, ear infection twice again (or same one), stomach bug and croup! It was horrible! Our state has also been suffering from a horrible drought so the dust and leaf allergens were out of control so she's been on Zyrtec as well. </p> <p>So the ear infection(s) were pretty much continuous and it took three rounds of antibiotics to finally get cleared. We went to an ENT Nov 17th were she passed her hearing test but did have fluid (no infection) in one ear. The ENT was great but I did feel like he just went straight to tubes and we got her surgery set for December 14th. I've been feeling fine about it until the past week where I realized my LO has been feeling so much better this past month, rain has come and her allergies are better, and we just really seem to be on the up and up!</p> <p>I called the nurse line at the ENTs to see if we could maybe have another consult before surgery. She didn't offer that but did say we could easily postpone the surgery. I'm sure as soon as I cancel surgery she will get another infection but I also don't want to get tubes unnecessarily! </p> <p>Any advice? </p>