DD is 17m and while she has excellent receptive language skills (bilingual), she has major expressive delay. She used to say mama, etc... around 14m but then something happen. We are having EI coming and checking on her again (last time at 14m she was not tested for speech and her scores were in the 85-92%). In the mean time we went to an ENT/audiologist. 1st ENT diagnosed fluids in ear ears and suggested tubes, 2nd ENT suggested tubes after one month period to see if fluids goes away on its own. Of course, she has a flemmy cough today. Her hearing loss is approximately 15% which is not alot but an adult will require hearing aids. I'm going to see what is happening next month but, what do you think? Wait and see for longer, get tubes sooner than later? I know milestones are not set in stones but I feel that she needs some speech help, not sure how/for what but she needs help :(( worried/sad mama here
Looking forward to hear some advice/suggestions
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Tubes are a quick and relatively simple procedure. There's anesthesia involved but it's pretty minor. My LO had tubes placed and it was scary to think of my baby having anesthesia, but the tubes have been a tremendously wonderful thing for his development.
I'm not familiar with hearing loss as a percentages, but rather thresholds of mild, moderate, severe, profound. Did the ENT/audiologist give a threshold? Do they think the hearing loss is attributable entirely to the fluid? Even a mild loss can have a huge hindrance on development, if I were in your shoes, I'd go with the tubes, given that you've seen in a difference in her language since the fluid has been present.
Good luck!
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She is mild-moderate. I'm just confused bc she only had one ear infection at 9m w fever and was treated (successfully we think) w a round of Amoxicillin. From then, we had lots of cold-cough but it has been snowing no stop and she started day care so...
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@ncmz: my LO has actually never had a diagnosed ear infection. He just constantly had fluid and it impacted his speech development and balance. Total night and day difference once he got the tubes! I was nervous and kept waiting, hoping it'd clear up on its own but in our case, it didn't
Do they think her mild/ moderate loss is totally attributable to the fluid?
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we're in a similar situation at 16mo. no words and failed initial hearing test. please keep us updated!
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My cousin's son was just past a year old, and would only creep along furniture and wasn't saying a lot. And I think he had several ear infections, so eventually he got tubes put in his ears, and my cousin swears that within 2 weeks he was walking and had started talking. For a low risk procedure, might be worth it.
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@ncmz: from a speech standpoint, I would say get the tubes. Even with a small amount of fluid, the child is hearing speech like they are under water. Even if your child is receiving speech therapy and still has continuous fluid, therapy may not be as effective because they cannot hear well enough to accurately imitate sounds. I'd say 70-80% of 3 year olds I see for speech have a history of middle ear fluid. From a mommy standpoint, my daughter got tubes at 11 months after only 1 ear infection but continuous fluid & we noticed an immediate difference only hours later.
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@ncmz: you don't have to have infections to need tubes, though it does help that tremendously. Chronic fluid in the ears is reason enough and like PPs have said, it's a really simple procedure. I don't have any LOs yet but I was a preschool teacher and the babies that had tubes were so much happier! There was one with a speech delay and he started using his words in the months that follows the procedure. And he was back to school the next day with no deficit. I think it would be good for your babe!
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We are going through this right now. My son turns 3 next month and he gets tubes tomorrow. He has an expressive speech delay which improved when he got his first ear infection in December. He has no hearing loss but his tympanigrams were slightly abnormal. We decided on tubes because it was the one thing we could eliminate. And if it works there will be a large change in him. We could have waited but watching him struggle to talk at almost 3 is too difficult. If he had any hearing loss we would have done tubes the next week.
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@appleandbananas: the mild/moderate hear loss may be a factor contributing to the lack of balance (she started walking at 14m but she could have easily done 2m earlier but she was constantly loosing balance) as well as the lack of speech. However, they are not sure. Signing EI paper today for an overall evaluation.
We decide to wait one month to see if the fluid clears up (going to the pedi later for additional insight--she has a flemmy cough since Nov :(() and after that we'll decide.
I know it is a simple procedure but I am concerned about scar tissue and future ear problems (like problems in developing correctly the eustachian tube, etc...) Thanks all for your support. I will definitely keep you posted. -
@ncmz: I had tubes as a kid with no lasting side effects.
My niece just got them and I cannot tell you what a huge difference we noticed in her speech almost immediately. Her ped was very reluctant to give the ENT referral but as soon as they saw her they suggested it. It was a very positive experience all around
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