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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.

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.

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).

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).

I would lean toward waiting if she's been healthy.

We have been so pleased with the tubes but if she has had colds and hasn't gotten an infection then I would wait.

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.

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).

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.

@My Only Sunshine: we have never had to put plugs in for anything! I wonder why yours had to?

@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

@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.