I know when babies/kids are teething they can get a fuild build up in their ears - can this lead to increased numbers of ear infections?
DS only ever gets ear infections when he is teething. He is currently getting at least 2 of his 2yo molars come up, and he has had 4 ear infections (one was both ears at once) in less than 2 months. THe last one he had they gave him steroids for.
So I am worried they might want to put grommets in - would they do that when he oly gets them if he is teething?
RR, I am definitely not an expert. But I think that it could be possible that teething would predispose a child to ear infections - after all they do pull on their ears when teething. I also think that if he's 2 now and hasn't had constant ear infections (other than over a 2 month period) that they wouldn't think of grommets. I think that would be more the case if he had the infections constantly over a longer period, like 6 months. Sometimes when they get things a lot of times in the space of a couple of months it can mean that it didn't quite clear up in between. Also, it sounds like once those pesky teeth are all through he will be fine again. I hope he gets better for you soon.
I don't know that they would put grommets in if his middle ear infections are only when he is teething. I am not an expert either but I can gibve you examples as to why all of my kidlets had grommets put in.
Maddy was the first, she got them in because she had persistant glue ear with hearing loss on the right side. She wasn't done until she was 18 months old and her words consisted of Mum, Dad and No.
She had so many infections in the first 12 months of life and in the end she could not get rid of the fluid build up. So her grommets went in.
With Immy, she didn't have many ear infections but when she did they always resulted in perferations. At 4 1/2 they put them in because she had scarring in her right ear and some permanent hearing loss because of it.
Lily was done because she was following in Maddy's footsteps so rather than muck around, hers were inserted at 8 months.
Ivy, well, she has just has one middle ear infection after another with perferation so she got hers in in Feb. They haven't really made alot of difference for her yet but I am ever hopeful. Noah is the only one who has not needed them.
In all of their cases (aside from Lily's) there was a history of long term glue ear with some hearing loss.
If you are worried then I would go and see and ENT. There are other things that can be done first before grommets. One is long term prophalactic antibiotics. Not ideal but maybe an option for when Milo is teething?
Good luck, Rach, thinking of you and Milo
Last edited by tiggy; August 14th, 2007 at 10:00 AM.
I've been told that they only put grommets in when there is a risk of hearing loss or speech delay. Obviously there are other reasons, but thats the only real reason they would consider you.
So if Milo is speaking fine, I wouldn't be worried about grommets. In saying that, they are perfectly safe from what I understand, so nothing to be scared of either.
I hope he comes right. Hamish got a nasty dose of ear problems with his first 2 teeth coming up, so I think this is what we will be in for for the next couple of years too.
Ray, my DD tended to suffer like this as she has inherited my tiny narrow eustacian tubes (I had grommets as a child but not before being terribly ill for months). She would either get an ear infection, tonsilitis or conjunctivitis (usually a combination of two of the above). We have found that the colourfree Dimetapp is a godsend, it tends to keep the conjestion down and therefore the bacteria doesn't get a chance to brew. I start her on it now whenever she has so much as a sniffle.
teething, fluid and ear infections
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