Glue Ear

[louandivy]

Hi strangers! Hope you are all well - not sure if anyone will remember me as its been so long since I last posted.

Ivy has always been in her own world and not a great listener but recently its got worse and worse and she says 'pardon me' in response to like 50% of our conversations (at least she's polite!) so I took her to the dr to have a look in her ears. The doctor said they weren't blocked or anything so it was possibly due to glue ear - however apparently glue ear only lasts for 3 or so months then goes away but I reckon Ivy has had symptoms of it for at least a year! Part of me wonders if she is just a terrible listener (more than plausible), it hasn't affected her reading or socialising or anything but alongside the bad hearing she also sounds constantly bunged up and it must be so annoying for her!


Has anyone's kid had glue ear and if so, how long did it take to pass?

 

[Kate&Lucas]

Has she not had a hearing test?
Lucas was referred to the hospital with his terrible hearing (he also had constant earache), they said if it was glue ear they'd have to put grommets in to drain it, I imagine because it'd been going on longer than three months by that point. It might be worth going back and asking for a referral to ENT.

 

[Eleanor ace]

Hey! :wave: DS is the same, constantly saying "pardon" and he is also sooo loud. Turns out he has glue ear and moderate hearing loss in one ear. He doesn't suffer with ear infections and his ears don't look blocked when I looking them, although I'm no expert! I've known his hearing wasn't right since he was 18 months-ish but I'm not sure how long he's had glue ear; months at least.

 

[Tasha]

Naomi-Mae had this but never had glue ear although she only passed her hearing test for the first time about a year ago (so aged nine). We were told she enlarged adenoids which can affect the hearing and give that bunged up sound.

 

[babyv13]

oh hi stranger!

I had glue ear when I was a child and had the same symptoms, I had grommets fitted and my adenoids removed when I was about 5 or 6 (I think) which helped a lot, but I had to have checkups every 6 months until I was about 10 or 11 because it hadn't totally gone - that's apparently really unusual though!

I had this special tool that was basically a plastic tube that I put a balloon over then I had to blow the balloon up with one nostril to help clear my ears. everyone in school was really impressed and wanted a shot so I was showing off and blew a massive bogie out - they didn't want a shot of it after that surprisingly enough

 

[Natsku]

Hello! Was just wondering the other day where you've disappeared to!

You should definitely get her hearing checked but she might just be like Maria and a poor listener. Is it worse if there's background noises going on or you're not face to face? I was convinced that Maria had hearing problems because she is always saying "What??" (not so polite hmph) but she had her hearing checked two weeks ago and it was fine. The nurse said she probably just is a poor listener especially if she's concentrating on something else or if there's background noise.

 

[noon_child]

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/glue-ear/Pages/Introduction.aspx

 

[liz1985]

Ds had always been a terrible listener but I thought it was more of a behaviour thing rather than a medical issue as I knew he could hear, he also pronounced a few words unclear. His teacher asked me if he'd ever had a hearing test as he was very loud and sometimes seemed in his own world. The doctor said he has glue ear. He has been refered to ENT for a hearing test and depending on the level of loss they will leave it to clear or they will fit gromits. It never crossed my mind he could have glue ear as he's never suffered with ear infections and his symptoms are also ongoing rather than short term. I would maybe take her back and ask her to be referred for a hearing test.

 

[Pearls18]

I was diagnosed with glue ear at 4, had T tubes fitted (then surgically removed as a teenager as they didn't fall out) it was something I had throughout my childhood, my hearing was tested every 6 months. I would get a second opinion, you need a referral to ENT really.

 

[louandivy]

Oops totally forgot about this - thank you for all the really useful replies! When I took her to the doctor she said she would refer her to have a hearing test but never got back to me with an appointment so going to chase it up on Monday.

Weirdly this week we went away to visit friends with kids and her hearing has been fine all week! Which is making me wonder if it is more of an attention thing after all...obviously still going to have a test though. Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Blue12]

I currently have glue ear myself and had it once before. The last time it took s few months to clear. I had a hearing test and had 25% hearing loss which was very significant to me functioning on a daily basis.

Like others said a hearing test would be very important information.