Ears

Playing with bubbles during a speech session

Our son has played with his ears since birth.  We chuckled about his quirky habit.  We had his ears checked numerous times, and his previous pediatrician said everything was fine.

Our Florida pediatrician said everything was NOT fine.  She sent us to an Ear, Nose, & Throat (ENT) doctor.  Our son did not like the visit. They were unable to complete a formal hearing test because despite my best efforts my son was uncooperative.  The otolaryngologist did remove ear wax and determine that he has significant and constant pressure in his inner ear.  (Was that why he screamed the entire flight home on our last airplane journey?)  They recommended putting tubes in his ears (a bilateral myringotomy) to relieve pressure.  With the tubes he would not be allowed to get water in his ears, BUT they could custom-make ear plugs for the water.  I signed the surgical paperwork and scheduled the procedure.

A reminder to dress warmly because the waiting room is cold appeared in two different places in the paperwork.  They also let me know this in person.  So at 6:30 am the following Wednesday I arrived at the surgical clinic, layered in t-shirt and fleece, my kids in t-shirts, sweatshirts, long pants, and socks.  All of the elderly patients and their families sat in the waiting room in their winter jackets and shivered.  We undressed, because we have Boston blood.  Seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit is apparently frigid to true Floridians.

Prepping your child for surgery in the operating room is not easy.  My job was to keep him calm while they swaddled him tightly, pressed adhesive sensors and connected wires all over his body, and covered his face with a gas mask which caused him to scream until his eyes rolled into his head with anesthesia-induced sleep.  It left me trembling all over.  I sat in the warm waiting room with my daughter for an incredibly long 15 minutes.

The nurse retrieved me when they were done.  I was impatient to get to my son, but she kept me out of the recovery room, trying to tell me what to expect when she opened the door.  "It's normal for kids to cry as they regain consciousness," she began.  I rushed into the room, to find a nurse struggling to hold my son.  His eyes were scrunched tightly closed; he was screaming and flailing and kicking and arching.  I ran to him, and held him against me while he fought me with every muscle of his being.  "It's okay, you're okay," I murmured over and over while squeezing him tightly.  My daughter sat in the stroller, soundlessly watching.

Finally my son opened his eyes, saw my face, and stopped howling.  He stilled, crying more quietly.  I snuggled him, praised him, and put him in the stroller.  "This is all very normal for kids post-surgery," the nurse reassured me.  He had bruises on his arms and legs from all the thrashing.  I was relieved it was over.

Two days later, my son woke up with his hair plastered to the side of his face.  Sticky gunk.  Thick yellow wax.  We went back to the ENT.  It wasn't wax.  It was PUS!  (insert retching sounds here) Our little boy had a terrible ear infection.  The doctor acted like everything was status quo.  "Does this happen often after getting tubes?" I asked.

"No," he admitted.  "This is not typical."  He prescribed a ten-day course of antibiotics and ear drops.

Two weeks later my son's ears were re-checked to be fine.  That was a week ago.  My son has been fussy this week, not wanting to be held, fighting every time we pick him up.  I took him to the pediatrician again today because again I saw him pulling on his ears.  She prescribed another course of antibiotics for this latest ear infection, and said that that it was a good thing he had the tubes or else he would be in a lot more pain.  She reminded me to call the Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor to let them know he has another ear infection.

I don't understand why our son continues to have ear infections after getting tubes.  I don't understand where all that fluid comes from since he wears his custom-made ear plugs every time he is near water.    Thankfully, my son is so sweet when it is time to take his medicine.  Although he doesn't like it, he allows us to give him ear drops three times each day.  And he willingly opens his mouth twice a day to swallow the liquid antibiotics.  I just wish it weren't so routine.