Grace and Ears

I believe I mentioned Grace's ears at her 12 month wellness. It was the third time her pediatrician mentioned "watching her ears" in the event she got an ear infection. I brought it up and he sent us to a specialist, ENT doctor. We saw one doctor and I didn't care for him, so we sought out a second opinion.

I'm ready for the doctor.

And we're waiting for the doctor...

And we're still waiting...

The second doctor confirmed the issue, but we preferred his way over the last doctor. She needs tubes in both her ears.

She's never had a fever. She's never had an ear infection. But I guess when she's had colds in the past, the mucus can slide down the eustachian tube (which for young children is completely horizontal from eardrum to nose, and as we grow becomes more diagonal - hence why adults don't usually have ear issues like children) and sits behind the eardrum getting stuck. The stuck fluid makes her ability to hear a little more difficult - like being under water. Though I never notice having to raise my voice for her to hear me and she's saying words like: No, thank you, night night, bye bye, hi there, mama, dada. The doctor said we could remove the mucus and not insert tubes, but the fluid might return then we'd be back to square 1. This is such a critical age in learning to speak that we don't want to hinder her at all, and so the procedure is super easy (15 minutes), in and out.

Miss Grace is scheduled for surgery in early December. Quite a bummer, but at least it's nothing too major. As she grows the tubes will fall out (in around 6-12 months depending on her growth) and the eustachian tube grows larger making it harder for fluid to get stuck. She should be good to go.

Always smiling! She'll do great!