[manmal]

My son had adenoids removed last year because his hearing was VERY bad because of some kind of mucus blockage. Doctors explained to us that he would hear perfectly without the adenoids, because inner ear measurements were very good.

So during the OP they cut away the adenoids, and made a hole into each eardrum, so fluids could exit. After the OP his hearing was so good that he told us not to scream at him when we barely whispered - for 2 weeks. As soon as the holes in the eardrums healed up, the blockage developed again and his hearing was exactly the same as before the OP.

We tried alternative treatments for a year, strange juices with corticosteroids and stuff (which worked well for his hearing, but he couldn't really sleep while on them), near-infrared radiation through the nose (our favorite so far, but does not work that well because adenoids are too far in)... so he's soon have his second OP where they will likely remove adenoids again (they regrow sometimes) and insert little tubes into his eardrums such that fluids can regularly exit the ears.

Distant relatives of mine have the same issue, but worse (delayed speech development due to near-deafness), and for them the OP worked for 1,5 years and now its positive effects are going away; perhaps requiring another OP.

I'm not thrilled about all this.

BTW here is advice a very expensive doc gave me regarding hearing and speech development: If your kid understands what you are saying while you whisper from a distance of ~1 meter, then her speech development should not be negatively affected, or not that much.

[darkerside]

Sorry to hear you're going through this. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be. Are you concerned about side effects from all these interventions? Do you have a hypothetical point at which you would simply choose to accept your child's hearing impairment?

[manmal]

I'm trying to be a stoic, and I will deliberately try to accept anything that I cannot influence in this very moment. Approaching medial issues, I think that the only thing you have to accept (until your death) is that your previous attempts at improving have failed; so as long my son's hearing is not good, I'll keep on looking for things to try out. There are time and cost constraints of course; sometimes I go for weeks without researching anything to improve the situation. But the motivation to do something returns naturally when he's in pain again, or is misbehaving very badly because of this.

[darkerside]

My heart breaks for you. Wishing you the best.

[nitzle]

Reading your comment made me want to share my own experience--I had the same issues/surgeries as your son when I was a kid. Was very blocked up/nasally all the time and prone to ear infections, had some problems hearing, breathing, etc. Except in my case, when they removed my adenoids they also put the tubes in my ears on the first surgery, and I didn't have any follow-up operations. Not sure why they didn't use the tubes on your son the first time, but in my case I think it helped in the long run.

Initially I experienced the same effect on my hearing--everything was unbelievably loud to me all of the sudden. I asked everyone to quiet down, the TV was always too loud, the phone ringing scared the crap out of me. Eventually, I adjusted and it didn't seem so bad. I'm not sure if my actual hearing got less sensitive or if I just "got used to it", neurologically or otherwise.

However, I can tell you that to this day I still have a pretty bad sensitivity to noise. Don't get me wrong, it's not nearly as bad as it was right after the surgery, but I sometimes feel like I can hear people whispering from across the room. Certain noises (especially high-pitched ones) seem to bother me way more than other people. I have been accused many, many times of having a ridiculously low speaking voice (I think these are somehow related). Like my overly-sensitive hearing made me think I was speaking much louder than I really was--or that everyone else's hearing just sucked. I still haven't figured that one out, I might just be a low-talker for unrelated reasons :).

Anyway, I do think this surgery had significant long-term effects, and oddly enough, some days it seems like my emotional state plays a big role. If I'm feeling really upset about something, all the external noises of the world seem that much louder. I get overwhelmed and even angry and feel the urge to tell everyone to shut up. I think this is exacerbated somewhat by living in a busy city in a poorly sound-proofed apartment.

Even with the side-effects, I do think I'm better off having had the tubes/adenoids removed because I no longer have the constant feeling of being stuffed up, or the painful ear infections along with hearing loss and breathing difficulty. Though I admit some days, I wish I didn't hear so damn much, but I'm trying to just find a more peaceful living space to cope. I do wonder if there were better treatment paths, especially given this study and the other comments I'm seeing in this thread!

[dade_]

Just anecdotal, but I think this simple study supports the idea that it is worth exploring the cause of non-critical health issues before we start slicing and cutting.

I grew up with the worst ear infections. Tonsils were removed, and various drugs and treatments. I even needed a speech therapist because of hearing problems that were caused. My family doctor was very opposed to putting holes in the eardrums though, so they didn't try that.

I continued to get ear infections regularly until I left home, but I didn't really realize the stopped. About 8 years later I had another one, and finally isolated it to whey protein (protein supplement started using when going to the gym).

It has now been another 10 years without an ear infection.

[manmal]

Funnily, I have the same reaction to whey protein, and also if I eat very (!) large amounts of swiss cheese or even joghurt. I anecdotally found out that drinking a small amount of apple cider vinegar mostly resolves my stuffy ears after that. Forgot to mention that I also had my adenoids removed as a kid.

[st26]

So are his eustachian tubes chronically obstructed?

My younger brother had chronic ear infections as a kid, and as best I know he basically had tubes in his eardrums for a while, and then when he was older his eustachian tubes started draining more reliabily. He's been fine since.

[manmal]

Docs did not tell me what exactly is obstructed - yes they said he might soon be fine without an operation because his head will grow.

[st26]

In that case, it sounds possibly similar. Tubes are pretty non-invasive, although they can come out which is annoying and you have to wear earplugs when you swim.

[downrightmike]

I had tubes put in my ears when I was little for drainage. Eventually they were removed and I don't have the problems.

[manmal]

Did they only put in the tubes, or also take out the adenoids?

[downrightmike]

Just tubes in.