Ear tube surgery - what to ask your doctor
What to ask your doctor about ear tube surgery; Tympanostomy - what to ask your doctor; Myringotomy - what to ask your doctor
Your child is being evaluated for ear tube insertion. This is the placement of tubes in your child's eardrums. It is done to allow fluid behind your child's eardrums to drain or to prevent infection. This can help your child's ears work better.
Below are some questions you may want to ask your child's health care provider to help you take care of your child's ears.
If your child gets a lot of ear infections, he may need to have surgery. Let's talk about ear tube insertion. So, why does my child need ear tube surgery? Your child has been having ear infections, probably for a long time, and they either won't go away or they keep coming back. If your child doesn't have ear tube surgery, there's a chance he will lose some hearing or have other long-term ear problems. Once a decision to have surgery has been made, it's good to know what happens during the surgery. Your child will be given general anesthesia. He'll be unconscious and unable to feel pain. The surgeon will make a small cut in your child's eardrum and remove any fluid behind it. Once the fluid is removed, the surgeon will place a small tube through the eardrum. The tube will allow air to flow inward. This keeps the pressure the same on both sides of the eardrum, while letting any fluid still behind the eardrum flow out. Your child will probably go home the same day as surgery. He'll probably be fussy and groggy while the anesthesia wears off. On your way home, you may need to stop at the drug store to pick up antibiotic drops to use in your child's ears for the first few days after surgery. The cut in your child's eardrum will heal on its own, and the tube will eventually fall out. Your child will be able to return to his normal activities shortly. But some doctors may recommend that your child use earplugs when he swims or bathes, to keep water out of his ears. After a child has ear tube surgery, he will usually have fewer ear infections. And if he does have an ear infection, he will usually recover faster than he used to.
Questions
Why does my child need ear tubes?
Can we try other treatments? What are the risks of the surgery?
Is it safe to wait before getting ear tubes?
- Will it harm my child's ears if we wait longer before putting in tubes?
- Will my child still learn to speak and read if we wait longer before putting in tubes?
What type of anesthesia will my child need? Will my child feel any pain? What are the risks of anesthesia?
How long will the tubes stay in? How do the tubes come out? Do the holes where the tubes are placed close up?
Will my child still have ear infections while the tubes are in place? Will my child have ear infections again after the ear tubes come out?
Can my child swim or get the ears wet with tubes in?
When will my child need to follow up after surgery?
So your child's had ear tube surgery. What do you need to know when going home? I'm Dr. Alan Greene. I'd like to discuss with you some tips for right after ear tube surgery. First of all, what can you expect after the surgery? Usually because there had been fluid in the ear, hearing will improve right away. In fact, maybe so much so their ears are little sensitive for the first day. There may also be a low grade temperature 99, 100 degrees for a couple of days and it's not unusual at all to have some discharge out of the tubes for 2 or 3 days. The discharge may be clear, bloody, pink, maybe yellow, but some discharge is okay. What kind of care does your child need? Often your doctor will prescribe some pain medications that you want to be sure and give regularly. They work better if given around the clock for the first 2 or 3 days rather than just when the child complains of pain. And your doctor may also prescribe some antibiotic ear drops to help prevent infections. When should you call your doctor back? You'll want to call your doctor if there are signs of an infection developing. Usually you'd see a yellowish, greenish, pussy kind of discharge coming from the ear or a foul smell from the ear. Or your child getting more of a fever or a fever lasting longer than we've discussed. In terms of activity, your child can pretty much do what they feel like. Great activity will not dislodge the tube from the ears. It's not anything you have to be ginger or careful about. But you do want to ask your doctor about whether ear plugs are needed. For some types of ear tubes and some types of activities, they may recommend ear plugs if your child is going to be in the water. For many kids, maybe even most kids, they won't need that. It's also worth knowing that the ear tubes will most likely come out on their own. Usually somewhere between 6 and 12 months or so. And when they do come out, within about 2 weeks the eardrum will spontaneously heal and hopefully just go right on from there. Ear tubes are not expected to eliminate all ear infections, but they hopefully will make your child's ear infections less common and milder and easier to treat when they are present. The first little bit afterwards you do want to avoid harshly blowing the nose because it's a little tender in there, but you don't need to be ginger in any other way than that. Hopefully this will get you through the next few days until you check back in with your physician.
References
Chi DH, Tobey A. Otolaryngology. In: Zitelli BJ, McIntire SC, Nowalk AJ, Garrison J, eds. Zitelli and Davis' Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 24.
Schilder AGM, Rosenfeld RM, Venekamp RP. Acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion. In: Lesperance MM, ed. Cummings Pediatric Otolaryngology. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 15.
Kerschner JE, Preciado D. Otitis media. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, Shah SS, Tasker RC, Wilson KM, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 21st ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 658.
Version Info
Last reviewed on: 10/22/2022
Reviewed by: Charles I. Schwartz MD, FAAP, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, General Pediatrician at PennCare for Kids, Phoenixville, PA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
