Ear tube problems

[laurasnowbird]

I'm wondering if anyone else has experience or knowledge about development of granulation tissue when our kids have tubes.

Ethan (3 years old) is on his second set of tubes, and a couple of weeks ago he began bleeding from his left ear. His ENT believes that he has formed granulation tissue around the tube. He couldn't see well because of all the dried blood, though. We are giving him Ciprodex drops twice a day, (it's a combination antibiotic and steroid to reduce inflammation) and seeing the doctor again on March 11th. The ENT has indicated that the tubes may need to come out.

Has anyone else experienced this, and is it common in kids with DS? Ethan experienced a huge leap in language acquisition after the insertion of the
tubes, so for that reason I would love for him to keep them if possible. Is there another tube, or a way to keep the tissue from forming?

[Debi]

Wow, Laura so sorry to hear Ethan is still having trouble with his ears.
To be honest I don't know about the granulation build up. I DO know that the ENTS will look at T-tubes if the child is over a certain age and the ear canals are a bit bigger.
The only thing I know of is when you go back to the doc ask about the T tubes and the risks/ benefits of waiting a bit if the tubes come out and you want them re inserted a bit down the road.
You can also have the "T & A" talk with your ENT... I do know that even if a kid does not have enlarged tonsils etc it still may be a good idea to lose them when the kid has DS.
Other than that Aunt Debu says: get well Ethan, RIGHT now

[meghans_mom]

Laura - MM is on her second set of tubes and we never had that same problem. The only time we saw bloody drainage from the ears was whenever she had an ear infection. But it wasn't a real blood looking thing, more of a mixed discharge.
We use Floxin (plain antibiotic similar to cipro) ear drops in her ears twice a week to keep them clean but I don't know if that has anything to do w/ keeping them free of granulation tissue.
hope you're able to find a solution for Ethan. hugs, laurie

[PaigesMom]

Paige has had 4 sets of ear tubes beginning at 15 months - she's 4. I have been told that it is unusual for them to fall out so quickly - that the average stay is between 12-18 months for a set of tubes. They mentioned to me that she has 'tissue' that grows behind the tube and actually pushes it out - I'm not sure if that is the same as granulation tissue.

We have had bloody discharge and have also been on Floxin drops - but this was also more like a mixed bloody discharge due to an infection.

Let us know if you find out anything. I will ask my ENT if it is the same thing, Paige goes back next week.

[Chris]

Laura,

Please keep us updated about Ethan's ears. My older daughter (typical) had chronic ear infections until we had her tonsils and adnoids removed when she was two. She is now 14 and has only had a few ear infections since the T & A. I know surgery is drastic but my daughter's health improved dramatically.

Sarah had tubes inserted last June and has already had one of them fall out. She has had two ear infections since her tubes. There was a bloody discharge with the first infection. This last infection looked like green snot (sorry for being gross!). She was treated with Floxin but it wasn't enough to kill the last infection and had to have an oral antibiotic also.

Sarah has had too many medical procedures and is very defensive when a doctor tries to examine her. The audiologist wasn't able to do a complete hearing test because Sarah went balistic when she was trying to insert the test thingy in her ears. She said her hearing appeared to be normal in at least one ear. Not very reassuring.

Chris

[Connie]

Laura,

Collin is 5 and we are getting ready to put his 5th set of tubes in. His only last 6-8 months. As far as the granulation goes Collin had that with the first set...it is a reaction to the plastic and we had to switch to titanium which he has tolorated well. You may ask you doctor about them.

Connie

[laurasnowbird]

Connie,

Thanks, that is great input. I was specifically wondering if he might react less to a tube made of a different material - you can bet I will mention the ones you talked about!

Chris- Ethan is quite defensive about his ears as well, and we were unable to get a good idea of his hearing ability. At 21 months, when his first set was put in, I asked his ENT to perform a sedated ABR while Ethan was anesthetized for the tubes. He had never done it like that before, but was able to arrange to have the equipment there, and the test performed, while Ethan was out. His ENT liked the idea so much that he is using it with other kids, because the kind of anesthesia they generally use with that hearing test is very light, and the results are sometimes compromised by the kids starting to waken before the test is done.