How long is max wait from GP referral to grommets (glue ear treatment)?

[StarlightMcKenzie]

Is it 18 weeks?

Or is it 18 weeks to see the ENT and then another 18 weeks to get the grommets?

tia

[chocolatecakeystuff]

Think we waited about 6 months from initial referral to the op its self.

[StarlightMcKenzie]

Greer. Dd can't hear a thing. I have to really shout and then some. She's refusing to go to nursery.

[vjg13]

Does audiology show glue ear? An ENT referral shouldn't take too long in children. Once she has bern referred, phone the consultant's secretary to find out the waiting time for the first consultation and at that appointment they should be able to tell you when the op is?

Would you also consider temporary hearing aids as a treatment?

[starlightmckenzie]

The GP said she had glue ear when she told him that animals had crawled in them and she can hear them.

I wouldn't be happy with hearing aids as a treatment no, but if the waiting list is going to take any time at all, then I would really be keen to have them while we are waiting. She can't not go to nursery for the rest of the year and she is VERY distressed at going as she says she can't hear the teacher and is worried about getting in trouble and also she is quite heavily involved in 4yr old girl friendship politics and says that people aren't playing with her because they get fed up of her asking what they said.

[starlightmckenzie]

My ds was referred at the same time, and he had his grommets in on Monday.

She hasn't even got an appointment with the ENT yet, and she is far worse than DS was (who was dx with significant hearing loss).

[chocolatecakeystuff]

You need to see ent for a full diagnosis.

Nursey need to put things in place to accommodate your dd. Its discrimination... howd you think it is for a deaf child! The other children have to be educated.

Hearing aids aren't really a good tempory option.

A they're very expensive & take a long time to get

B the amplification of hearing aids damages the ear drum. Fine for a child who's already going to have to wear them. Not so fine for something so easily recified.

[greencybermummy]

OP look o the NDCS website, there is some good info about glue ear (I think you have to join site but it's free). They will have info about how your child's setting can help your child.
Actually hearing aids are an option that is being used by more and more ENT consultants at the moment. The quality of the aids is much improved and they are digital and can be programmed specifically to your child. Do not discount them as a good option.
Your child's setting should be able to seek advice from their Early Years advisors and should be working with you to help your child. There is loads of info on line that they could access - have you spoken to the SENCO in the setting?

[Uppermid]

Star, sorry to butt in on this thread, but not sure how to send pm and just wanted to let you know that not everyone was against you on "that" thread. I think people were being very unfair on you and downright nasty.

Anyway, just wanted to give you some support and hope the your ds is ok

[starlightmckenzie]

Uppermid,

Thank you for your message here and your support on the thread. I didn't want to say it there because I didn't want, nor expect you to feel you were on a 'side'.

I really appreciated it though. You didn't have to enter what turned out to be a fairly unpleasant hoo ha!

I left the thread because I don't think much of the arguments against my posts were anything to do with the OP or the issue but something else entirely, of which I am unsure, but clearly someone somewhere is very upset about something I may have once said (though many posts reporting things I have said weren't actually me anyway, so it might not have even been me that upset them).

It wasn't me that reported it though, but I have sent a message to Helen now.

Thanks again.

[starlightmckenzie]

chocolate, the thing is the nursery say that she is fine. She is saying she isn't.
She's only 4. Her opinion matters not when a practitioner says differently.

She's a Sept birthday and so fairly ahead of the other children anyway, which is probably why they say she is fine.

Thank you green. I know grommets. I like grommets. They work (when the don't fall out). One of the things that bothers dd the most is the 'animals in her ears'. She hears the fluid. She gets very upset some nights.

[starlightmckenzie]

However, in any case, I don't even have an appointment to see the ENT yet.

[Uppermid]

You're welcome, I'm glad someone reported it, I was going to! There were other voices of support too. Take care

[CaseyShraeger]

Overall using watchful waiting and hearing aids does have better long-term outcomes than grommets in the majority of cases -- see //www.royalsurrey.nhs.uk/Default.aspx?DN=0dd701b5-5da7-4302-8c48-f89f0c749964.

Cakey, do you have a source for that "amplification of hearing aids damages the ear drum" point? A bone conduction hearing aid (which doesn't send the sound through the ear drum at all) would be better for glue ear than a BTE aid in the first place, and a correctly adjusted aid shouldn't damage anything (IME they are pretty paranoid about not having the amplification turned up too high, although that may vary from one audiology department to another), whereas a grommet by definition involves putting a hole in the ear drum with attendant risks. And loud noises tend to damage the cochlea rather than the ear drum.

[starlightmckenzie]

Thanks for the link Casey. I'll read in a sec.

I doubt the ENT, when the eventually see dd will do anything other than refer for grommets.

There is also a risk to hearing of NOT inserting grommets iirc. Glue ear can also cause permenant hearing loss. Consultant took one brief look at ds' ears, looked started and referred him for urget grommets. He was referred at the same time as dd, but because he is over 5, and she is under 5, the referral pathway was different. Her hearing is far far worse than ds', and he had his operation on Monday.

[CaseyShraeger]

I certainly don't think grommets are a bad idea in all cases -- DD2 has a referral for a grommet in her good ear at the moment and we agreed with her consultant that it was the best plan in her case, because she's just falling further and further behind on language development.