Thanks for your patience!
As you may have read, Gwyneth had an appointment with a pediatric ENT last week. After two of her hearing screens showed some hearing loss in her ears. We've assumed that it was caused by fluid behind her eardrum, but it was good to finally get the official diagnosis. Fluid in the middle ear is very common among children, and especially preemies because their bodies were not given adequate time to develop in the womb.
We have noticed that Gwyneth has difficulty hearing certain pitches, and we're pretty certain that her muffled hearing is stunting her development. Fortunately, she has not experienced any ear infections.
So, Gwyneth will have tubes placed in both ears to help relieve the pressure and drain the fluid. We have another ophthalmology appointment for her tomorrow, and we're assuming that she will need another corrective eye surgery. What we're really hoping for is to have both surgeries scheduled on the same day (probably in October) so that we can kill two birds with one stone.
Again, we're excited about the possibilities of helping Gwyneth to grow and develop.
Thanks!
Nate
After everything you guys have been through, ear tubes are a BREEZE! We have 2 sons...our older son is on his thrid set and our younger son still his first (and hopefully ONLY). Keeping you all in our prayers!!!! The tubes will make such a difference for her.
ReplyDeleteTubes rock!! They are a breeze and work wonders! What developmental goals do you hope the tubes will help with?
ReplyDeleteI am so glad she is getting tubes. not for the surgery itself, because nobody WANTS their baby to have surgery...but for the gift of hearing.
ReplyDeleteOur former 26 weeker had tubes placed at 18 months because of constant infections. He is now almost 2 and though we have a language delay, he is doing what preemies do and catching up. Good luck to you and your family. If anyone suggests speech therapy, take it!!! It has helped our little guy SO much!!
Cool - a minor procedure that will make a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteHope you're throat isn't worse today. Scabs? :-(
Hoping you have a speedy recover - speedy meaning whatever it takes, but that you aren't too miserable.
Love to all.
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ReplyDeletei've never posted, but i have followed your blog since last feb. our son had tubes at 15 months. around 18 months he started speech. what a difference they both made!!! the speech path explained that with the fluid in his ears, he was hearing us as though he was under water. so he would mimic vowel sounds, but had trouble with consonants. 3 months of speech and now we can't get him to stop talking!!! vocabulary-wise, he is ahead now being 3!! i agree with "ski"...definitely take up any offers for speech! i can't wait for your little girl to start talking your ears off!!!!
ReplyDeleteour 19month old, also a preemie just had tubes place in June, after having 10 ear infections in a 4 1/2 month period. He never showed any hearing loss, however after surgery he woud jump at loud noises that had been muffeled before. He is speech delayd but has a therapist working on that with him. Tubes were the best thing we could have done. we'll be praying gweynth's surgery will be just as succesful.
ReplyDeleteYay for tubes! I will also be praying specifically for everything to work out with scheduling, assuming she will have both procedures.
ReplyDeleteAnd ear tube surgery is a piece of cake!! 3 of my 5 have had tubes put in and although I know Gwyneth needs them for different reasons, the tubes made a huge difference for my kids! Glad it was an easy diagnosis!
ReplyDeleteGood for Gwyneth -- tubes work wonders and should help her immensely. My youngest son had tubes in his ears and after about 6 months things were great and he never had any problems after! Good luck and I hope they can do everything on the same day!
ReplyDeleteGlad it's nothing more serious! I've done the hearing aid thing, and they're great when they work, but kind of a pain when they don't.
ReplyDeleteMy own children had that done and after the tubes were place my son could hear and went from active to wild. He love to bang on things just to hear the sounds. I have prayed and prayed for you all for the last few years. Barb from Virginia
ReplyDeletejust wanted to tell you, my son was told one more infection and he would need tubes, we didn't want to do it, so we searched for alternatives. i actually started taking him to my chiropractor, whom we love and trust, and he did small adjustments (no cracking, etc like you usually think of). all i know is my son never had another ear infection it's been well over a year, and didn't need tubes!
ReplyDeleteI hear tubes are a breeze to go thru. (we've had multi friends that their child has had them done) My hubby had 3 sets as a child and never had a problem until adulthood because his parents didn't keep following up (but we know you guys are different!!). keeping you in our prayers
ReplyDeleteMy grandson Owen just had tubes in his ears in June along with a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. What a huge difference. Poor guy wasnt hearing much at all and now his speech has just taken off. I'll be keeping Gwyneth in my prayers as usual.
ReplyDeleteYou are such wonderful parents!! And any procedure that our children face is tough for parents. We will lift you up in prayer and we know from experience the reliefe she may well feel once she has those tubes. Our youngest did so much better after her tubes were in.
ReplyDeleteMy youngest had tubes at 9 months. She was in and out in less than 10 minutes and was back to her normal self in 2 hours. Good luck with the procedure.
ReplyDeleteA friend's son had tubes installed late last year. His vocabulary has exploded since then. Hope all goes well and on the same day as you hope!
ReplyDeleteMy son Jonah had tubes put in.. A breeze.....
ReplyDeleteGood luck! Surgery is never fun but tubes are easy! I'm sure the tubes will help her right away. My son had them and we noticed a difference immediately.
ReplyDeleteShe seems to be developing fabulously (not sure if that is a word). Hopefully the ear and eye issues can be solved so she doesn't experience pain or setbacks. She is such a gift! Sooooo gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteMy son had 2 sets of ear tubes, everything went great. His language took off after he had them, the funny thing was almost instantly ppl started telling me they could understand his words better. It didn't make much sense to me why that would be. I understood what he was saying before.
ReplyDeleteTubes are the best!! They make such a difference when the problem is fluid in the ears. We are on our 4th set and they have helped so much. Now the 2nd set only lasted 2 weeks because she pulled one out with a stray q-tip - but other than that little problem such an easy fix and big help!!
ReplyDeletePraying for the best for you guys!
My daughter had tubes put in when she was 2 due to constant ear infections and they were such a blessing. Even though I was not wanting her to have surgery, it was the best thing for her! Keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.
ReplyDeleteOur 2nd daughter didn't talk much until she had tubes put in when she was 18 months. Then she wouldn't stop talking:O)
ReplyDeleteMy girls have had a total of 14 sets of tubes between the 2 of them (Bridget 8 and Molly 6) and it was the best decision we ever made. Having the surgery done earlier will help with speech down the road. My Bridget was nearly 3 before she had her 1st set of tubes placed and it took her a lot longer to catch up with her speech. Molly on the other hand had her 1st set up tubes at 9 months and is doing great!!! :)
ReplyDeleteMegan
I'm excited for Gwyneth. I've only recently chanced upon your blog because my nephew also seems to be having difficulty with his hearing. He'd often get ear infections and my cousin only recently realized that he's not hearing very well. His speech is also not developing as well as should be. I'll tell my cousin to discuss tubes as well with the pediatric ENT on their next visit.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
you guys look great!
ReplyDelete