He can hear me now.

Everything went exactly as it was supposed to.

His adenoids were "surprisingly large" and the incredible amount of fluid in his ears was hiding a double ear infection. Which could explain the random fevers and total emotional breakdowns over the most benign issues.

When I walked in after a school field trip he said, "It's like someone put microphones in my ears!"

I felt like crying.

Poor dude has been feeling like crap and didn't even know it wasn't normal....maybe he thought everyone was supposed to sound as if they were talking under water.

Comments

[mcniel]

Hooray for Max!!!

[De in D.C.]

I'm so glad he's doing well! I hope this is the last time he needs tubes inserted. I think school will be a lot more enjoyable for the next few weeks.

[Jaycee]

What a relief. I'm so happy for the little guy!

[Sara]

So happy to read this. Glad he is well now!

[Jaap]

That is exactly what Feline had as well. Except for the infection, it never progressed to that. The first time she flushed the toilet after the surgery, she ran anyway to escape the noise ;)

[MelissaS]

Get out! He just came out of the bathroom and said, "I don't want to flush the toilet anymore. It's too loud."

[car]

I understand about feeling like crying. The first time I took my son to the ENT, prior to his first set of tubes at eight months, the Dr. very kindly pointed out that my son was a very happy child. Followed by the comment, "He really should not be so cheerful, with all of the fluid in his ears, he has just gotten used to feeling this way." Thanks Doc! Appreciate it!

[Amethyst]

Wow. I'm really glad for him! I'm really glad for you, too. This is a big deal as I'm pretty, um, harsh(?) when it comes to small children.

[bigpikchur]

That is just fantastic news! YAY for Max!
Jules
House of Jules

[Kristabella]

That is GREAT news! Yay Max! He must feel like he just won the lottery!

[Alireads]

Poor dear. But really, you had no idea. Cheers to some rest and recovery for the brave man!

[hamiltonmka]

Coming out of lurkdom here to say I'm so glad the surgery went well! My daughter is 8 and next month will have her 3rd ear tube surgery. It always amazes me how bad their hearing or ear problem is when you see how much better it is after the surgery. The first ear tube surgery, as we were driving home in the rain, my daughter asked "what's that noise on top of the car?" She could now hear rain drops on the car now that all the yuck was out of her ears and the tubes were in.

Can I ask why they removed the adenoids? I'm wondering if we should consider it too - this being our 3rd time with ear tubes.

Any way - glad all went well!

Kelly H

[MelissaS]

The doctor suggested it because they were large (they didn't realize how large until they were in there).

They can do a few things: put pressure on the ear canal, making it more likely to the fluid in their ears won't drain. They can make it difficult to breathe, especially at night, Max snored and was a mouth breather especially at night.

Maddie had hers removed as a baby because of chronic sinus infections. She hasn't had one since.

[jkopftwins]

That's so good! So glad it all went well and is over.

[Katie]

I'm glad to hear it went so well. Having my tonsils and adenoids out was one of the best things in my life, it's nice to not have constant ear infections (seriously constant, every from age 7 to 12).

[mkdaugherty]

I had my adenoids removed and tubes put in (for the 3rd time) when I was 10 - I also had the 'what is that maddening sound?' reaction to the rain outside; that 3rd set of tubes didn't "fall out" like they were supposed to and the tissue from my eardrum grew around them. So, at 15, I had surgery - ear drums had to be cut and patched with skin from my ear lobes, then cotton packed into my ear canals - you can't stitch ear drums - which then had to be sucked out regularly and replaced. Yowch! Anyway - keep an eye on that little boy so he doesn't have to get cotton sucked out of his head. It's not fun. :0

[Angela]

I'm so glad to hear that Max is doing so much better!!

[Maggie]

Oh, yay for Max! I had no idea adenoid removal alone was such a fast thing. My four year old is still recovering from his surgery last Friday but already he's a totally different kid - he can hear and sleep now.

[Yak]

Hey there -- congrats on Max's newly keen sense of hearing. My eldest daughter Sarah had a tube put in one ear at age 5 and noticed the difference right away.

I have a question: did Max get his tonsils out as well as adenoids? And why did the docs decide they needed to come out? Sarah has always had huge tonsils but they never said she should have them removed because she didn't have recurrent infections or snoring. but now her dentist says she's a mouth breather and needs to have the tonsils out for proper dental development. Just looking for other parents' experiences with their kids' tonsils/adenoids. (BTW she will see the ENT in three weeks to make the final call.)

[Heather]

Nice to hear that all went well. Speedy recovery wishes to all.

[Steve J]

We've been going around and around with constant ear infections for our son or a while. Most recently it was combined with an acute sinus infection that was difficult to resolve due to his large adenoids. He could barely walk up a flight of stairs his breathing was so screwed up.

Now that's all resolved, and we're thinking about yanking those adenoids. Glad to hear it went well!

[Indigo]

I know exactly how you feel. I took my daughter to the pediatrician in Winter-Spring 2007 because she was complaining that her eyes hurt and there was something in them. The ped. said there was nothing there and that her eyes were probably dry from the cold air, she recommended I put a humidifier in her bedroom. On Dec. 28th, 2007 the whole family went in for eye exams, and it turns out that she's had a full blown viral eye infection in her eyes that shows signs of being there for MONTHS! In pediatrian's defense, the eye dr said she could not have caught the infection using just one of those hand held scopes, but I still feel terrible about it.

I hope your son feels better soon!

[Susan]

I felt the same way when we realized that Henry totally couldn't see and needed glasses.

And then I felt the same way AGAIN two years later when we found out Charlie was nearly blind in one eye.

Sheesh.

[brie]

We went through this too and never looked back. Glad it worked out well!