Guest guest Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 In a message dated 12/28/2003 11:45:17 PM Eastern Standard Time, karencs@... writes: > Also, does anyone have a good solution for dealing with wax? I > didn't realize it was possible to generate as much as he seems to. > He last had his ears cleaned out (by an ENT) 2 weeks ago, and when > we had him at the DR this weekend his eardrum wasn't visible on the > uninfected side. Given that he has hearing loss already, i'm > concerned that extra waxy buildup could make it even worse. When we > first got him home and had his ears cleaned, his hearing seemed to > improve a bit. > > I think that's enough rambling for one post ;-) > > > K. > > Talk to your pediatrican, ENT or audiologist about what they recommend. I'm always hesitant to try something new with Ian's ears unless I check with the doctor. You mentioned a perforation, and pouring water/medication onto a perforated eardrum can cause more problems. Our son is now 13 and we had a period of time when he seemed to generate a ton of wax (we called him our " candle factory " ) Our ENT suggested over-the-counter ear drops for maintainence. Once a month we'd drip the drops into his ear canals, let them sit in there for the amount of time on the instructions (I forget the exact time) and then we'd flush out with lots of warm water. We did it for three evenings in a row. The first night not much would come out, but by the third, it had softened the wax up so that it would come out in clumps. Yuck, ick, and all that, but it worked. He would lay down on the couch and I'd put in the drops, and he'd watch tv with the captions on while his ears soaked. Now he does not seem to generate wax the way he did a few years ago, so every few months we do the routine just to keep them clean. Sometimes he'll say that his ears itch and that is his sign that it's time to " soak my ears. " Simply soaking with warm water will soften up the wax and help to flush it out. Also, our son has a syndrome called Goldenhar and it involves hemifacial microsomia. We went to Montefiore in NYC because they are one of the best cranio-facial facilities in the Northeast. There is quite a collection of doctors there who are all very versed in such conditions. We'll have an orthodontist there seeing Ian this coming summer to decide about braces ... his jaw seems to be growing and evening out as he moves into puberty, so we're just waiting for now. Best of luck -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 In a message dated 12/28/2003 11:45:17 PM Eastern Standard Time, karencs@... writes: > Also, does anyone have a good solution for dealing with wax? I > didn't realize it was possible to generate as much as he seems to. > He last had his ears cleaned out (by an ENT) 2 weeks ago, and when > we had him at the DR this weekend his eardrum wasn't visible on the > uninfected side. Given that he has hearing loss already, i'm > concerned that extra waxy buildup could make it even worse. When we > first got him home and had his ears cleaned, his hearing seemed to > improve a bit. > > I think that's enough rambling for one post ;-) > > > K. > > Talk to your pediatrican, ENT or audiologist about what they recommend. I'm always hesitant to try something new with Ian's ears unless I check with the doctor. You mentioned a perforation, and pouring water/medication onto a perforated eardrum can cause more problems. Our son is now 13 and we had a period of time when he seemed to generate a ton of wax (we called him our " candle factory " ) Our ENT suggested over-the-counter ear drops for maintainence. Once a month we'd drip the drops into his ear canals, let them sit in there for the amount of time on the instructions (I forget the exact time) and then we'd flush out with lots of warm water. We did it for three evenings in a row. The first night not much would come out, but by the third, it had softened the wax up so that it would come out in clumps. Yuck, ick, and all that, but it worked. He would lay down on the couch and I'd put in the drops, and he'd watch tv with the captions on while his ears soaked. Now he does not seem to generate wax the way he did a few years ago, so every few months we do the routine just to keep them clean. Sometimes he'll say that his ears itch and that is his sign that it's time to " soak my ears. " Simply soaking with warm water will soften up the wax and help to flush it out. Also, our son has a syndrome called Goldenhar and it involves hemifacial microsomia. We went to Montefiore in NYC because they are one of the best cranio-facial facilities in the Northeast. There is quite a collection of doctors there who are all very versed in such conditions. We'll have an orthodontist there seeing Ian this coming summer to decide about braces ... his jaw seems to be growing and evening out as he moves into puberty, so we're just waiting for now. Best of luck -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 In a message dated 12/28/2003 11:45:17 PM Eastern Standard Time, karencs@... writes: > Also, does anyone have a good solution for dealing with wax? I > didn't realize it was possible to generate as much as he seems to. > He last had his ears cleaned out (by an ENT) 2 weeks ago, and when > we had him at the DR this weekend his eardrum wasn't visible on the > uninfected side. Given that he has hearing loss already, i'm > concerned that extra waxy buildup could make it even worse. When we > first got him home and had his ears cleaned, his hearing seemed to > improve a bit. > > I think that's enough rambling for one post ;-) > > > K. > > Talk to your pediatrican, ENT or audiologist about what they recommend. I'm always hesitant to try something new with Ian's ears unless I check with the doctor. You mentioned a perforation, and pouring water/medication onto a perforated eardrum can cause more problems. Our son is now 13 and we had a period of time when he seemed to generate a ton of wax (we called him our " candle factory " ) Our ENT suggested over-the-counter ear drops for maintainence. Once a month we'd drip the drops into his ear canals, let them sit in there for the amount of time on the instructions (I forget the exact time) and then we'd flush out with lots of warm water. We did it for three evenings in a row. The first night not much would come out, but by the third, it had softened the wax up so that it would come out in clumps. Yuck, ick, and all that, but it worked. He would lay down on the couch and I'd put in the drops, and he'd watch tv with the captions on while his ears soaked. Now he does not seem to generate wax the way he did a few years ago, so every few months we do the routine just to keep them clean. Sometimes he'll say that his ears itch and that is his sign that it's time to " soak my ears. " Simply soaking with warm water will soften up the wax and help to flush it out. Also, our son has a syndrome called Goldenhar and it involves hemifacial microsomia. We went to Montefiore in NYC because they are one of the best cranio-facial facilities in the Northeast. There is quite a collection of doctors there who are all very versed in such conditions. We'll have an orthodontist there seeing Ian this coming summer to decide about braces ... his jaw seems to be growing and evening out as he moves into puberty, so we're just waiting for now. Best of luck -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 Hi and Carl, Congratulations on your little guy from China! We adopted an infant from Viet Nam 10 years ago at the age of 4 months. He also had many ear infections that we didn't know he had for the first several months he was with us. Children from orphanages or internationally born children typically have built up huge pain tolerances so knowing they have a pain somewhere it is sometimes difficult to know because they don't show pain. Our son's ear infections gradually tapered off the longer he was here. I would suggest purchasing a good otoscope and taking a look at his ears yourself. Once you do that you will recongnize what doesn't look right and what looks normal. We have a cheap otoscope we purchased from Kmart that cost about $20, but I am sure you can get some better ones. Good luck! Hold that little guy all you can. I'd say that is just as important to do to build attachments as watching for his ear infections. I think the Asian kids are the most beautiful and most adorable race on this earth!! Tish . Any > tricks for recognizing the onset of an infection? We didn't realize > there was a problem until stuff started oozing out a few days after > he caught a cold. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 , It's nice to meet you, welcome to the group. I can understand your scramble for info. I think the biggest obsticle you are going to have to overcome right now is that he is three and the mixed language issues. Most children adopted from other countries pick up english fairly quickly, but you have another issue. It is harder for children with hearing loss to learn the sounds so picking up their own language is probably going to be delayed and picking up another one may take even longer. There is help though, it isn't helpless. Mild-Moderate is usually helped very well with hearing aids. Children have excelent progress usually. I think that sign is wonderful for any child with even just a speech delay because often it is easier to communicate with hands rather than their mouths since it takes longer to develop the motor skills of the mouth then the hand. I have a number of videos to help me learn. They have a video called " Sign With Me " It is a ph tape (he's the one who came out with baby signs) but this one is based on ASL rather than made up gestures. It is really entry level, but if you or your new little one don't know any sign it may be a good place to start. Right now my son who just turned 3 only knows thirsty, more and eat. He understands no but doesn't use it. He uses gestures as well and usually gets his point across but as far as signing we have had a really hard time, since he has had troubles with pressure on his head for most of his life. Prior to the last surgery he didn't understand visual signs and he only knew it if you took his hands and signed it. So we are really working with a clean slate. He is 3 but it's like he just woke up 6 months ago, so he is like a baby as far as learning communication, but he is so smart, he figures things out like you wouldn't believe, even though we are not able to instruct him with anything. Developmentally he is between 2-3 years, but speech and language is still at 6 months. Anyway we are working with a clean slate sort of like you. I do know more sign though, since I had some in collage, and we took an introductory course a while back at the school for the Deaf and Blind which will no longer offer their services to us. Anyway I think the important thing is to wait until the tubes are put in to really see where his hearing really is at and then get him some aids. At that point you can get him in with a really good speech therapist who works with HI kids. Getting some videos I would think are best as far as introducing sign goes just because it is hard to learn from a book unless you already know the basics. I also recommend a website called ASL University. They teach the basic signs as well as having a dictionary. Many words you will not find because they don't have multiple signs for the same meaning. For instance too isn't signed as too it is signed as also, and it takes a while to learn these, but for the time being learning a few and using them and then learning a few more will be just fine for all of you. Here's the website for the ASLU http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/concepts.htm I found this to be a wonderful resource, and still do since I still am not even an intermediate signer. Hang in there things will fall into place. One question is your son involved in Early Intervention? Another interesting finding is that I know another little girl who has cleft lip and cleft pallet with hearing loss. Children with cleft lip often have difficulty with pronunciation as well even after repair so it probably is a good idea to work on sign in addition to speech. another new to group Hi. We're and Carl and we just found out about this group. Our 3 yr old son has mild to moderate hearing loss in his best ear--- we're still in the process of having him evaluated so we don't know much more than that right now. He has some fluid on one side, and may need tubes. We just adopted him from China in October. We were told that he had a repaired cleft lip and palate, but that was a misdiagnosis. He has a repaired cleft lip, VPI, and hemifacial microsomia (basically, his face is assymetrical, with one side of his jaw much smaller than the other). We didn't realized we'd be dealing with hearing/speech issues initially, so now we're scrambling to figure out the best way to help him communicate (currently we're using a mix of mandarin, english, and a lot of hand gestures...) I'm interested in the ear infection thread as he is currently taking antibiotics for an ear infection that caused a perferation. Any tricks for recognizing the onset of an infection? We didn't realize there was a problem until stuff started oozing out a few days after he caught a cold. Also, does anyone have a good solution for dealing with wax? I didn't realize it was possible to generate as much as he seems to. He last had his ears cleaned out (by an ENT) 2 weeks ago, and when we had him at the DR this weekend his eardrum wasn't visible on the uninfected side. Given that he has hearing loss already, i'm concerned that extra waxy buildup could make it even worse. When we first got him home and had his ears cleaned, his hearing seemed to improve a bit. I think that's enough rambling for one post ;-) K. All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 I'm sorry I forgot to mention the symptoms of ear infection. Sometimes there is fever but usually by that time it has gotten out of hand, but often they will cry scream and pull at their ears or rub them. 's temples tend to swell as well when he has an ear infection. Unfortunately for us we usually don't find 's and they go untreated and undiagnosed and may be doing damage. I wouldn't necessarily want him on antibiotics though for a mild infection that doesn't cause any symptoms, but I would like to know he has one. The ear infections can cause damage to the ear. A bad one can but usually they are not at risk unless they are having many ear infections. I still haven't found a good way to treat ear wax we have issues with it, that is a good question for the ENT. Colds and ear infections can cause hearing to decrease during the duration of the cold or infection due to fluid in the ears, but once it is gone usually the hearing returnes back to normal, however in some cases it is perminantly damaged, or the fluid remains after the cold or ear infection is gone, in those cases tubes are needed and the hearing may return to normal or may not depending on how severe the loss was in the first place. Either way hearing usually improves after tubes are put in. Another thing to be aware of though is some antibiotics can cause or contribute to hearing loss, I assume they wouldn't put a child with an ear infection on one of those, but you never know so you might want to inquire about that. You most likely won't get an acurate test result until after the infection is gone though, so request that he be tested after the infection is taken care of. gets a lot of sinus infections, every time he gets a cold it progresses into an infection and doesn't go away on it's own, that is when we find out he also has an ear infection. has a problem with the sutures in his head closing and it just happens to be the first ones to close are the ones that are right over the sinuses so they suspect that has something to do with it. Either way he has a very high tollerance for pain since he has had a lot of it on a fairly regular basis since birth so usually we don't know when he has an infection. He is not able to communicate his pain. When we suspect pain we usually give him motrin and that usually helps. Re: another new to group Hi and Carl, Congratulations on your little guy from China! We adopted an infant from Viet Nam 10 years ago at the age of 4 months. He also had many ear infections that we didn't know he had for the first several months he was with us. Children from orphanages or internationally born children typically have built up huge pain tolerances so knowing they have a pain somewhere it is sometimes difficult to know because they don't show pain. Our son's ear infections gradually tapered off the longer he was here. I would suggest purchasing a good otoscope and taking a look at his ears yourself. Once you do that you will recongnize what doesn't look right and what looks normal. We have a cheap otoscope we purchased from Kmart that cost about $20, but I am sure you can get some better ones. Good luck! Hold that little guy all you can. I'd say that is just as important to do to build attachments as watching for his ear infections. I think the Asian kids are the most beautiful and most adorable race on this earth!! Tish . Any > tricks for recognizing the onset of an infection? We didn't realize > there was a problem until stuff started oozing out a few days after > he caught a cold. > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 Thx to everyone who responded to my newbie questions... Zak's ear infection is cleared up and he seems to be hearing better. We're going back to the ENT to get his ears cleaned again next week. I'll ask about long-term maintenance ideas. To add a response to another mail... the ASL University web pages are great. We've picked up a few more signs and Zak is learning them really quickly. It's a huge help considering that he tends to use the same couple of Mandarin words for pretty much everything. With signs it's much easier to tell what he's really trying to tell us. Our daughter, who doesn't have any hearing issues, is also signing a bit. Guess she doesn't want to feel left out. K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 I'm so glad it helped. It is great that your daughter also is using signs. I think she should considering she will need to be able to communicate with her new little brother. It is fun for children and good for them to sign as well even hearing babies. -- Re: another new to group Thx to everyone who responded to my newbie questions... Zak's ear infection is cleared up and he seems to be hearing better. We're going back to the ENT to get his ears cleaned again next week. I'll ask about long-term maintenance ideas. To add a response to another mail... the ASL University web pages are great. We've picked up a few more signs and Zak is learning them really quickly. It's a huge help considering that he tends to use the same couple of Mandarin words for pretty much everything. With signs it's much easier to tell what he's really trying to tell us. Our daughter, who doesn't have any hearing issues, is also signing a bit. Guess she doesn't want to feel left out. K. All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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