Glue ear & waiting for gromits

I would like to hear some experiences of glue ear, gromits and getting the operation.
In Apr my 4yr old son had bad glue ear in one ear but was ok when using both ears. In Aug he had bad glue ear in both ears, so classified as moderate hearing loss and it is often noticeable when trying to have a conversation; I'm having to speak loudly. He's just started school. We were told he qualifies for gromits but not until he's re-tested around December time as it may get better on its own. If still bad they will apply for funding for the gromits.

I have lots of questions like how likely is it to get better on its own? Could he go back for a check-up sooner than Dec? I'm really worries he'll be missing out at school and in life. Has anyone had this done privately? I would love to hear some of your stories and experiences.

Hi there. We've been going through this with our 3 year old. He just had his third test today and is now going to have the operation. This will take about 3 months as they have to apply for funding. We have had frustrations with this as 3 successive appointments were cancelled by the hospital which meant we lost 5 months in the process. They do require 3 tests at 3 month intervals so you are pretty much looking at 1 year minimum to get the op from when you first go. We did get a private consultation and hearing test as we were worried by the delays. We saw Mrs Jardine at the Bath Clinic. She is the main doctor who does the ops for young children under the NHS too. It is annoying to have to pay but we felt it was worth it for peace of mind. Hope that helps. Good luck!

Thank you for taking the time to reply. What a long-winded process. Hope your son soon gets his operation and it goes well.

Hi there!
I have been through this with all three of my sons in the last two years and fully understand how frustrating it can be! Big issue we found was how the test results fluctuated during the year and each time we had two bad results (winter), we then had a spring result which was slightly improved and almost had to start the process from scratch with another three 'bad' results in a row in order to be on the list!
We did two ops through the NHS and one at The Circle Hospital (still the same NHS consultants) as we felt with that son we really couldn't afford to wait.
My top tips would be to get a teachers letter written ASAP saying your son is missing out on things in class and his development is being affected as a result. Also, Mrs Jardine suggested my GP write a letter as well to say how my son's speech and social development was being affected and please speed things up. Finally, you could get your son referred to St Martin's Speech and Language team, once he's in the system there things seem to move a lot faster!
I hope that helps

Hi There,

I've heard that craniosacral therapy or cranial osteopathy can help glue ear.

To quote from http://www.cranial.org.uk/page3.html:

"Unresolved birth compressions around the base of the skull and the ears can compromise drainage of the Eustachian (Auditory) Tube and leave the ears more vulnerable to recurrent infections and glue ear."

Cranial osteopathy or craniosacral therapy can help glue ear by releasing any cranial compressions, (usually caused from the birth), to be released then resulting in easing off of the symptoms of the glue ear. Both craniosacral therapy and cranial osteopathy are such a gentle relaxing non-invasive therapies and maybe worth trying before grommits used, as you may find this is not necessary after all if the cranial work has the desired effect.

To find a craniosacral therapist try: www.craniosacral.co.uk

I see a craniosacral therapist, who I can personally recommend in Bath. I don't see her for glue ear but I'm sure she'd be happy to have a chat to you over the phone first to see if she can help you: Elise Parsons: 07747 691484

Best of luck

Helen