FOX23 Community

As my wife and I have been happilly married for 17 years, and homeschool both our 16 year old son and 14 year old daughter, we've encountered more than our fair share of ear infections when both were babies. My son almost lost his hearing from the failure of a pediatrician to send him to an ear-nose-throat (ENT) specialist when he was just 4 months old. Finally, at 8 months old, a pediatrician who was from Israel finally decided my son had had enough of antibiotics and decided to get him a much needed referral (we had an HMO at the time) to an ENT. By the time the myringotomy was scheduled my son was not responding to even the basic sounds. The ENT came to us after the surgery and said the fluid was so caustic it began eating away at his eardrum. This ENT, from Bucks County, PA, saved my son's hearing. Granted, he was 4 months late learning to talk, but, he made steady progress. The key thing is: Trust you instincts as a mother and if your child has had 1 to 2 prescription's full of antibiotics for any given ear infection, get the child to an ENT. My cousin's son lost his hearing althogether because of a physician's failure to send him to an ENT. Tubes would have saved him from going deaf. Infections come and go, but, as the Health reporter, you already know the importance of washing your hands so I won't lecture you on that one! :)