Ears, Nose, and Throat

Isaac got so tickled this morning when I told him in the car that we were going to visit a special doctor that knows everything there is to know about your ears, nose and throat. For some reason he found that just absolutely HILARIOUS!! LOL! Well, this special doctor told us that Isaac's tonsils and adenoids definitely need to come out and he will also get tubes in his ears at the same time. Isaac's tonsils and adenoids are significantly enlarged.....causing mouth breathing, snoring and sleep apnea. He also has fluid on both ears, which is likely there because his adenoids are so swollen that they are pushing on his eustachian tubes....not allowing his ears to drain. The fluid on his ears is affecting his hearing. He also had an audiologist check his hearing today.....he thought this was pretty cool! He said tonight at bedtime that he wanted to go back tomorrow and wear the ear muffs and push the button. :) Anyway, the audiologist determined that neither of his ear drums is moving due to all of the fluid behind them. He has mild hearing loss in his right ear and moderate loss in his left. The good news is that they can also check the nerves in the ears that actually do the hearing........the nerves are in the normal range, meaning that it's the fluid that is causing the problem and once the fluid is gone it should open up a whole new world for my boy! :) For now, what he is hearing is like being under water. :( So imagine what all of this does to the speech! He can't hear the sounds well in the first place......and then to try to produce the sounds that he is not hearing so well with all of that swelling going on in his throat and nasal cavity........well, let's just say it's not good. POOR BABY!

So, we are glad to know what the problem is.....and that removing the tonsils and adenoids and inserting the tubes in his ears should improve things immensely! I will be even happier when the surgery is behind us!! As a Mom, I just will feel soooooooooo much better when it's over! We will not know the actual surgery date for another week or so. It will be an outpatient surgery.

Btw, Isaac has had very few ear infections in his life and has never had tonsilitis. The enlargement has likely been going on for some time......my guess would be between 6 to 12 months or so. It just took us a bit to put it all together. He had a cold about 3 months ago....no fever or anything, which made the situation even worse.

I will try to post some pictures from his birthday tomorrow.

Love,
Wendy