My child keeps getting ear infections. should she get tubes, eventhough my pediatrician wants to keep treating her with antibiotics?

Ear Infections/ Tube: Middle ear fluid can predispose to recurrent ear infection & hearing loss. Indications for placing ear tube are: persistent fluid in the middle ear (serous otitis media, som) not resolving after a 3-month period of clinical observation, persistent otitis media with effusion (ome) >= 3 mo, acute otitis media (aom) not responding to antibiotic treatment or complicated by mastoiditis, meningitis, etc.

May grow out of them: It is a guessing game sometimes when kids have ear infections. To tube or not? Increasing head size is the main solution but how long to wait? I go with 5 in a year or 1 that won't clear. As dr.Balogun stated the lengthy fluid retention can be as troublesome as repeated infections & > 90 days is my limit. You do have to put baby to sleep for the procedure so it is not done without some thought.

potentially: The newest guidelines for ear tubes say that a minimum of 3 ear infections in 6 months or 4 in a year, and fluid behind the ear drum when evaluated by an ENT are criteria for considering ear tubes. It still is a personal decision and you can help make an informed one by seeing an ENT to discuss.

Ears: The general rile is 4-5 ear infections in a 12 month period should likely be referred to an ear nose and throat specialist