For the last three or four days, Dekker has been deaf as a post. I won’t even sugarcoat it. Just out of the one ear. I’ve asked him many times if his ear hurts, and he insists that it does not, but that the one just isn’t hear as well as the other. It sounds a bit made up, but we’re having a LOT of conversations that go like this:
Dekker: See what I built, Mommy?
Me: What is that?
Dekker: Thank you.
Sure, that makes sense to happen once in a while, but its happening a lot more. Also, Dekker is asking to leave the table three or four times because he can’t hear me answer him, and I imagine that will get old fast for him as well. These, along with a number of other examples, finally brought me to the conclusion that he needed to go to the doctor. It could just be from all of his congestion, being that all that face business is connected to the ears, or it could be a reboot of his recent ear infection. Its in the same ear, so I didn’t want to leave it too long if damage was being done.
I called Dr. Guselle’s office yesterday and they said she was off today, but they could get me in with someone from her group. I would always prefer to see Dr. Guselle, but for this, I trusted pretty much anyone to be able to look in his ears and see if there was an infection or not. Basic stuff. So yes, I agreed to see whoever could fit him in. We got an appointment for 2:00.
Now that this afternoon is winding up, I’m winding down from his appointment. His stupid, stupid appointment. Did I get the information I went for? Yes. Dekker does not have an ear infection. His ears are simply plugged because his whole face is loaded with fluid from his cold. This is good news. But MAN! If I had been a first time parent, that doctor would freaked me out!!
I asked him if there is anything we can do at home to encourage his ears to drain/pop/whatever, and he told me there wasn’t. He said it could last months, so speak up. If he starts saying it hurts, or his ears start pussing, he may have burst an eardrum. He told me to give it a month and if he hasn’t had relief, I should bring him back and we’ll get him in line to get tubes in his ears. I was very polite, but asked “Already? Like, after one ear infection? Doesn’t it have to be a common problem before people talk about tubes?” He was quick to defend his information, and just spouted off how it was a simple procedure. So I smiled and nodded and let his say his piece. Then we left. His single piece of advice to me was “speak up.”
We drove home after that, but made a quick stop at our local drugstore. I spoke to our pharmacist and he gave me a few ways to help encourage his face to drain. He agreed it may take time, but also agreed that the doctor we had seen had gone to our worst case scenario pretty quickly.
Now we’re home, hoping for the best as soon as possible. If anyone has any experience with the SUPER plugged ears for extended periods of time, and has some great surefire way to fix them up, please let me know your experiences! This is pretty new for us, and it goes against my grain to have my voice raised constantly when talking to my kids. I work hard enough not to raise my voice. We can use all the help we can yet.