Last year my son had to have an operation to have his adenoids removed and grommets* put in both ears. His adenoids were slightly large and as a result he was a bad snorer. Even as a tiny baby he snored like a chainsaw. This was made worse when he

With every cold came a painful ear infection and he was constantly taking antibiotics to clear it up. In kindy he had a hearing test done and it proved what I had been thinking for awhile. He couldn’t hear very well.

Three more hearing teats later they used an instrument that measures the vibrations in the eardrums. The results print out similar to a heartbeat scan. One ear had a slight reading; the other ear was flat-line. No wonder I would have to yell at him to get his attention! If he wasn’t facing you and you spoke softly or even at a fairly normal level he would not hear you.

In September 2006 he had the operation. We had to stay over night in the hospital and I had to endure the agonising ordeal of a child going under the anaesthetic.  That “help me” pleading look in his eyes as he began to get drowsy….OMG I can still picture it now! No parent can leave that room with a dry eye….and this was his second operation.

All went well and within days the difference was very obvious. I would speak to him and he would say, “Stop yelling at me, Mum!” but I was just speaking the same as I always had. The snoring stopped! After 5 years I was sleeping in the quiet. At the moment he has a cold but it is the only one that he has had since the op (1 in 5 months!!! He would have normally had 3 or 4 in that time). Also his speech has improved as he can now hear how words are pronounced properly.

This is a common problem in many children and some fantastic information is available here. If your child snores, has trouble hearing or has ear infections with a cold, have their hearing checked by a specialist. Operations aren’t a nice thing but it was absolutely worth it.

*“A grommet is a tiny tube inserted into the eardrum to allow air to enter the middle ear. The grommet does the work that the poorly functioning Eustachian tube should be doing, giving the middle ear a chance to recover. Grommets cause no discomfort while in place. The healing ability of the eardrum is so great that it usually pushes the tube out in 6 to 12 months, leaving the drum intact.”  This info came from www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?Article=3205