ear tubes.

in case you didn't read the subject, this post is about ear tubes.

full disclosure.

you know what you're getting yourself into.

i don't want any complaints about the boring ear tube post.  i warned you.

this blog is gonna be a reeeeaaaal page turner. 

i can see you now- on the edge of your seat. 
ready to hear all about ear tubes. (intentional pun)

anyone still around?  anyone?  okay then.  this one's for you there in the back, avoiding that other more important thing you're supposed to be doing.

here we go!
ear tubes seem to be pretty popular these days.  it's a nice option that doctors put on the table.  live in misery and on constant antibiotics, or have this quick procedure to have tubes put in your ears. 
i'll take it.

i come from a particularly mucus-y family (seasonal allergies represent! can i get a what what! and by what what i mean kleenex! actually just pass the whole box one is not going to cut it! thanks!) and billy and i have ear tube kids on both sides of the family.  everyone we talk to about ear tubes loves them.  and why not?  it's a great solution to help ears drain on their own so all the fluid that builds up in your poor mucus-y kid's ears doesn't get infected and make everyone miserable. 

and i mean everyone. 
the whole family suffers from infected ears. 
yeah, tuck, i'm looking at you.

ear infections cause extreme grumpiness throughout your entire house.

so last fall, we found out that our baby inherited two popular familial traits:
1) extreme awesomeness
2) extreme mucusyness.  i'm making that a word. 

and for the trifecta, he also happened to be one of the super lucky that has ears perfectly designed to store fluid perfect for a bacteria breeding ground. 

in other words, he gets ear infections.

last fall we had three and a half solid months of back to back ear infections, antibiotics, high fevers, e.r. trips, and lonnngggg long sleepless nights of taking turns holding finn upright in a steamy bathroom so that he could sleep.  it was a blast. 

then, in december, he got ear tubes.
here's the funny thing about our experience with the ear tubes-
after we got them, finn's ear infections stopped. (as expected)
BUT
his ear tubes never worked. (huh?)
meaning, every time we went back to the doctor for a follow up, his ear tubes were clogged.
so, by some miracle (the end of fall and a mild winter) finn stopped getting sick.
but not because of the tubes. 
they were just kind of in there not doing their job.

every three months since december we've gone back to the doctor for a follow up hearing test and to check on his tubes.  every visit has been the same- tubes still clogged but no fluid in his ears, so no need to replace them.  every hearing test was ruled passing but "borderline" whatever that means.

until last week.
i took finn back to the ear doctor for his three month follow up and whaddaya know, with the arrival of fall came the arrival of fluid! 
welcome back ear fluid! i will think of you every time i think of pumpkins.  awesome.

turns out one ear is full of fluid, and one ear is full of so much pressure that the tube in his ear is smashed up against his ear drum.  and yes, i'm sure that feels like shit.

he also had a weird hearing test.  he responded well to voice, but did not respond well to sounds.  his ear drum didn't react the way it was supposed to either.  the audiologist said she thought finn should be hearing better, and that she thinks it is part of the reason why he's not talking.  maybe not the whole reason, but part of it.  interesting.

so, the good news is, finn is getting new tubes this month! we are really encouraged and hopeful that this next set will actually work.  and we're hoping that we see big improvements in his balance and motor skills- and hey, maybe if he can actually hear things right and isn't in constant ear discomfort, he might even start talking!

the bad news is, his surgery is on halloween.
this is bad because we have to wait the full month (we're already on our first batch of amoxicillin), and because halloween is a crappy day to spend in the hospital.
last halloween finn was fresh out of the e.r. after a week of 105 fevers that were misdiagnosed as a "virus" and turned out to be- what do you know- an ear infection!  he was full of i.v. strength antibiotics that came with a bad case of the runs, and then to make matters worse i stuffed him in a bear costume and drew on his nose with eyeliner.

so yeah, after this year he'll probably hate halloween forever.
sorry, bud.

but we're really excited about our second shot at ear tubes. 
finn's doctor assures me that it is incredibly rare to get two sets of chronically clogged tubes, so we know this set is going to do the job. 
and after the year he's had, this kid deserves a break. 

we hope he wakes up on halloween feeling a whole heck of a lot better!

this concludes the post on ear tubes.
you're excused.
i know you have more important things to do now, like look up crock pot recipes on pinterest.
it's fine, i understand.

but if you're still procrastinating you should check out this blog that my friend amanda told me about because you will probably pee yourself. 

bye!