We didn’t imagine it would be so soon, but after a string of ear infections,  and being told by an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist that Tau’s ears were filled with fluid, which caused his hearing to be muffled, we decided to get tubes put in his ears. 

So this past week, we took him to Children’s Hospital where he had a double myringotomy to remove the fluid and then the insertion of the tubes (aka grommets). The tubes are designed to allow fluid in the middle ear to drain into the outer ear (see illustration above). They are about 2 mm long, and shaped to stay in position. That said, they typically fall out after 6 months to a year, at which time he should either be over the stage of having lots of ear infections or need another set inserted.

While Tau was under anesthetic,  the ENT, Dr. Benz, also took samples of bronchial and throat tissue to check whether Tau still has acid reflux, which would explain his night-time coughing.

The whole operation took about 30 minutes!  Tau was a bit cranky when he woke up, but after dozing off again for about 15 minutes, he woke up and was his usually smiley self.

We can tell that his hearing is a lot sharper since the surgery, and hopefully the ear infections will now be a thing of the past!