The Battle of the Ears

It's been over a month since we gave up looking for Whitney's lost hearing aid and ordered new ones. In fact the audiologist has been in touch to let us know that they arrived some time ago. But Whitney hasn't been able to get them fitted and start using them. We can't keep her ears clear and clean long enough to take molds!

Whit has had a terrible string of ear infections and blockages this spring and summer. And with all that stuff in her ear they can't take molds. To see how to improve things, it was time for another trip to the ear, nose and throat specialist. After looking Whitney over, he surprised us. Whit does still have tubes in both of her ears, he told us. Her pediatrician pulled one out at a checkup, but it must have been from a prior set, because the ENT found two today. One was coming out so he removed it but confirmed that the ear drum still had an opening to allow for draining.

Based on this news we know Whit doesn't need new tubes, but we're still concerned about all the ear infections. The ENT recommended some new ideas to help. The main enemy is all the moisture that builds up in Whitney's tiny ear canals and fosters bacteria. He said we could set a hair dryer to cool and actually blow dry Whit's ears after her baths. Sounds pretty funny but if it helps, I'm game to try. Also, we'll keep using ear plugs in the bath and ear drops to help clear wax away.

The best news of all is that the ENT was able to clear Whitney's ears of wax and she's not currently infected. So we're scrambling to get in to see the audiologist as fast as possible to get ear molds taken and hearing aids fitted. Whitney will soon be hearing well again! And we hope to keep her ears healthier too. Can't wait to see how she likes having her ears blow dried.