Shocked at severity of son’s ear infection

A Derbyshire mum was shocked at the severity of the ear infections suffered by her son, and believes that if she had been better informed, he might have been referred for specialist treatment earlier.

Davinia Gill’s son Tee-Jay, age 4 from Ilkeston in Derbyshire, suffered repeatedly with middle ear infections between November 2007 and May 2008.

Although Davinia was aware that middle ear infections are common in children, she wasn’t aware that the symptoms could be as severe. Tee-Jay was experiencing an ear infection every couple of weeks, with symptoms that included a high temperature and vertigo which frequently caused him to be sick and fall over.

”I had no idea that these sorts of extreme symptoms could result from an ear infection, and feel I would have picked it up quicker if I had had better information,” said Davinia. 

Due to the nature of the symptoms, Tee-Jay and his mum made frequent trips to the doctor’s.  Antibiotics were regularly prescribed and several GPs gave reassurance that her son would ‘grow out’ of the infections. However, as time went on, Davinia began to have concerns about his speech. Comparing Tee-Jay’s progress with that of her other children, she began to suspect that something wasn’t right. She noticed that some of her son’s words were difficult to understand and that not always being understood would make him frustrated. So after expressing these concerns to their health visitor, a hearing test was arranged for Tee-Jay.

When the hearing test confirmed a hearing loss, the initial suggestion was to provide Tee-Jay with a hearing aid. This is an option that may be considered when a child is experiencing symptoms of glue ear whilst waiting to see if the glue ear will clear up on its own. However, in Tee-Jay’s case it was decided that this was not appropriate and so he was referred to a specialist.

It was only in July 2008 that Tee-Jay was confirmed to have glue ear, although at this appointment his hearing had actually improved slightly. As hearing is known to fluctuate with the condition, a further period of waiting was advised. But in October 2008, when Tee-Jay’s speech was still a cause for concern and another hearing test was undertaken, Davinia was given the option for Tee-Jay to have grommets fitted. With the operation explained, Davinia felt this was the best course of action.

Although Davinia says she had heard of glue ear prior to Tee-Jay’s experience, she feels it would have been useful to have had the condition explained or if more information had been available from the doctor’s surgery.

Parents worried about children’s ear infections and not sure where to turn can get up-to-date advice and guidance from Deafness Research UK's new leaflet Ear infections and glue ear in children.