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Really bad experience with ENT doctor

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sinagua
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13 Feb 2008, 11:46 am

Tortuga wrote:
Boy, things have sure changed since the 70's. When I was a kid, I had similar issues with my ears, but my family doctor took care of the wax during regular office visits. No referrals to ENT.


Evidently this is not a typical case of wax build up, it's become very hard and tightly compacted, to the point he has lost almost all hearing in that ear. There is evidently no way to remove the obstruction without a good deal of pain. :(

Although I do not understand why they can't spray some kind of topical anaesthetic in there first, or something. I've always considered my son to have a rather high pain threshold, but he's now scared to death of these procedures.



greendeltatke
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13 Feb 2008, 3:29 pm

I had a doc who used to work wth firefighters, who apparently get soot and all sorts of crap in their ears. He used plain old hydrogen peroxide, which makes wax and other stuff dissolve and bubble out of the ears. Neither of my sons, who have sensory issues seemed to mind the hydrogen peroxide treatment.



EvilTeach
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13 Feb 2008, 3:45 pm

Come to think about it.
I had that problem at age 6,
and the doctor used a tube connected to the hot water tap at the sink to flush it out

took about 2 minutes to do both ears.



Tortuga
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13 Feb 2008, 5:19 pm

sinagua wrote:
Evidently this is not a typical case of wax build up, it's become very hard and tightly compacted, to the point he has lost almost all hearing in that ear. There is evidently no way to remove the obstruction without a good deal of pain. :(

Although I do not understand why they can't spray some kind of topical anaesthetic in there first, or something. I've always considered my son to have a rather high pain threshold, but he's now scared to death of these procedures.


That's interesting. I read your other posts on the water irrigation thing. The doctor only ever had to squirt water in my ears (but it wasn't a special tool..it look liked a syringe filled with water) and do a little digging.

Poor kid. Did they give you any suggestions for things you can do at home to keep the wax draining on its own?



sinagua
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13 Feb 2008, 6:21 pm

Tortuga wrote:
sinagua wrote:
Poor kid. Did they give you any suggestions for things you can do at home to keep the wax draining on its own?


Just using Debrox every night, perhaps even twice a day. I'm trying to convince my husband that using straight peroxide won't hurt our son's ear. Someone else suggested I get him to sleep on a heating pad, but I don't know if he'd deal with the heat or not - I guess we could put a towel or two over it. We've also used olive oil in his hear at night - a suggestion we found online.

I still don't understand why the ENT didn't try the water irrigation. It was painful, but not nearly as traumatizing as the scrapy tool - imagine what it must feel like, this hard thing poking around deep inside your head. I know that NTs find it painful and at the very least weird-feeling. Imagine what it must be like for children with autism. *shudder* :(



equinn
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13 Feb 2008, 7:42 pm

My son had to have a strep test. The doctor told him to lay down (strange, I thought), then he told me I might want to hold his arms and that it might hurt. That was it. I told him forget it, and that a strep test never hurts. We left and I complained about this doctor (he was new to the practice). I knew it shouldn't hurt-- I've had plenty! It just tickles a bit in the back of your throat and makes you gag for a second.

If you think it's too harsh, it probably is. If your son is crying from fear, pain, whatever-- in this day and age, believe him and tell the doctor you're done, you've changed your mind and it's too much. Some nice warm water does wonders for ear wax. Seems like it should have been an easy painless experience--flush it out with warm water. My mom has it done at least once every six months at the walk-in clinic. She's afraid of her own shadow, and even she doesn't mind. Trust your instincts.

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sinagua
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14 Feb 2008, 2:59 pm

equinn wrote:
My son had to have a strep test. The doctor told him to lay down (strange, I thought), then he told me I might want to hold his arms and that it might hurt. That was it. I told him forget it, and that a strep test never hurts. We left and I complained about this doctor (he was new to the practice). I knew it shouldn't hurt-- I've had plenty! It just tickles a bit in the back of your throat and makes you gag for a second.

If you think it's too harsh, it probably is. If your son is crying from fear, pain, whatever-- in this day and age, believe him and tell the doctor you're done, you've changed your mind and it's too much. Some nice warm water does wonders for ear wax. Seems like it should have been an easy painless experience--flush it out with warm water. My mom has it done at least once every six months at the walk-in clinic. She's afraid of her own shadow, and even she doesn't mind. Trust your instincts.

equinn


That is strange - I've had lots of strep tests and no, they don't hurt, it's just slightly gaggy for a second, that's all. You were wise to stop the procedure. I think I was just caught totally off guard. I don't understand why he didn't try to flush it out with warm water.

So...now I'm wondering if I shouldn't find another doctor who will try the water irrigation, instead of waiting for this doc's office to call me to bring my son in to be put to sleep.



KimJ
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14 Feb 2008, 3:55 pm

the thing is just because he's a doctor doesn't give him the right to be abusive and blame your son's reaction on his hypersensitivity.

I had a dentist blame me for being awake while my wisdom teeth were taken out. The IV sedative didn't work and he started hammering away. After figuring out that I wasn't under, he kept going on. He labeled me sensitive and later prescribed a heavy narc for pain relief (I almost od'd by my parent's hand)

I don't want to sound blaming but I really don't get allowing a perfect stranger to just start a procedure before talking about it. I wouldn't let this kind of person touch my kid. Don't you have consultations?



sinagua
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14 Feb 2008, 8:19 pm

KimJ wrote:
I don't want to sound blaming but I really don't get allowing a perfect stranger to just start a procedure before talking about it. I wouldn't let this kind of person touch my kid. Don't you have consultations?


No, we didn't have a consultation with this particular doctor beforehand. Our pediatrician referred us, gave me a phone number and a name, I called and made the appointment, and we showed up. I trusted him not to refer us to someone who would be inappropriate or insensitive, my mistake. I filled out all the paperwork and disclosed my son's conditions before we saw the doctor. I don't know if the guy didn't read it or what.



equinn
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14 Feb 2008, 9:56 pm

just move forward. We are all human. Your son will survive.

equinn

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