My son has “slight mucus” in his inner ear according to an ENT, he was RXed Claritin which didn’t clear it up. I asked what could cause it and was told allergies or a cold in the weeks before, which is pretty hard to tell since the whole family usually spends a week or two every month sick with SOMETHING because we use public taxis with other passengers pressed against you.
Anyway when I asked I was told that in a small tiny chance this mucus could progress into needing ear surgery, and to take the Claritin for another month and if that doesn’t help they will upgrade to a stronger allergy med. With monthly appointments to the ENT of course :dubious:
His regular pediatrician commented on the slight mucus in his ears from his earliest visits and never RXed anything or commented further on it besides hmm slight mucus.
Your regular pediatrician is not a specialist, and his/her relative lack of concern doesn’t indicate that the condition isn’t worrisome. I would trust the ENT specialist’s recommendation, and go back for stronger medication. If you don’t trust the ENT, ask for a referral to a different one. Whichever you choose to do, though, don’t just sit around and do nothing about this. This is your kid’s hearing we’re talking about. You’ll be filled with a lot more regret if your son loses partial/all hearing than you will be at spending the amount of time and money it takes to fix this.
The thing that concerned me was if the Claritin didn’t do anything to help in a month would another month of it do anything either, I wondered why he didn’t want to try anything different.
I had a lot of issues w/ fluid/mucous buildup in my ears when I was a kid. Had tubes put in twice (the first pair fell out). Eventually had my adenoids removed because they were enlarged and blocking the ear/throat passage and it was causing the buildup. Probably not anything to do w/ what’s going on with your kid but thought I’d share anyway.
Oh, and the 2nd set of tubes also fell out and left a hole in one of my eardrums that had to be repaired via skin graft. Fun fun!
I had tubes in my ears when I was young as well and my story is similar to Bob Ducca’s, where my first set fell out. I don’t remember too many specifics, but I do have a vivid memory when I was about four of the doctor removing one and the pain was excruciating.
I’d be kind of surprised to keep wanting to try the same medication for a month. I’ve had fluid build up in my ears from allergies, from sinus infections, from colds, pretty much anything that could produce mucus. I’d definitely trust the ENT guy more than the pediatrician and raise your concern that the allergy medicine isn’t enough. At least for me, I’d had middle ear infections start from a little bit of fluid just staying to long, eventually getting clogged and then getting infected; basically just fine to painful and difficult to hear overnight. Personally, I wouldn’t be as worried about its been that way for a while and it’s not causing pressure or pain, but it’s not something to be ignored either. If you’re not happy with what that ENT says, see another one.