He used to get ear infections with every climate change. From his very young age. Two years back the doctor came up with the issue - Otitis Media with Effusion. Whatever be the term, it means that he gets this liquid (Otitis media) inside his ear and do not drain out automatically. For normal people this should drain automatically, but apparently for many kids it do not so easily. As kids grow up, the Eustachian tube also widens and then the media goes out.
And he proved that he has a hearing loss. For both the ears. Thank God it was not a sensory one. It is because of this media he said. The bookish doctor at Japan Red Cross Hospital told me he is referring to a guideline in the US for the treatment. Treat for 3 months, no change, do a surgery. This guy was so good that he told me the name of the guideline and that I could google it out.
My ENT in India was against surgery. The surgery is anyway a simple one. They drill a small hold on the ear-drum and put a grommet there. The otitis media will flow out through this. The grommet will stay for around 6 months. If the tube is not cured, the media can get filled in again. The root cause is not cured.
We could keep him away of ice-creams, warm him up during winter, treat him with nasal drops and thus avoid further ear infections. The hearing loss remained. And it remained almost beyond our attention, while Ian was closing into himself with less interactions to any friends or so. He missed out fun at school as he was not able to capture what exactly was being told, sung or heard. Until my friend told me about the behavioral issues that are caused by hearing loss, that thought never occurred to me. Then I started relating him to the symptoms. They started matching well.
Thanks to Kurashima sensei to whom we went for Surgery. Ian himself was ready when we told him surgery will help him hear better. The doctor wanted give one last chance. One week with two times a day mucodyne and the Japanese method of low dose antibiotic treatment with a very very sour medicine that they prescribed to be given alongwith milkmaid, ice-cream etc. Doctor sees improvement. Another week with the same dosage and then a couple more days with half the dose. And this monday, he finally declared it is fully cured now. Thank God.
Past few weeks Ian also has started showing signs of better hearing. He can now listen to TV with a lower volume. You cannot tell Irene something in a low voice and assume Ian will not hear. And he is having more and more ice creams too.
And yesterday, Ian comes up with his new discovery. "Umma, is it Winnie the Pooh? I always thought it was Minnie the Pooh... "
