My daughter with Down Syndrome had them fitted last June when she was 2,5 years old. They fitted long lasting ones. Her hearing has greatly improved.

I had grommets myself when I was 8 years old after many years of excruciating ear aches / infections etc. They worked wonders!!! I wish I had them years sooner!! I haven’t had any issues since having them fitted and removed.

I know you posted this a while ago but my son had grommets put in when he was 15 months old. He is now nearly 5 and they are now fallen out and he has had no problems since.
He had 7 ear infections in 6 months, but has not had one inflection since the operation.
It was a little scary taking him to hospital and having to stave him all morning, but we distracted him with books, games and bubbles.
It was a very quick procedure and he recovered very quickly. I think it was more traumatic for us, the parents. He just wanted to have some milk. lol
Overall, a good experience and great outcome for us 🙂

Not a big fan of grommets as both brother and nephew had them and have had greater problems when older.

Have you thought about getting a second opinion or asking the doctor his reasons for not wanting to give your child the grommets.

I’m sorry to hear your poor child is continually going through this. Recent research shows that tympanostomy tubes relieve pressure build up in the ear from effusion. This is more common in children aged under 4 years old. The tubes generally stay in situ for about a year until they are naturally extruded. If your child has recurrent ear infections or bursting of the drums scarring can occur and is a real problem in the children under two as it can affect speech due to difficulty hearing or interpreting sound and tone. This in turn may affect future schooling due to hearing difficulties. If you are concerned, please consult and ENT surgeon for opinion.

My niece had grommets at an early age, and it worked great for her. I would go for it, but if you are unsure get a couple of experts (doctors) and a referral to ease your mind.

You cannot let the burst eardrums continue. I did with my daughter and now she is deaf in one ear because of the scarring. Have the grommets put in.

I sympathise with you, both my two sons have had the same trouble, you need a referral to an ear nose throat specialist (ENT). This is from my experiences I have had with my sons over the years and what the doctors and audiologists have told me. The more the ear drums keep bursting the more you scar the ear drum and will lead to permanent hearing loss. The ear drums can also have permanent holes from the drum bursting which leads to permanent hearing loss. I’m not sure in your state but I live in WA and here you can go to the children’s hospital and see an ENT and have a hearing test with no cost to you. Also if you have a community health centre check with them if they do hearing screening and try and get an appointment with them as they are usually free and hearing tests are expensive. The ENT will only insert grommets if there is hearing loss and is not improving. Also if you are worried about anaesthetic I think they only use a sedative to sedate the children rather than an anaesthetic, as the procedure is very quick and only take a few minutes. Hope this helps it does get better as children get older.

I think the technology has come a long way in recent years, my best advice is to find a doctor that you trust and listen to their advice.

Thanks @jabelle that’s great always like holistic approach my son is on strict clean eating diet and he doesn’t have dairy or gluten

I’d be avoiding anaesthetic until at least after 3 years of age.
Have you tried onion juice in the ear, it’s a natural anti-inflammatory. So that usually calms down the pain a bit. Also see if you can get him in to see a holistic chiropractor. Mine has done wonders with our children’s ear infections. Good luck!
Avoiding dairy can also often help any sort of ear/sinus/respiratory pain and infections.