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Having ear infections / Illness every month & I'm on the firing line because of it

Posted , 3 users are following.

Charzee
Charzee

I am hard of hearing and wear hearing aids in both ears.

I used to have a few grommits placed in my ears when I was a child and had a few years without them. I then had them put back in again for 2 years befor taking them out and having a T-Bar grommit in my left ear around 4 years ago now. Due to this I may have a hole in my ear canel. 

Anyway,

I started my job in Novemember and since January, each month I've been getting illnesses. I've had 1 week off with tonsilituis and have had 5/6 weeks off due to bad ear infections, my last one was last week where I had both an inner & outer ear infection which caused me to be in agaony to the point where I couldn't eat or sleep for 3 days and was given a cocktail of different medications to deal with this .

The ear pain is coming back again a week after but the pain meds i've got are holding it back however this morning , there was a bit of gunk in my ear. 

I've had a meeting with my work and they are not happy at all.

They have 'considered my disability' but is still giving me the last chance to imporve my health or my employment with them will be reconsidered...it doesn't look good. I work in a nursery looking after 2-4 year olds. 

I take Vitamin D tablets, Iron & Vitamin C tablets as well as Omega 3 tablets ,

I eat fairly healthy as my fiance cooks from fresh produce alot and I don't smoke or take any other drugs apart from normal pain meds. 

I asked my doctors why i get so ill and they said some people have a weak immune system even when prevention methods like the above are put into place. 

Work isn't happy and even though i've said i keep asking why or to look into it, my work said i'm not trying to give myself better health and that it's unacceptable. 

What can I do to improve my health?

I've asked for Ears,Nose, Throat referral but symptoms improves before the time they said (if it's still bad in 2 weeks we'll see what the next steps are etc) 

I just feel so stuck as there isn't much i can do about my hearing / ear infections...

they think i can just control it as and when i want. 

 

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • ENTdoc
    ENTdoc Charzee

    Posted

    Ear infections are readily amenable to treatment and should not go on and on for weeks.  You need an ENT consultation, and it's unlikely your situation will improve until you see an ENT.  General docs are VERY limited, because:

    They have very little, if any, ENT training.  Many med schools have completely eliminated any exposure to the ENT service as a requirement for graduating.

    They have only an otoscope for exams, which provides a keyhole view of the ear.  If there is wax or pus, or other material in the ear, they see almost nothing else, and the diagnosis and treatment become guessing games.  Usually they'll give "shotgun" treatment of antibiotics by mouth and by drops, with no definite diagnosis being reached.  In contrast, an ENT doc examines the ear with a binocular microscope, which provides depth perceptioin, frees the hands for instrumenting the ear (i.e., removal of wax, pus, etc.) so that the eardrum can be clearly seen in 3 dimensions, enabling an exact diagnosis and targeted treatment that is likely to be effective.  Studies have been done comparing the diagnoses and treatment plans of GP's and ENT's for the same patient with ear disease, and the GP's are wrong more than 60% of the time!  This is because of their lack of instrumentation and training!

    An aside:  "T" tubes are notorious for causing permanent perforations of the eardrum.  I do NOT use them in my practice, and I recommend removal whenever I see one.

    Get thee to an ENT.  Don't take no for an answer!

    • Charzee
      Charzee ENTdoc

      Posted

      Thank you for your message , 

      I understand that with the doctors and did think that I'd have to go to ENT.

      Normal standard grommets causes issues within the first year for me, my most recent one moved and got lodged in my earn canal which is why the T-tube was the last resort. 

      I'll ring ENT tomorrow to get an appointment for the next few weeks & just say that I've been having these issues with my ears. It's starting again today again. 

      Thank you so much for your help

  • Marina_Dee
    Marina_Dee Charzee

    Posted

    If you are working with 2 - 4 year olds then maybe they have concerns for the health of the children as well. Tell your doctor this is affecting your ability to hold down a job. You need a thorough investigation  by an ENT team. It doesnt matter that the infection has cleared after 2 weeks..... it is recurrent so something is wrong.
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