Ear infections are one of the most common reasons parents take their kids to the doctor, and most kids will have had at least one middle ear infection by their third birthdays. But some children have chronic middle ear infections, which are known as otitis media, that don’t clear up easily and may lead to other problems, like temporary hearing loss.

When this occurs, your child’s doctor may refer you to a pediatric ear, nose and throat specialist, also called an ENT or otolaryngologist. He or she may suggest ear tube surgery in which a surgeon places tiny tubes in your child’s eardrums to help prevent future ear infections.

More than half a million kids have ear tube surgery every year—usually when they’re 1 to 3 years old—making it the most common children’s surgery performed under anesthesia.

Ear tubes may help:

• Reduce the severity of future ear infections (the tubes allow infected fluid to drain out rather than build up in the ear, which can cause pain and allow infection to spread).
• Restore hearing loss caused by middle ear infections.
• Improve speech and balance problems, if those problems were related to fluid in the ears.
• Improve behavior, sleep and learning problems caused by chronic ear infections.

Ear tube surgery may be recommended if your child has one or more of the following symptoms:

• Three or more ear infections in a six-month time period
• Four or more ear infections in a year
• Long-term bacterial ear infections that don’t improve with antibiotics
• Uninfected fluid buildup in the middle ear that lasts at least three months and causes hearing loss or speech delays

The ENTs at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta perform thousands of ear tube surgeries each year. Our pediatric-trained surgeons know how to care for babies and kids of all ages and are specialists in diagnosing and treating chronic ear infections, including those that require ear tube surgery.