Hannahs Ears- Advice?

Hannah has suddenly developed an issue with noise. She walks around with her hands over her ears and sometimes she'll cry.

This only started about a month ago. Sometimes it's not even loud sounds just unfamiliar and then other times she's in a familiar place and doing familiar things but has her hands over her ears. For example at dance class. sometimes she'll cover her ears in the middle of class and start crying. The teacher is very good about getting her calmed quickly and back into the action. It's not every song and sometimes it will be the same song as another time but she'll cover her ears one time and then not cover them another.

I really don't THINK it's hurting her ears because when we were at Disney if there was a parade she would have her hands over her ears but she was happy and smiling and otherwise enjoying the parade.

It's not like we've kept things quiet around her. She's been in all kinds of loud and unfamiliar situations but it's just been recently that she's had an issue.

I really am starting to feel like it's affecting her day to day life and that's a problem.

Before we went to Florida (and the ear covering thing had already started) I took her to the doctors for a cough she had. the doctor checked her ears as part of the routine and said they looked fine... no sign of infection or anything. When we got back from florida she had a couple days where her one ears was draining some fluid it seemed but that was a while ago now and that has stopped and her ears aren't red and she doesnt' complain that they hurt.

when she covers her ears she just says "it's too loud" sometimes it's not even loud at all. I think this is more a newly developing fear more than pain but I'm not sure.

Is there anything I can do to help this?

I'm going to take her to the doc and talk with our doctor about it but I'm not sure there is anything they can do.

If it wasn't affecting her daily life I would just leave it but it is.

:( Oh no our poor baby Hanna.. Yes for sure go to the Doctor with her.. It could be her ear-drums are sensitive to sound or something.. Let us know what the Doctor says ok.. I sure hope its something simple.. Sending Lots of Prayers & Huggss..

Glad you will check w/ the doc. Let us know!

once my sister had this similar thing only she didn´t covered her ears.. she just cried and cried.. turns out she had a grain of sand in one ear.. yes, ONE grain..

few time later one ear popped.. not sure if it was the same one..

if Hannah has had draining fluid.. to me, it means her body wants to expel something foreign.. JMO

What you described sounds like my nephew. He's autistic and has sensory problems. He covers his ears whenever he doesn't like a certain sound. It has nothing to do with the volume, just the particular sound. I don't think Hannah is autistic, but many kids have sensory problems, which may be what's troubling Hannah.

I'd talk to the doctor again. If there is nothing wrong with her ears maybe get a referral to a developmental pediatrician, I think they can diagnosis a sensory disorder, should she have one. Or if you don't think it's a sensory issue, maybe try seeing an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Regular pediatricians are great for the common stuff, but a specialist is sometimes required.

And trust your instincts. Even if the doctor says everything is fine, you obviously feel it's not. Trust that instinct and fight for your kid. I've had to fight for both my boys. Both boys have eye problems and if I had listened to the pediatricians (yes, multiple) they wouldn't be getting the care they need.

I agree with Kari - if the doc doesn't find anything definitely ask for an audiologist, and if they rule everything out, then it may be you will need a behavioral specialist.

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Originally Posted by KBlaix

What you described sounds like my nephew. He's autistic and has sensory problems. He covers his ears whenever he doesn't like a certain sound. It has nothing to do with the volume, just the particular sound. I don't think Hannah is autistic, but many kids have sensory problems, which may be what's troubling Hannah.

I'd talk to the doctor again. If there is nothing wrong with her ears maybe get a referral to a developmental pediatrician, I think they can diagnosis a sensory disorder, should she have one. Or if you don't think it's a sensory issue, maybe try seeing an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Regular pediatricians are great for the common stuff, but a specialist is sometimes required.

And trust your instincts. Even if the doctor says everything is fine, you obviously feel it's not. Trust that instinct and fight for your kid. I've had to fight for both my boys. Both boys have eye problems and if I had listened to the pediatricians (yes, multiple) they wouldn't be getting the care they need.

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Yeah sensory is what I was thinking too actually. She is very sensory sensitive... but this is the only one that really disrupts everyday life.

Our doctor is pretty good. she's young and a first time mom too so I can really relate to her. I know she'll take my concerns seriously. she always has.

When I was worried about hannah's "intermittent lazy eye" she set me up with a pediatric eye doctor. when I was worried about allergies (she has an egg allergy) she set me up with a pediatric Allergy and asthma specialist. So I'm confident that she's going to take my concerns seriously so at least that's one thing I don't really have to stress about on top of the rest.

When I talked to the doctor the first time I hadn't brought up the ear covering thing because it had just started and she was sick with a cold. She just checked her ears for the cold aspect to make sure there wasn't an infection.

but someone mentioned to me today about a magnesium deficiency and I'm going to talk to the doctor about that too because I was reading about it today and it said that a deficiency can cause hearing sensitivities and also trouble with constipation and now that I think about it she started having trouble "going" around the same time as she started this ear thing. The ear thing developed almost overnight it seemed. it was like she had no issue with sound and then the next day she had LOTS of issues with sound. so it really came on suddenly and her constipation issues started around the same time.

I hope the Dr can uncover the cause & help Hannah feel better soon.
Have you already made the appt.? Whether it is physical or psychological,
it seems to make her very uncomfortable and that's not good.

J has what I call a noise intolerance. He covers his ears and cries at fireworks, he can't be in the bathroom with me and the hair dryer running. Loud noises are frightening to him- though some of that he has grown out of.

I am glad you have a ped that listens and does something. I had such a stressful time dealing with J's throat clearing, with not only the ped- multiple times, but the pediatric ENT, too! I don't think the word pediatric infront of a speciality is all that its cracked up to be. The adult ENT made the difference, with him.

Good luck, and getting it evaluated is the right step.

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Originally Posted by lizbud

I hope the Dr can uncover the cause & help Hannah feel better soon.
Have you already made the appt.? Whether it is physical or psychological,
it seems to make her very uncomfortable and that's not good.

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Yeah im hoping she can help us or send us to
Someone who can.

I am calling in the morni g to make the appt. I can always get in same day so she will most likely be at the docs sometime tomorrow.

She has good days and bad days. Cataholic that sounds a lot like hannah. Public restrooms are her worst nightmare. Even with no one else in there she holds her hands over her ears

Sometimes it seems the ear covering comes before the noise so sometimes she covers her ears just in case there is a loud sound.

This only started about a month ago so its a pretty recent development and came on suddenly

I think I'll go along with the noise sensitivity. Sometimes it can be caused by tinnitus or even fluid in the middle ear that distorts sounds to varying degrees. In any case I'm glad you have what seems to be a great doctor who won't just brush this off and will look for the cause....hope everything works out without trouble.

Tanya, I have noise sensitivity, and have had as long as I can remember. I had MANY ear infections in my youth, and that may have something to do with it. I've never had it evaluated. I sympathize with Hannah, and you all, as this is a difficult thing to deal with. I wish you luck; keep us updated.:love:

Hannah goes to the doctor at 2:30

I'm thinking it's a sensory thing but of course I will be open to exploring other causes.

Hannah is sensory sensitive as it is... doesn't like to get her hands dirty without having them wiped off right away, has issues with food textures, will only wear certain clothes and has to wear them with sleeves pulled up if it's long sleeved. Just a bunch of different little things but this is the only one that is affecting day to day life.

A friend of mine that works with children with sensory issues recommended a bunch of books to read about how to help children who have sensory sensitivities so I think I'll get a few of those... even if this ear covering thing isn't sensory it could still help me with a few other hurdles :)

I'll update with how the doctors visit goes.

First of all... it's hard to convince people that something is "wrong" with your child when she walks past the nurses station (in the outfit she picked out. striped green dress, purple clip on earring, pink tights and red glittery shoes) waving at everyone and saying "OH hi everybody. How are you?" to everyone she sees and then asks the doctor "So what do you wanna do today?" LOL

but that's another story.

The doctor said her ears look a little bit red but not infected. She's sending us to an audiologist to have a hearing test first and see if that comes up with anything.

If that doesn't yeild any results then we are going to talk more in depth about seeing someone that can help her deal with that and help US to help her deal with that.

It SEEMS that perhaps covering her ears is how she deals with a stressful or unusual situation and maybe not so much that it's actually hurting her ears. Because she is having some constipation issues and sometimes if it's really hard for her to go she'll sit down and cover her ears until she's done. So that's what makes us think it's more emotionally related than actual pain related

I'm glad she'll see an audiologist anyway - and you can tell her it is kind of a fun thing, they put headphone on and you get to play games like "raise your hand when you hear it beep!" I got to see one as an adult, which eventually led to my being diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, but the audiologist was the most interesting, interactive exam.

That way you can also rule out any ear problems, and focus on behavior, if that's what it is!