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"   Question My daughter who is now six, has always suffered from tonsil and ear trouble but for the last three years I have noticed that she goes deaf whenever she has a cold or blocked nose. Anyway, she has now seen an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist and has been booked in for grommets, but I am not sure whether that will help or if it will be an ongoing thing, and we will be in and out of hospital for years to come.  Should I just leave it and hope that she grows out of the problem?   Answer Your daughter&amp;#039;s problems are actually not that uncommon, but the chances are that the operation she is having for the insertion of grommets into her eardrums will solve the problem permanently.  This procedure will help significantly with her hearing problems when she gets colds and within a few months she should be very much back to normal.  In the past what has been happening is that every time she developed a cold she produces mucus and catarrh that not only makes her nose congested or stream, but also makes the glandular tissue at the back of her nose and throat, the adenoids and tonsils, enlarge.  In turn, this blocks the opening of the narrow passageways between the back of the throat and the middle ear cavity known as the Eustachian tubes, which allows for catarrh to build up behind the eardrum as well.  The middle ear cavity is usually filled with air, but when it becomes filled with fluid, hearing problems occur because the conduction of sound from the outside is impaired as the eardrum cannot vibrate properly.  Once your daughter has got over the acute infection, the fluid is partially absorbed, leaving a sticky goo: a condition known as glue ear (secretory otitis media).  This results in a degree of hearing loss, which can affect a child&amp;#039;s education.  A grommet is a tiny hollow dumb-bell shaped device that is inserted into the eardrum by way of a tiny nip with a scalpel.  It allows fluid to drain out and air to get in effectively drying out the middle ear cavity and making it healthy again.  Usually this is achieved within a few weeks and a little time after that the grommets often fall out by themselves, though sometimes they have to be removed with a forceps.  Once she has had the operation I&amp;#039;m sure you will see a good permanent improvement. Yours sincerely The NetDoctor Medical Team  Other Qs &amp;amp;amp; As Alternative to grommets? Correction for protruding ears Hearing damage? Help for ear infections My daughter has a burst eardrum My daughter has glue ear - how can I help? My daughter has had a blocked nose for two months Our daughter&amp;#039;s ears stick out Our daughter has labyrinthitis Rash due to sore throat? Recurrent tonsillitis Tonsil growths \u2013 what can I do? Tonsillitis without any tonsils?  Last updated 12.06.2014 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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