• A little blood coming from the ear on the day of surgery is not unusual

• Pain after grommets is minimal. 1-2 doses of Paracetamol may be required

• Antibiotic ear drops may be prescribed, particularly if the ear is infected at the time of surgery

• Your child may experience ear pain while using ear dropos, that is not abnormal and not reflect any serious issues.

• You or your child can return to normal activities the following day

• 20-30% of children will have some ear discharge over the life of the grommet

• If your child develops discharge they should be seen by a doctor and started on ear drops if indicated

• A grommet allows air to pass into the middle ear and equalize pressure across the ear drum

• Water can also enter the middle ear through the grommet and this may cause infection.

Keep the ears dry for the first 2 weeks after the operation.

After that time most kids can get some water in their ear without any issues

There are some situations where keeping the ears dry is recommended:

• When diving or surfing (head more than 50cm under the surface)

• If your child gets infections/discharge whilst the grommets are in place

• If your child gets ear pain when swimming

• Swimming in dirty water ( lakes, rivers, ...)

• Ear plugs from the chemist

• Swimming cap cover the ears if swimming

• Can use finger shaped cotton soaked with petroleum gel ( Vaseline)

• At some stage you may be required to use eardrops

• To put the eardrops in tilt the head to the side, pull the ear back and up and drop the drops into the ear canal. Massage the cartilage in front of the ear canal to pump the drops into the middle ear

Your first appointment will generally be around a week after surgery and every 12 weeks regularly