Dr. Hive - this is a weird one

[bethben]

About 12 days following ear drum repair surgery, my daughter has developed facial tics. She'll smile, grunt, and get tense in her face. I'm calling the doctor tomorrow, but I have no idea why this is happening. She doesn't realize she's doing it. I'm wondering if it's a post traumatic stress thing since she had two surgeries in China before we adopted her? She is her regular self in all other ways. Anyone?

 

Beth

[jenn-]

I had one that age form a random facial tic. Luckily it was just a phase and it went away on its own. We were concerned because my older bro has a tic disorder.

[Tap]

You may want to read up on PANDAS Syndrome (illness, not the animals) and facial tics. It is when strep or other infections attack certain parts of the brain. If the child had a ruptured ear drum (my assumption due to the surgery), there has most certainly been some infection(s).

[J-rap]

I think some people have a tendency toward tics. (Seen it in my own family.) Maybe the change in hearing/sensations has led her to have heightened tendencies for some reason. In my own children, we let it go for awhile to see if it would pass. With one daughter, we finally brought it up and worked with her on it, pointing it out every time she did it (in a gentle way, of course), to help her become aware she was doing it and try and control it. It took about 6 months but eventually she got over it.

 

That's not a scientific explanation and probably doesn't explain most tics, just our personal experience.