Hmmmm, good advice all. I understand from my ENT consultant there are different types of grommet - all the same size but some are designed to stay in longer than others.
When kids get glue ear, they fit temporary ones which are designed to fall out after a few months once it has cleared up. The hole normally heals up. I suppose this might work and give my tubes a chance to breath. The longer term ones are the same size but have "flanges" to keep them in. They call them "t-tubes" due to their shape. They also eventually fall out but leave behind a bigger hole which often doesn't heal. Then you end up with a perforation and loss of hearing. Repeatedly re-inserting short term grommets can also cause scarring and loss of hearing so I'm not sue what to do.
Bob the doc - do you think it is likely that a few months of grommet use would offer a permannent solution?
SAS-A321 - I use one teaspoon of salt to one pint of warm water...it tastes roughly the same as sea water