Treatment Choice - Treatment Choice | Compare Prices | Find Hospital | A grommet is a very small tube that is inserted into your child's ear through a small cut in their eardrum. Grommets can help drain away fluid in the middle ear and maintain air pressure.<br/>Grommets are inserted during an operation called a grommet insertion. This procedure is carried out under general anaesthetic (where your child is asleep and doesn't feel any pain). It usually only takes about 15 minutes, so your child should be able to go home the same day.