Glue Ear is a common childhood condition in which the middle ear becomes filled with fluid. The medical term for glue ear is otitis media with effusion (OME).
It’s estimated that one in five children around the age of two will be affected by glue ear at any given time.
Causes of Glue ear
- changes in air pressure inside the ear that lead to a blockage in the Eustachian tube
- inflammation of the Eustachian tube caused by allergic rhinitis, infection or irritants such as cigarette smoke, which causes the tube to narrow
- gastric fluids from the stomach that leak up through the throat and into the Eustachian tube
- inflammation and swelling of the adenoid glands (small lumps of tissue located at the back of the throat that form part of a child’s immune system).
- being bottle-fed rather than breastfed
- having contact with lots of other children, such as at a nursery (this may be because of a higher risk of infection)
- cleft palate, (a birth defect where a child has a split in the roof of their mouth)
- Down’s syndrome (a genetic disorder that causes learning difficulties and disrupts physical development)
- cystic fibrosis, (agenetic condition that causes the lungs to clog up with thick, sticky mucus)
Symptoms
Glue ear is often not obvious and it usually goes undetected. Often the first thing a parent notices is hearing loss.
- struggling to keep up with conversations and seems inattentive
- becoming aggravated because they are trying harder to hear
- regularly turning up the volume on the TV
- ear pain
- disturbed sleep
- a feeling of fullness in the ear (this is unusual for young children to articulate)
- ringing in the ear (occasionally mentioned by older children)
- balance problems
- speech delay
- recurrent acute otitis media superimposed on underlying glue ear.
Diagnosis
Other tests, such as tympanometry, may also be used to examine the middle ear.
Treating Glue ear
Most cases of glue ear don’t require treatment as the condition will improve spontaneously, usually within three months.
Treatment is normally only recommended when symptoms last longer than three months and the hearing loss is thought to be significant enough to interfere with a child’s speech and language development.
In these circumstances, glue ear can usually be treated using minor surgery, which involves placing small tubes (grommets) in the ear to help drain away the fluid.
Leave a Reply