Consequences of Unremitting Middle-Ear Disease in Early Life

Abstract

To learn whether chronic otitis media with effusion during early life has lasting otologic, audiologic, or developmental consequences, we evaluated 24 closely matched pairs of children with repaired palatal clefts whose treatment had been equivalent except with regard to persistent otitis media during early life. One group had undergone early (mean age, 3.0 months) myringotomy with placement of tympanostomy tubes, followed by assiduous monitoring and an aggressive treatment program to maintain ventilation in the middle ear. The other group had undergone initial myringotomy later (mean age, 30.8 months) or not at all (two subjects) and presumably had had continuous middle-ear effusion throughout most or all of the first few years of life. Eardrum scarring was equal in both groups. Hearing acuity and consonant articulation were impaired in both groups, but hearing acuity was less impaired (P = 0.05 to 0.10) and consonant articulation significantly less impaired (P = 0.03) in the group undergoing early myringotomy. Mean verbal, performance, and full-scale IQs and scores on psychosocial indexes were normal in both groups and did not differ significantly between the groups. These findings support the hypothesis that early, longstanding otitis media may result in impairment of hearing and of speech, but they do not support the hypothesis that cognitive, language, and psychosocial development are adversely affected.

Effects of otitis media with effusion on auditory temporal resolution

“…Rvachew et al [40] suggested a number of variables that may interact with a history of OME adversely to affect developmental outcomes, including (i) medical management of the OME [41], (ii) socioeconomic status (SES) of the child's family [42] and (iii) perinatal hazards [43]. In the current experiment, 5 out of 15 children from the 8 y.o.…”

Daycaritis

“…45 There is evidence that OM, especially early onset (age b 12 months), and recurrent OM can cause mild language and behavioral sequelae. [46][47][48] The chronic middle ear effusion that often accompanies recurrent ear infections can lead to transient hearing loss during a critical time of language development. 49 Developmental problems associated with early chronic or recurrent OM include lower scores on language and speech tests, 50 poorer attention skills, more shy and inhibited behavior, 51 and more distractible and fidgety behavior.…”

Feasibility of Identifying Risk for Conductive Hearing Loss in a Newborn Universal Hearing Screening Program

“…Some of these effects are delays and deviations in language development, auditory perceptual differences, and eventual academic problems. [5][6][7][8][9][10] The first indications of possible longterm consequences of early-onset recurrent middle ear effusion were gleaned from research with laboratory animals. For example, differences were noted in the quantity and physiology of neurons within the auditory cortex when rats were given conductive hearing loss.…”