Long-term effects of otitis media with effusion on language, reading and spelling

Abstract

The long-term effects of early OME on language and educational attainment were studied in 47 children of 7-8 years of age who had participated in an earlier pre-school study' on otitis media with effusion (OME) and language development. At pre-school age OME was diagnosed by quarterly tympanometric screens (maximum nine) and language was assessed by a standard Reynell test. At school age the ears of the children were assessed by otomicroscopy, tympanometry and audiometry, and the development status by several language, reading and spelling tests. The association between early OME and language development found at pre-school age was no longer present at school age.

Natural Course of Tympanic Membrane Pathology Related to Otitis Media and Ventilation Tubes Between Ages 8 and 18 Years

“…The aim of the current study is to document tympanic membrane pathology in a birth cohort that has been followed up from ages 2 to 18 years (6)(7)(8). Repeated otomicroscopy and careful documentation of VT insertions over these years allowed us to study both the dynamics of these abnormalities as well as to separate the effects of OM from those of its treatment.…”

Management of otitis media with effusion in children with primary ciliary dyskinesia: A literature review

“…Many authors have found no significant difference in TM sequelae between children in the general population who were treated once or multiply with VT insertion [23][24][25][26][27]. Further, despite the tendency towards multiple VT insertions, the incidence of VT retention has not been reported to be higher in children with PCD [6].…”

“…Post-VT TM abnormalities have not been found to contribute significantly to hearing loss [7,19,24,25,28,29]. It has also been suggested that TM structural changes may not be due to VT insertion, but to OME alone or in combination with VT [23][24][25]. Interestingly, only one PCD patient was reported with cholesteatoma [13].…”

“…tympanosclerosis, atrophy, pars tensa atelectasis and attic retraction) in many studies [7,19,23,24,25]. Two studies reported tympanosclerosis in 9% [6] and 28% [11] of PCD patients post-VT insertion.…”

“…In the 3 papers that assessed atelectasis in PCD the reported incidence varied from 3% to 50% [10,15,11]. The reported incidence in the general population is up to 10% [23]. Only one PCD study [6] reported TM perforations, finding 3 (27%) temporary perforations and one (9%) persistent perforation in 29 patients.…”