Otitis media with effusion (“glue ear”)

Otitis media with effusion (“glue ear”)

Eighty per cent of children under 10 years old will have had at least one episode of otitis media with effusion (OME) (figure⇓). Bimodal peaks occur at age 2 and 5 years. The condition is often relapsing and remitting: an episode usually lasts for 6-10 weeks. In severe and persistent cases, permanent retraction and atrophy of the tympanic membrane can occur, occasionally leading to retraction pockets and ultimately cholesteatoma. However, the main concern in OME is the associated conductive hearing impairment, and the repercussions this can have for a child’s education and speech and language development. The exact cause of the condition is not clearly understood , but it arises from eustachian tube dysfunction, causing chronically low pressure in the middle ear. This then leads to an inflammatory response in the middle ear mucosa, with production of fluid or “glue.”