Diagnosing Glue Ear
If your child is showing the following symptoms and you are unclear about their condition, it is advisable to check with your nearest ENT specialist.
Often doctors rely on one or several of the following tests to make the diagnosis. They’re Otoscopy, Audiometry and Tympanometry tests.
Treatment of Glue Ear
Glue Ear does not always need treatment. Most physician prefer a conservative, or “wait and see”, approach to treat the problem.
There is some debate about how effective medical treatments are and the mainstay of treating children with Glue Ear is with ventilation tubes (grommets)
The decision to operate and insert a grommet in the eardrum is dependent on many factors such as the patient's age, whether there are recurrent middle ear infections, pain speech, delay learning or behavioral difficulties.
It can also depend on the appearance of the eardrum. (For instance whether there is a retraction pocket, which is a localized area of scarring that may lead to problem)
Young children with poor language development, pain or recurrent ear infection should have grommets inserted as soon as possible. Older children with fewer symptoms can be treated conservatively with regular follow-up visits in the outpatient clinic to monitor their hearing and the appearance of the ear drum
The main objective of grommet insertion is to get rid of the fluid in the middle ear by allowing air to enter through the grommet, so temporarily by passing the problem. Normal hearing is restored once this objective is accomplished.
Grommets are available in many different shapes and sizes. On average, a grommet will stay in place between six to 12 months and will then fall out as the healing eardrum pushes it out into the ear canal. If the child redevelops Glue Ear it may be necessary to re-insert another grommet. The operation to insert a grommet s usually performed as day-case surgery under general anesthesia and it is the most common ear nose throat procedure.
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