Hearing impairments part 1: An overview of glue ear

Otitis media with effusion, also known as glue ear, is a very prevalent condition in young children. Assessment in the primary care setting is difficult as specific diagnostic equipment (e.g. tympanometry) is not readily available in most practices. The current management guidance is for children to be entered into a 3-month period of active monitoring, at the end of which, if natural resolution has not occurred, the child would be referred with a view to possibly having surgery for grommets. Further research into other management techniques, such as autoinflation, is currently underway to pave the way for better management in primary care but also because the long-term effectiveness of grommets is questionable.