Glue Ear | Medtick
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Glue Ear

What is it?

A condition common in children where they struggle to hear clearly this is because the Eustachian tube (a narrow tube that runs from your middle ear to the back of your throat that helps to maintain ear pressure and clear mucus and debris from the ear) loses the ability to drain away the mucus causing a build up of mucus which could lead to glue ear.

  • Age-related hearing loss is gradual, whereas children with glue ear often have fluctuations in their hearing, with reduction associated with colds in the winter months.
  • Rarely if affects adults usually after a cold.

Cause

  • Unknown
  • Person (particular children have) a narrow or a more horizontal Eustachian tube hence can’t drain away mucus effectively.
  • Sinusitis causing an inflamed Eustachian tube
  • Allergy (particularly nasal congestion) causing an inflamed Eustachian tube
  • Bottle fed rather than breast fed
  • Brother or sister with glue ear
  • Cleft palate (type of birth defect, where a child has a split in the roof of their mouth)
  • Cystic fibrosis causing an inflamed Eustachian tube
  • Recurrent ear infection causing an inflamed Eustachian tube
  • Living with smokers
  • Throat infection
  • Heartburn
  • Indigestion

Syndromes

Symptoms

  • Balance and dizziness?
  • Nausea and vomiting?
  • Sensitivity to every day noise and/or ringing noise within and/or difficulty hearing?
  • Becoming deaf?
  • Irritated, depressed, anxiety and/or panic attacks?
  • Condition affecting your daily routine?
  • Sensitive to normal every day sounds (hyperacusis)?
  • Normal volume sounds exceptionally loud?
  • Hear continuously or sometimes hissing, buzzing, whistling noises, or a musical tone from ‘nowhere’ or beats in time with pulse (pulsatile tinnitus)?
  • Notice sounds more when quiet environments or tired?
  • Hearing loss?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Do not wait if one has:

Mastoiditis

It’s more common in children and should be diagnosed and treated quickly, the patient need to see a Medical Doctor on the same day, if not possible go to hospital.

This condition can lead to:

  • Tinnitus
  • Long-term glue ear can affect a child’s hearing and speech development, their concentration, behaviour and performance at school.

Richard AM. Otitis media with effusion. In Kerr AG, Adams DA & Cinnamond MJ. Scott Brown’s Otolaryngology: Paediatric Otolaryngology. 6th edn. London: Hodder Education Publishers; 1996

General information

  • Please see your Medical Doctor sooner rather than later as this condition must be diagnosed by an ear throat nose specialist.
  • This condition usually resolves spontaneously within three months; however, if the patient’s hearing loss persists after three months and the child is symptomatic, then temporary hearing aids or surgical intervention, such as grommets, may be required.

This condition may have similar symptoms to:

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

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