ENT Insights and Blogs

Glue ear — fluid behind the eardrum causing muffled hearing — is the most common cause of hearing loss in children and often goes undetected because it is painless and children rarely complain about it. Most cases resolve on their own within three months, but persistent glue ear affecting speech, learning, or behaviour warrants specialist assessment and may require grommet insertion.

Parents who bring a child to an ENT clinic with hearing concerns are usually expecting one of two outcomes: either a diagnosis of glue ear, hearing loss, or another treatable condition — or reassurance that everything is normal. What they are rarely prepared for is a more nuanced finding: that the hearing pathway appears to be functioning normally, yet the child's responses to sound are inconsistent or suggest reduced hearing.