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.

Hearing loss in children is more common than many parents realise — and more consequential than it might first appear. A child who is not hearing well is not simply missing sounds. They may be missing the building blocks of speech, the ability to follow instructions, the social cues that come from conversation, and the classroom input that underpins learning.