THE IMPACT OF EAR INFECTIONS ON CHILDRENS LANGUAGE SKILLS

Most of the research both on otitis media and OME over the past ten years has focused on the effects of temporary hearing loss on the development of language skills in children younger than 3 years old. One study examined a group of 3 to 8-years-olds who had histories of chronic ear infections and OME, all of whom got ear infections before 18 monts of age. The study found that although these children did misarticulate more consonants than children without histories of ear infections, both groups made errors on the same sounds.


Several studies suggest a direct relationship between educational achievement and occurance of otitis media and OME. Interestingly, a few of these studies also suggest that children with intermittent hearing loss may have more difficulties with speech and language that children with steady mild-to-moderate hearing impairment.


But one study of 698 children of diverse backgrounds showed that prolonged or chronic otitis media or OME, especially in children between 6 to 12 months, may put children at risk for cognitive delays at around 3 years of age. Conceivably, if these children were identified and given help their cognitive deficits were first uncovered, they would be able to get back up to speed, and thus, even by the age of 5, be at reduced risk for negative development effects. These finding provide an even stronger argument for early testing of hearing impairment, especially in at risk children.


Most importantly, remember that the window during which screening and subsequent therapy will held a child overcome any developmental deficits brought on by hearing loss is brief, and considered by most experts to end at age 3. This even more reason to have early and frequent testing and pursue corrective therapy if needed.