Effect of Early or Delayed Insertion of Tympanostomy Tubes for Persistent Otitis Media on Developmental Outcomes at the Age of Three Years

Myringotomy with the insertion of tympanostomy tubes is the most common operation among children beyond the newborn period in the United States; an estimated 280,000 children younger than three years of age underwent the operation in 1996 (Kozak LJ: personal communication). A main indication for the procedure in young children is persistent otitis media with effusion, 1 , 2 which because of its commonly associated conductive hearing loss, 3 has been thought to result in lasting impairments of speech, language, cognitive, and psychosocial development. 4 Current guidelines of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery list otitis media with effusion of more than . . .