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Probably the commonest childhood operation is the insertion of grommets - little ventilation tubes - to relieve fluid in the middle ear: so-called 'glue ear'. The idea is to prevent developmental problems like speech difficulties from associated hearing loss. The trouble is that there's little or no good evidence that grommets actually make a difference. Probably the commonest childhood operation is the insertion of grommets - little ventilation tubes - to relieve fluid in the middle ear: so-called 'glue ear'. The idea is to prevent developmental problems like speech difficulties from associated hearing loss. The trouble is that there's little or no good evidence that grommets actually make a difference. And now a large study which has followed 6000 healthy children from early infancy has raised doubts. The children had their ears checked regularly and those who developed fluid were randomly allocated to early grommets at three or four-and-a-half months, or to delayed grommets for the proportion who still had glue ear six or nine months later. Tests including IQ, speech and language and behaviour at six years of age showed no benefit from early grommet insertion regardless of hearing loss. There were no differences at earlier ages either. The study couldn't say though what the impact was of avoiding grommets altogether. The advice suggested is that otherwise well children with glue ear should be observed every three or six months and only operated on if the ear looks as though it's being damaged or the hearing loss is severe.
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