title: Reading performance in children with otitis media.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether middle ear diseases and the associated hearing loss in early childhood affect reading performance later at school.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and sixty children, 6.5 to 8 years of age, were enrolled in this study: 80 children with a history of recurrent infections and/or prolonged periods of effusions of the middle ear before the age of 5 years, and 80 healthy children without any history of middle ear disease. Data were collected from the medical records of the children. Every child underwent a complete otological and audiological evaluation, followed by special reading tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study group performed more poorly, in all reading tests, as compared to the controls ( P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children with recurrent or prolonged middle ear diseases during the first five years of life tend to be at greater risk for delayed reading than aged-matched controls with no previous middle ear diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rambam Medical Center and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine-The Technion, Haifa, Israel. golz@netvision.net.il
authors.forename: Avishay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Golz
authors.forename: Aviram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Netzer
authors.forename: S Thomas
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Westerman
authors.forename: Liane M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Westerman
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Henry Z
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Joachims
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldenberg
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000150:complications*