Nonsurgical home treatment of middle ear effusion and associated hearing loss in children. Part I: clinical trial.
We conducted a randomized, controlled clinical trial to investigate the efficacy of treatment of persistent middle ear effusion (MEE) and associated hearing loss with a modified Politzer device used in the home setting over a 7-week period. Efficacy was determined by comparing pre-and posttherapy air-conduction thresholds, tympanometric peak pressures, and otoscopic findings. The study group was made up of 94 children (174 ears), aged 4 to 11 years, who had at least a 2-month history of MEE and associated hearing loss. At study's end, patients in the treatment group experienced statistically significant improvements in all measured outcomes; no significant improvements were seen in the control group in all measured outcomes. At study's end, the hearing sensitivity of 73.9% of the treated ears was within normal limits, compared with only 26.7% of the control ears. These findings demonstrate that home treatment of children with persistent MEE and associated hearing loss with the modified Politzer device is highly efficacious.
Arick
Daniel S
DS
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, New York City, USA.
Silman
Shlomo
S
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000399:Air Pressure; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005064:Eustachian Tube; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007327:Insufflation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009666:Nose; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome