title: Hearing loss in children with otitis media with effusion: a systematic review.
abstract: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is the presence of non-purulent inflammation in the middle ear. Hearing impairment is frequently associated with OME. Pure tone audiometry and speech audiometry are two of the most primarily utilised auditory assessments and provide valuable behavioural and functional estimation on hearing loss. This paper was designed to review and analyse the effects of the presence of OME on children's listening abilities.
  
  
  
  A systematic and descriptive review.
  
  
  
  Twelve articles reporting frequency-specific pure tone thresholds and/or speech perception measures in children with OME were identified using PubMed, Ovid, Web of Science, ProQuest and Google Scholar search platforms.
  
  
  
  The hearing loss related to OME averages 18-35 dB HL. The air conduction configuration is roughly flat with a slight elevation at 2000 Hz and a nadir at 8000 Hz. Both speech-in-quiet and speech-in-noise perception have been found to be impaired.
  
  
  
  OME imposes a series of disadvantages on hearing sensitivity and speech perception in children. Further studies investigating the full range of frequency-specific pure tone thresholds, and that adopt standardised speech test materials are advocated to evaluate hearing related disabilities with greater comprehensiveness, comparability and enhanced consideration of their real life implications.
authors.affiliation: a Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Faculty of Education , The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: a Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Faculty of Education , The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McPherson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001302:Audiometry, Speech; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006309:Hearing; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D012307:Risk Factors; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception
keywords: Conductive; middle ear; pure tone audiometry; speech audiometry; speech in noise; speech perception