Otitis Media and Language Development: Impact on Children’s Speech and Hearing

2024-01-14 11:00:00

ear disease

“Why can’t I speak yet?” Have you ever had a problem like this with your ears?

Reporter Shin So-young

Entered 2024/01/14 20:00

Research has shown that otitis media, which causes inflammation in the middle space of the ear, can delay language development in children./Photo = Clip Art Korea Research shows that ‘otitis media,’ which causes inflammation in the middle space of the ear, can delay language development in children. The results are out.

Professor Susan Nitrower’s research team in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Florida conducted a study to determine the impact of otitis media in children on language development. To this end, the research team identified the history of otitis media in 117 children aged 5 to 10 and examined their vocabulary and phonological sensitivity. Of these, 49 had a history of otitis media as children, and 68 did not.

Research results have shown that otitis media that occurs before the age of 3 affects language development, including vocabulary. Children who experienced otitis media before the age of 3 had lower vocabulary and phonological sensitivity to know and understand more words than children without a history of otitis media. Phonological sensitivity refers to the cognitive ability to analyze the syllables or phonemes that make up words and combine them into one sound. Simply put, if you lack phonological sensitivity, you cannot distinguish between words with similar sounds.

The research team explained that this is because when otitis media occurs, even if there is no pain, fluid accumulates in the eardrum, which can interfere with hearing.

In fact, otitis media is known to cause symptoms such as ear pain, headaches, and hearing loss. In particular, young children are vulnerable to otitis media because their ear canal (the tube that connects the nasal cavity, the empty space in the nose, to the middle ear of the ear) has not yet developed properly, making them vulnerable to otitis media. If you detect and treat otitis media early, you can prevent fluid from accumulating in the eardrum. If fluid accumulates in the eardrum, a temporary tube may need to be inserted to drain the fluid.

The research team said, “Parents, doctors, and teachers need to closely monitor children who are vulnerable to otitis media to see if they have developmental delays. In the future, we plan to study delayed hearing development in children due to other causes, including premature birth.”

The results of this study were recently published in the ‘International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology.’

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