Otovent Autoinflation Device - Clinically Effective Treatment for Glue Ear

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If balloon dilatation isn’t successful, your doctor may then recommend grommet surgery. This is a more invasive procedure where a thin, hollow plastic tube is inserted into your middle ear through your eardrum. This completely bypasses your Eustachian tube. Avoid your child swimming in lakes or non-chlorinated pools. The water in these places usually has a high bacteria count and infection is more likely to occur. If your child has glue ear, you may have lots of questions about the condition. Your child’s healthcare provider can answer anything you’re concerned about. Questions you may want to ask your child’s provider include: The NICE guideline recommends the use of autoinflation during the observation period for children who are likely to be able to use the procedure.

Some children develop glue ear after a cough, cold, or ear infection when extra mucus is made. The mucus may build up in the middle ear and not drain well down the eustachian tube. However, in many cases glue ear does not begin with an ear infection. Have you ever noticed that when you have a cold, your hearing seems to be affected too? That condition is known as “glue ear,” and if left untreated, it can disrupt your work and social life. The Otovent is suitable for children from three years old. It consists of a balloon and a nosepiece. This treatment involves fitting the balloon to the nosepiece, putting the nosepiece against one nostril and keeping the other nostril and mouth closed. By blowing through the nostril, the balloon is inflated until it’s about the size of a grapefruit. The nosepiece is removed and the procedure repeated with the other nostril.One parent commented: " We made a joke out of it; it was a bit of a game really - to see who could blow the biggest balloon" In children, glue ear usually gets better on its own with no treatment. The GP will usually monitor your child for three months to see whether the glue ear goes by itself, before considering treatment.

The specialist in hospital will help you decide on the best treatment option. Grommets for glue ear They also found that viral infections may harm the pathogens living in your nasal cavities, causing an imbalance in your nasal microbiota. This causes the pathogens to overgrow, leading to glue ear. If there’s no improvement, surgical intervention, such as grommets, or hearing aids may be offered. Grommets

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Your child's doctor, nurse or audiologist may prescribe treatment with a nasal balloon to help clear your child's glue ear during the watchful waiting period. The new generation devices, which look like a toy, allow children as young as one year to be treated for chronic glue ear, with up to 80% of patients getting significant relief from the symptoms. van Zon A, van der Heijden GJ, van Dongen TMA et al. Antibiotics for otitis media with effusion in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;(9):CD009163. Older children with glue ear may also report tinnitus (hearing sounds in the affected ear like ringing or buzzing). Some may experience mild clumsiness or balance problems. However, if your child has glue ear for more than three months, treatment may be recommended. In general, if your child has symptoms of glue ear, they will be referred for hearing tests. This is followed by a three-month “active monitoring” period after which your child will need to have another set of hearing tests.

A small hole (perforation) of the eardrum occasionally persists in the eardrum after the grommet has come out. This usually heals without treatment but occasionally a small operation is needed to fix it. Minor damage and scarring to the eardrum may occur but this is unlikely to cause any problems.

Preliminary Treatment for Glue Ear

This is a plain English summary of an original research article. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and reviewer(s) at the time of publication. Yes. All children should have a routine hearing test shortly after birth. However, most cases of glue ear develop in children aged 2-5 years. Therefore, hearing may have been fine at the routine hearing test but then become dulled at a later time. Hearing tests are also performed routinely in many areas of the UK when children enter school (in state education settings), although this is not universal. See a doctor if you suspect your child has dulled hearing at any age. How long does glue ear last? The Valsalva maneuver is a breathing technique that your child can use to try to unclog their ears. To perform the maneuver, have your child pinch their nostrils and keep their mouth closed. Then tell them to try forcibly blowing air out through their nostrils. Your child may feel their ears “pop.” Otovent nasal balloon Keep out of reach of children. The treatment of children should always be supervised by an adult. Never use toy balloons in performing the otovent method as toy balloons do not give the proper inflation pressure and may cause treatment failure. Four randomised controlled trials involving a total of 565 children showed statistically significant improvements in middle ear function with Otovent compared with standard care, as determined by tympanometry and pneumatic otometry. The comparator was not always fully described.