Premium
Past History of Otitis Media and Balance in Four‐Year‐Old Children
Author(s) -
Casselbrant Margaretha L.,
Furman Joseph M.,
Mandel Ellen M.,
Fall Patricia A.,
KursLasky Marcia,
Rockette Howard E.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1097/00005537-200005000-00007
Subject(s) - posturography , tympanometry , vestibular system , audiology , medicine , otitis , balance (ability) , cohort , family history , population , pediatrics , audiometry , hearing loss , physical therapy , surgery , environmental health
Objectives/Hypothesis To obtain normative data for a population of children 4 years of age with respect to standard vestibular and balance test protocols and to determine, in the absence of concurrent middle ear effusion (MEE), the possible changes caused by a history of recurrent or persistent MEE. Study Design Comparative studies of the results of vestibular and balance tests in a cohort of young children with and without a history of MEE. Methods Seventy‐one children, 4 years of age, with a well‐documented history since early infancy regarding the presence or absence of MEE were evaluated using pneumatic otoscopy, tympanometry, audiometry, and vestibular and balance (rotational and moving platform posturography) tests. For the results of the vestibular and balance tests, comparisons were made between the group of 31 children (43.7%) without and the group of 40 children (56.3%) with a history of recurrent or persistent MEE, when a positive disease history was defined as at least a 10% cumulative percentage of time with MEE between early infancy and time of testing. Results When compared with children with a negative history of significant MEE, children with a positive history had a lower average gain to a rotational stimulus of 0.1 Hz, 150°/s (0.57 vs. 0.44; P = .007). There were no significant differences between groups with respect to other measures. Conclusions These results suggest that a history of recurrent or persistent MEE affects the vestibular and/or balance function of 4‐year‐old children when tested in the absence of a concurrent episode of MEE. The possible sequelae of the disease should be weighed in future considerations of early intervention for MEE.