Is otitis media a major cause of specific developmental language disorders?

It is known that children with a persistent conductive hearing loss do poorly on tests of linguistic and educational attainment, but it is less clear whether significant impairments persist after hearing has returned to normal. If so, then an early history of recurrent otitis media could be an important cause of the types of developmental language disorders seen by speech therapists. In a study of 69 four‐year‐old children with specific developmental language disorders, history of ear infections was assessed by parental questionnaire. Compared to a control group, a significantly higher level of hospital attendance for middle ear disease was reported in language‐disordered children, but the groups did not differ in the number of episodes of ear infections reported, suggesting that referral to an ENT department is determined by the child's language status as well as by history of otitis media. Comparisons of language‐disordered children with and without a history of recurrent otitis media revealed no differences in severity or pattern of language disorder. The data suggested, however, that otitis media might interact with perinatal risk factors in the aetiology of language disorders, since these two factors tended to co‐occur within the language‐disordered group, but were not associated in the control group. However, such an interaction could account for only a minority of cases.