Interventions and management options

Monitoring and support

Your child will have check-ups during a review period to monitor changes in their OME. During this time it may resolve on its own, or if it worsens another management option may be advised.

During this period you can actively support your child at home and at nursery or school by using simple strategies to help them to hear and listen more effectively. Click here for our top tips for ways to support your child

Monitoring can help form a better picture of hearing loss impact, and identify any patterns to changes in hearing, to inform choices for other interventions when OME does not resolve in the short term.

Hearing aids

A child with glue ear may benefit from a low-powered hearing aid. Hearing aids can be worn for many months while waiting for glue ear to clear and may be preferable to surgical treatment.

A postaural hearing aid is worn behind the ear, attached to an ear mould. A bone conduction hearing aid is worn on a band and works by vibrating bone on the child’s head to send the signal straight to the inner ear.

Grommets

A grommet is a small ventilation tube that is surgically inserted (under general anaesthetic) into the eardrum to ventilate the middle ear.  The current glue is removed, before inserting the grommet. The grommet will fall out after a period of time and the eardrum will normally heal. Whilst the grommet is in place, it allows air to go into the middle ear to help the little bones move freely and transmit sound to the inner ear.

© Katy Mitchell

With kind permission from Kestrel Medical

Auto-inflation

An otovent consists of a nosepiece and a balloon and is considered suitable for children over 3 years of age.  The nosepiece is placed against the nostril whilst the other nostril is held closed and the balloon is inflated by blowing with the nose.  This procedure helps to open the Eustachian tube, equalise the air pressure and allow the fluid in the middle ear to drain down the back of the throat.

Treatments that are not recommended

Guidance produced by the National Institute of Clinical Excellent (NICE) , who provide evidence based best-practice information for health and care practitioners, currently does not recommend the following treatments:

  • antibiotics, oral or nasal corticosteroids, antihistamines, leukotriene receptor antagonists, mucolytics, proton pump inhibitors and anti-reflux medications, or decongestants

  • homeopathy

  • cranial osteopathy

  • acupuncture

  • dietary modification, including probiotics

  • massage

National Institute of Clinical Excellence (2023) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng233