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Deafness
Glue ear
In addition to PCHI and postnatally acquired permanent hearing loss, almost 40 – 60% of children develop 'glue ear' (synonyms: otitis media with effusion, fluid in the middle ear, middle ear effusion) during the first 6 years of life due to dysfunction of the Eustachian tube (tube that links path of the throat to the ear) with the incidence reducing as the child gets older. Otitis media with effusion (OME) is usually a temporary condition with mucus-like fluid accumulated within the middle ear (behind the ear drum) becoming thick with time (hence the name 'glue ear'). Glue ear during the first few critical developmental years of life, may lead to some speech and language delay and sometimes auditory processing difficulties. Persistent glue ear, with a significant hearing loss or other associated problems such as frequent ear infections, is normally treated by draining the middle ear fluid and inserting a tube called a 'grommet' to ventilate the middle ear. Hearing aids are also recommended as an alternative or while waiting for grommets, or when surgery is not possible. The hearing loss with glue ear is never severe or profound unless there is an additional permanent sensorineural hearing loss. Hence 'glue ear' alone is unlikely to cause severe speech and language delay.
Permanent hearing impairment
| Auditory neuropathy/ auditory dys-syncrony 
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