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Abstract
Objective To assess natural history of otitis media with effusion (OME)-related hearing loss and OME causing hearing loss in children under 12 years.
Methods Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL, INAHTA database, CENTRAL, CDSR, Epistemonikos and PsycINFO were searched to identify observational single group studies, and comparative studies with untreated control arms published in English up to June 2022, reporting natural history of OME-related hearing loss and OME causing hearing loss. Risk of bias and overall quality of evidence were assessed using the JBI (Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist and GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology, respectively.
Results Thirteen studies with 24–639 children were included. Resolution of OME-related hearing loss was 50% by 3 months, 60% by 6 months and 61–77% by 12 months. Resolution of OME causing hearing loss (OME of <1 month, >3 months, >6 months or unknown duration before follow-up) was 23–55% by 3 months, 20–50% by 6 months, 31% by 9 months and 21–93% by 12 months, depending on population and how resolution was defined. Resolution of chronic OME (OME of >12 months duration before follow-up) was only 7% by 1 month, 12% by 6 months and 6% by 12 months. Resolution was only 42% by 57 months in children with primary ciliary dyskinesia.
Conclusions There was greater resolution of OME-related hearing loss over longer follow-up periods. Resolution of OME causing hearing loss also showed a trend towards greater resolution over longer follow-up periods; however, this did not follow a linear pattern, potentially due to differences in populations and definitions of resolution across studies.
- Child Health
- Audiology
- Epidemiology
- Paediatrics
Data availability statement
Data are available in a public, open access repository. Data are available upon reasonable request. Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.
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Data availability statement
Data are available in a public, open access repository. Data are available upon reasonable request. Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.
Footnotes
X @ayechanpaing411, @hearglueear
Contributors All authors contributed to the study concept and design and interpretation of results. SA was responsible for designing and carrying out the search strategy. AP conducted the study selection, data extraction and quality assessment, and drafted the manuscript. LEO’S contributed to the study selection, data extraction, quality assessment and data analysis. All authors contributed to the revision of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript. AP is the guarantor of this paper.
Funding AP, LEO’S and SA are employees of NICE, which is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care to develop clinical guidelines. THB, JD and VK are clinicians within the NHS, and JR is lay member. No authors received specific funding from NICE, the Department of Health and Social Care or the NHS to write this review. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of NICE.
Competing interests A full list of interests for the whole committee for the 2023 NICE guideline on ‘Otitis media with effusion in under 12s’ (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2023) is available at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng233/history. JR is a trustee and founder of a charity called Glue Ear Together which is funded by grants and public fundraising, and THB have been involved in assistive technology research and development (without financial gain) of a device, app and website (www.hearglueear.co.uk) to help children once they have glue ear. The other authors declare no potential conflicts of interest associated with this article.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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