Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List
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Symptoms of Glue ear
The main symptom of glue ear is hearing loss, ranging from slightly muffled hearing in one ear, to full deafness, if both ears are affected.
Very young children and babies may not be aware that there is anything wrong with their hearing, so it is worthwhile for parents and teachers to note that glue ear can be contributing factor to other difficulties:
- Problems with speech, language or social interaction;
- Clumsiness or balance problems;
- Appearing to have ‘selective hearing’ (for example, disobeying verbal instructions);
- Turning up the volume on the television or radio, or often saying ‘pardon’ or ‘what’;
- In the case of babies, being less responsive to sounds.
Children with glue ear sometimes complain of slight earache. They are also more likely to develop glue ear if they have a history of associated problems such as repeated upper respiratory infections (including colds and flu) or nasal catarrh.
