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Treatment of Glue ear

Research has shown that medication is not effective in treating glue ear. Once a child has been assessed for additional risks and the severity of the condition, many are initially treated by simply “watching and waiting”. Around half of cases cure themselves within three months.

Using the watch and wait method, the child is re-tested in around three months. If glue ear persists, they may be referred to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist.

Children under the age of four, or children with a further risk condition such as Down’s syndrome or a cleft palate, will be referred to the ENT specialist immediately if glue ear is diagnosed.

There are three options for surgical treatment of glue ear:

  • Inserting a grommet. The specialist will provide a new drainage exit from the middle ear by inserting a tiny plastic drainage tube called a grommet into the eardrum. This treatment is performed under general anaesthetic. Grommets normally fall out after 6 to 12 months by which time glue ear has usually gone away, and if not a new grommet may be fitted.
  • Adenoidectomy. If the adenoids are unusually enlarged, and blocking the Eustachian tubes, they may also have to be removed. 
  • Combining the above. This has been shown to have the most effective long term results than either of the treatments individually.

Children with grommets may go swimming but should never be allowed to dive. When washing the child's hair, use earplugs to stop soapy water getting into the child's ears.

Older children are sometimes treated by using autoinflation, which involves blowing up a special balloon using their nose. This is fairly difficult for the child to carry out, and is not a routine treatment, but is less invasive than the surgical options described above. Children with glue ear who use the balloon regularly are more than three times as likely to hear better than children not using it, and children using the nasal balloon are more likely to improve within three months than children who don't use a balloon.