Glue Ear Remedy: Blowing Ballooons a Good Treatment?

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A new study's results revealed that children may opt out of drugs as treatment for "glue ear," a condition in which the middle ear is filled with sticky, glue-like fluid. According to Otovent UK, this fluid "dampens the vibrations made by sound waves as they travel through the eardrum" and thereby sends "dampened vibrations" to one's cochlea, causing one's hearing to be dulled or reduced in volume.

Otovent says other symptoms of "glue ear" or otitis media with effusion (OME) include problems with speech, language, or social interaction, appearing to have "selective hearing," sometimes disobeying verbal instructions, clumsiness or balance problems, turning up the volume of the television or radio or other sound devices, and for babies, less responsiveness to sounds.

Glue ear is not caused by ear wax build-up or water inside one's ear following a swim or shower. Instead, it may be caused by ear infections, allergies and smoke infection. Boots Web MD reports that milk from breastfeeding can provide certain proteins that reduce inflammation and prevent glue ear. Moreover, making homes smoke-free may lessen the risk for glue ear.

The NHS reports that "one in five children around the age of two will be affected by glue ear at any given time, and about 8 in every 10 children will have had glue ear at least once by the time they're 10 years old."

A team of British researchers led by Dr. Ian Williamson of the University of Southampton in England explained that when it comes to treating glue ear, "antibiotics, antihistamines, decongestants and intranasal steroids are ineffective and have unwanted effects, and therefore cannot be recommended."

The team studied 320 children aged 4 to 11 years old who underwent a glue ear "autoinflation" treatment using a nasal balloon. A set of children were asked to blow through each nostril through a nozzle to inflate the balloon thrice a day for one to three months, as treatment. The other group underwent standard care.

Findings revealed that the kids who used the autoinflation method were more likely to have normal middle-ear pressure after a month and after threenmonths. They also experienced fewer days with symptoms.

The study authors said: "Autoinflation is a simple, low-cost procedure that can be taught to young children in a primary-care setting with a reasonable expectation of compliance." Additionally, the authors recommend that this method be used more widely, according to Web MD.

Dr. Ian Williamson told BBC: "It sounds a little bit wacky, but this is a purpose-build device. We are confident in our results and it looks like a very good method for improving symptoms and quality of life while reducing harmful treatments."