Help shape the future of glue ear treatment

24 November 2009

Deafness Research UK has joined forces with researchers at Southampton University to give schoolchildren and their families a rare opportunity to shape the future diagnosis and treatment of glue ear.

From today, children, supervised by their parents, will be able to visit a new website, www.tadast.soton.ac.uk, to register an interest in completing a short web-based test which will help researchers measure school-aged children's hearing function and disability.  TADAST, which stands for 'the Two Alternative Auditory Disability and Speech Reception Test,' will be used to help identify children who are most likely to suffer from the hearing, learning and social problems that can result from glue ear. Ultimately the research will help doctors to better manage children with glue ear using the website test as a monitoring aid.

The test is aimed at children aged 4-11 years and involves listening to a BBC presenter speaking against background noise of a similar level to that found in a classroom environment. At least 300 children are being sought to take part in the pilot research. Parents can log on now to www.tadast.soton.ac.uk and register an interest in participating. Once the full site is up and running, Southampton University will email you a password and explain what to do next.

Deafness Research UK's Chief Executive, Vivienne Michael, said: "Most children will suffer from glue ear at some point, especially during the winter months, as it can be associated with seasonal colds and flu. It often clears up quickly and without treatment but it can persist and some children will require further help with their hearing. Deafness Research UK is committed to better understanding hearing problems in children and to directing the necessary resources to reducing their impact on children's development. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Southampton University on this important pilot research project which should make a real difference to thousands of children and families in the future."      

Around 200,000* children suffer from repeated ear infections or glue ear each year in the UK. Whilst the majority of ear infections clear up naturally, there is a danger that potentially more serious cases are being overlooked and, whilst rare, the bacteria that cause ear infections can lead to complications such as pneumonia and meningitis. Where the conditions cause hearing loss because the middle ear becomes filled with fluid, younger children in particular can have problems with language development and speech.

Dr Ian Williamson, adviser to Deafness Research UK, senior lecturer in General Practice at Southampton University and a practising GP, said: "The pilot research site, www.tadast.soton.ac.uk, will contain a very short Otitis Media (glue ear) questionnaire for the parent or guardian to complete (OM2-13) and a section for feedback. The child's history of otitis media - whatever it happens to be - is not an exclusion to helping us as we need to build up the 'big picture'. The ultimate aim of the project is to better manage children with glue ear using the website test as a monitoring aid, but we first need around 300 volunteers to complete the test and establish the age and sex range of scores, so we can accurately interpret the test results in the future.

"This website could eventually be made accessible for home use to inform parents, GPs and teachers of children with glue ear, how a child's hearing is affected."

Deafness Research UK and Southampton University hope there will be public interest in further developing TADAST to better identify and keep an eye on children who may need more help.

Ethics number: SOMSEC 033.09
[* NICE report 2008 on Surgical Management of OME in children]