How does glue ear affect a child?
Although it starts off as a physical problem, glue ear can affect your child in other ways. For example, as well as causing painful ears and dulled hearing, glue ear can also affect a child’s balance and speech, their emotional well-being and behaviour. Looking at all these elements is known as ‘the whole-child approach’. Older children with glue ear have described experiencing a ‘shut-in’ feeling, resulting from a combination of the dulled hearing and the physical sensations from the middle ear (for example, a sense that the ear is blocked up). Younger children may have problems with their language development or speech. Particularly when the glue ear lasts a long time, children can develop difficulties communicating or socialising. It is important to look out for signs that glue ear might be affecting your child in these ways. It will help your child feel less frustrated or misunderstood, and if you can describe the problems with convincing examples, it may help your child to get ext
