Once Middle Ear Fluid Has Formed What Happens?
The major functions of the ear are hearing and helping to maintain our balance. If fluid fills a middle ear, our balance may be “off”. This may be especially apparent in a young child who is just learning to walk. Hearing is affected by fluid in the middle ear because the fluid deadens the transmission of sound through the ear. This is similar to what we experience when there’s water in our outer ears after swimming, although in that case water is on the outside of the eardrum. Initially the hearing loss that middle ear fluid causes is a temporary problem. However, if middle ear fluid is permitted to remain in the ear for a prolonged period of time, permanent damage may result. In young children the hearing loss caused by the presence of fluid may affect speech and language development as well as certain learning processing skills. This is less significant in older children.
