Incidence of coexisting sensorineural hearing loss and secretory otitis media

There are currently no standard guidelines for assessing hearing in children who are evaluated for tympanostomy tubes. We describe the results of audiologic testing on 587 children, age 2 months to 17 years admitted to Pediatric Otolaryngology Department Białystok for treatment of secretory otitis media. Ten children (1.7%) were found to have previously unrecognized sensorineural hearing loss. In four cases total unilateral deafness, in six others moderate to severe sensorineural bilateral hearing loss was diagnosed. Three other children referred to our clinic as sensorineural hearing loss were found to have secretory otitis media as the only or coexisting cause of deafness. Results of our study show the importance of age--appropriate hearing assessment as part of diagnostic procedure for secretory otitis media.