LONG-TERM COMMUNICATION DEFICIENCIES IN CHILDREN WITH OTITIS-MEDIA DURING THEIR FIRST YEAR OF LIFE

A cohort of lower socio-economic children who experienced multiple epi sodes of otitis media (OM) during their first year of life were compar ed to a group of children who were largely free of OM during their fir st year. Both groups were followed until 9 years of age. The data indi cate that some children with positive histories of OM performed poorer on a variety of communicative tasks across the 9 year age span than t he children with the negative histories of OM. The results suggest tha t the effect of otitis media and its accompanying hearing loss on comm unication skills may extend throughout childhood.