CHILDHOOD IMBALANCE AND CHRONIC OTITIS-MEDIA WITH EFFUSION - EFFECT OF TYMPANOSTOMY TUBE INSERTION ON STANDARDIZED TESTS OF BALANCE AND LOCOMOTION

The goal of this study was to investigate the role of chronic otitis m edia with effusion as a cause of childhood imbalance. Nineteen 4- to 6 -year-old children with chronic otitis media with effusion and 14 matc hed control children underwent a series of laboratory tests, including two standardized tests of balance and locomotion: the Peabody Develop mental Motor Scales (PDMS) and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor P roficiency (BOTMP). The children in the chronic otitis media with effu sion group underwent tympanostomy tube insertion. Both groups underwen t the same battery of tests within 6 to 8 weeks of initial testing. An alysis of variance for the PDMS and BOTMP demonstrated significantly l ower performance in the balance subscales for the otitis group before (P < .01), Both otitis and control groups improved when retested, The improvement was greater and approaching significance in the otitis gro up on the PDMS and BOTMP (P = .056 and .097, respectively). It is conc luded that chronic otitis media with effusion significantly affects ba lance and coordination skills in 4- to 6-year-old children. These skil ls improve after tympanostomy tube insertion at a rate greater than th at of the control group.