The impact of otitis media with effusion on early phonetic inventories: a longitudinal prospective investigation

This prospective investigation examined the effects of otitis media with ef fusion (OME) on early speech production Two groups of infants, the otitis m edia positive (OME +; n=8), and the otitis media negative (OME -; n=8) were defined according to otitis media (OM) history during the first year of li fe. OM documentation was based on results from tympanometry, pneumatic otos copy, and behavioural audiometry collected bimonthly beginning at age 2 mon ths. Phonetic transcriptions were completed from infants' recorded babbling samples at 10, 12 and 14 months of age. No differences were found between the two groups on rate of vocalizations (i.e. consonants produced per minut e). Differences between the two groups were seen in place and manner of art iculation. OME + infants produced more bilabial stops than OME - infants wh o, in turn, produced more alveolar stops and nasals than did their OME + co unterparts. Furthermore, within the OME + group, children with poorer heari ng thresholds showed preference for bilabial stops, whereas children with b etter hearing thresholds showed more diversity in their phonetic inventorie s.