Early childhood otitis media in relation to children's attention-related behavior in the first six years of life

Objective. This study examined whether otitis media with effusion (OME) and associated hearing loss during the first 4 years of life were related to t he ratings of parents, teachers, and clinicians of children's attention and behavior in the first 6 years of life. Methods. In a prospective study, 85 black children were recruited from comm unity-based child care programs when they were between 6 and 12 months old. OME and hearing status were monitored repeatedly from 6 months to 4 years old. Measures of attention and behavior were collected from parents, teache rs, and clinicians when the children were infants, preschoolers, and first graders. Results. On average, children experienced either bilateral or unilateral OM E 30% of the time and hearing loss 19.9% of the time between 6 months and 4 years old. Descriptive and inferential analyses revealed no significant as sociations between OME or hearing loss and the measures of attention or beh avior completed by parents, teachers, and clinicians. Conclusions. In this sample of children, there was no relationship between amount of early childhood OME or hearing loss and measures of attention or behavior in the first 6 years of life as reported by parents, teachers, and clinicians.