Glue Ear: Guide

Symptoms of Glue Ear

Glue Ear can go unnoticed and unidentified in a young child.  It is not normally associated with pain, but children may experience a fullness or popping in their ears.

Glue Ear often occurs at a time when a young child is learning to communicate, may have a limited attention span and likes to do things their own way.  Picking up on symptoms related to Glue Ear at this point in a child’s development can be difficult.

Symptoms generally fall into the following four areas:

• Hearing: may find it difficult to hear speech, mishear instructions, ask for repetition, want the volume turned up, not respond to their name when called.
• Speech: may be unclear, delayed or louder/quieter than normal.
• Behaviour: may become frustrated or withdrawn and prefer to play alone because they are not able to hear clearly.  Listening will be hard work, so they may tire easily.
• Attention: find it difficult to concentrate and attend to what’s happening, particularly in noise

The NHS provides the following list of symptoms of Glue Ear.