Ear infections are the most frequent reason parents take their children to the doctor.
These infections are easily managed to prevent long-term consequences to the ear but the infections do cause a mild to moderate hearing loss that can last for many months in some children. Doctors cannot easily cure the accumulation of fluid that causes the hearing loss. Our previous research found that some children with chronic otitis media can have learning problems including less developed use of language, less attention to language in interacting with others, and less use of social language in child care settings. The goal of the current study is to identify factors that might buffer children against the negative effects of this hearing loss as well as to identify factors which might actually make matters worse.