If glue ear is unilateral, there usually isn't a problem, but bilateral glue ear with significant hearing loss is commonly considered to pose developmental problems to children. However, studies have not produced sufficient evidence to demonstrate a causal link between glue ear and significant hearing disability. HL is sometimes thought sufficient to justify surgery. Forty-two percent of three year olds may begin an episode of glue ear over the next twelve months. HL which persists for at least three months.
Most episodes are short.
In the vast majority of cases glue ear will not persist beyond early childhood. There is great variation between regions and between centres within regions, which reflects a number of different issues, including screening policies, culture, referral practice and surgical decision making, and service supply. No one knows. That is one reason why the GRiP study is being undertaken. There have been 19 published RCTs which examine the effectiveness of surgical intervention for glue ear.