Otitis Media with Effusion in Young Children Diagnosis and Hearing Evaluation Suspect otitis media with effusion in young children.
Most children have at least one episode of otitis media with effusion before entering school.
Otitis media with effusion may be identified following an acute episode of otitis media, or it may be an incidental finding. Symptoms may include discomfort or behavior changes. Use pneumatic otoscopy to assess middle ear status. When pneumatic otoscopy is performed by an experienced examiner, the accuracy for diagnosis of otitis media with effusion may be between 70 and 79 percent. Tympanometry may be performed to confirm suspected otitis media with effusion.