Ear tube surgery not needed for child's speech

Putting tubes in the eardrum to help drain a young child’s middle ear infection doesn’t guard against developmental problems later in life, according to a study released Wednesday.

Ever year about 280,000 children under age three have the tube surgery, which is designed to reduce the number of ear infections or drain middle ear fluid that might muffle sounds and hinder language development.

Researchers at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh conducted a study of nearly 400 children in 2001 that concluded that waiting to implant the tubes had no effect on a child’s performance on language and speech tests at age three or four.

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Even by the age of six, the children with the tubes implanted immediately scored no higher on intelligence, word, speech, behavior or emotion tests than children who got the tubes later, or not at all, in updated findings published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

In all, 30 types of tests were given to the youngsters.

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The prompt insertion of the eardrum tubes had no demonstrable beneficial effect on their development by six years old, said the team, led by Jack Paradise of the University of Pittsburgh.

The researchers said, doctors should take a conservative approach when treating children with the infection, because inserting the tubes carries risks associated with general anesthesia.

The study among 3-year-olds had already prompted some physician groups to recommend against using the tubes just because fluid is affecting a child’s hearing.