The assessment of hearing results following surgery for otitis media with effusion using the Glasgow Benefit Plot

The hearing data from a sample of 73 children undergoing surgical treatment for chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) were analysed using a modification of the Glasgow Benefit Plot. All the patients had bilateral middle ear effusions confirmed at surgery. Using 20 dB average hearing level as the 'cutoff' point between normal and abnormal hearing, 65 (89 per cent) patients had binaural normal hearing, five (7 per cent) had monaural normal hearing and three (4 per cent) had bilateral hearing loss after surgery. However, 70 patients (96 per cent) were found to benefit from surgery. The cases with persistent hearing loss were re-examined to determine the cause of failure.