Secretory otitis media. Late results of treatment with grommets

In 108 children (184 ears) with chronic secretory otitis treated with grommets, the condition at one-to-five years follow-up was compared with that at five-to-eight years follow-up. At the latter time, hearing was extremely good, 97.5% of the ears having a speech reception threshold (SRT) of 20 dB or less. However, only 67% of patients could be classified as cured by normal tympanometry. The remaining ears showed a negative middle-ear pressure of 100 to 300 mm H2O (25%), recurrent accumulation of secretion (1.6%), adhesive otitis (3.3%), perforation (1.7%), or cholesteatoma (1%). The eardrum was normal in 44% of patients, while in 25% it was diffusely atrophic, lax, or retracted.