Over 90 per cent of children will have it by the time they’re three-years-old; but conductive hearing loss teacher Beverly Walls says many are unaware how devastating untreated otitis media (middle ear disease) can be.
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Ms Walls hopes to fight the disease with a free ear health check-up and information day at the Inverell Library next week.
“It’s like having your hands over your ears while I’m talking to you and trying to make sense of what I’m saying - like being underwater,” Ms Walls said.
“Now if you’re in a preschool and trying for three months to hear as if you were underwater, what’s going on, it’s very difficult to make sense of what’s happening and follow instructions. And if you have it two or three times in a year, that’s 6-9 months you’re not hearing properly.”
Also known as ‘glue ear’, otitis media can present with ear pain and visible pus, but can also occur with no noticeable symptoms. Frequent colds, trouble concentrating in school, poor speech development and constant use of the word ‘what?’ are all possible indications.
Hearing loss, limited social function and underdeveloped speech are all possible side affects of chronic or untreated otitis media. Ms Walls said many cases involving speech impediments are a direct result of the disease.
Children with conductive hearing loss struggle to keep up with educational games and schoolyard conversations, are hesitant to speak up in class and may be unfairly characterised as slow or inattentive.
As a Department of Education employee, Ms Walls helps schools reach children with otitis media to ensure their development is not set back.
Teaching children to blow their noses and wash their hands is essential to fighting off otitis media. Ms Walls also recommends crunchy food such as raw celery sticks, exercise and avoiding passive smoking situations. Cleaning a child’s ear with a cotton bud is not recommended, as this will simply compact wax (which should be left alone) and may even put a hole in the ear drum.
Held with Armajun Aboriginal Health Service and Hunter New England Health, there will be free ear health check-ups (from three audiometry nurses) for children aged three to 15 years on Tuesday, August 1. Running from 10am-4.30pm, no appointment is necessary.