School screening for middle ear effusions.

Early detection of middle ear effusions is highly desirable not only from a medical standpoint, but also educationally, psychologically and socially. Present methods do not appear to be adequate and the proposal has been made that impedance measurement may be of greater effectiveness in detecting abnormalities of middle ear function. Eighty children have been studied over a period of six to seven years during which time the middle ear function has been monitored by means of an impedance meter. Approximately one-half of the children have not indicated any variation in middle ear function over the period of observation. About one-third of the children have had isolated episodes of effusion from which they have recovered spontaneously and without adverse effects. The remaining one-sixth have had repeated episodes of effusion or persistent middle ear malfunction for substantial periods of time. Observation of the middle ear muscle reflexes at suitably chosen time intervals appears to have promise as a method of early detection of effusion in the middle ear.