Author(s)
Raj Patel
Erika Moxley, MD
Richard Hubble, MD
Affiliation(s)
Loyola Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center
Abstract:
Objective:
Tympanostomy tubes are commonly placed for recurrent acute otitis media and chronic otitis media, which can manifest as speech delay in children because conductive hearing loss may impair speech development. The effect of early tube placement on subsequent speech delay remains uncertain. This study aims to determine whether tympanostomy tube insertion is associated with a reduced prevalence of speech delay in young children.
Methods: A retrospective, matched cohort study evaluated the association between tympanostomy tube placement and speech delay. Using ICD-10 code F80.9 and CPT codes 69436 and 42825, 656 two-year-old children were identified, including 328 who underwent tube placement and 328 age- and sex-matched controls. The primary outcome was a diagnosis of speech delay. Relative risk, absolute difference, and chi-squared testing assessed the association between tube placement and speech delay.
Results: Speech delay was diagnosed in 43.4% of children with tympanostomy tubes compared to 54.6% without, representing an absolute risk reduction of 11.2%. Tympanostomy tube placement was significantly associated with lower risk of speech delay (?² = 8.34, p = 0.0039; RR = 0.79).
Conclusion: Tympanostomy tube placement at an early age was associated with a decreased incidence of speech delay and may serve as a protective factor against developing speech delay in children.