Pressure-Relieving Tubes Don’t Help Ear Problems, Study Finds

Children with persistent ear infections often have tubes placed in their eardrums to relieve pressure from fluid buildup. Pediatricians had thought the tubes would prevent developmental impairment as a result of the fluid’s pressure. Such pressure can cause hearing loss and affect language skills and other development. But a new study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, reported in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, found no difference in development between children who had the tubes and those who did not. So far, the children have been studied only through age 3, however. The team did not study the effect of the tubes on subsequent infections.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II