Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Vol. 25, No. 1, 2000, pp. 19-21
© 2000 Society of Pediatric Psychology
Commentary |
Commentary: Otitis Media: Consistency Is the Hobgoblin?
1 Children's Hospital, Boston, 2 Harvard Medical School, 3 Boston University
All correspondence should be sent to Deborah P. Waber, Department of Psychiatry, Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115. E-mail: waber@al.tch.harvard.edu .
Otitis media is one of the most common afflictions of early childhood. Few
children escape the preschool years without experiencing at least one episode;
many children experience repeated episodes. In a prospective study, Teele et
al. (1984
) reported that two
out of three children had at least one episode and that by the time the
children were 3 years of age, one of three had had three or more episodes.
This condition brings attendant problems; one concern is that these infections
are most prevalent during the developmental epoch during language
acquisition.
The primary acute behavioral impact of otitis media is compromise of
hearing sensitivity resulting in degraded speech perception. Attenuation of
speech perception during a developmental epoch that is crucial for the
development of
References