Letter: Effects of glue ear

Sir: I noted with interest that the extra tuition needed by a child who has just had his glue ear treated was in English and reading ('It's a miserable life when the volume's turned down'; Health, 27 October).

While doing research into the effects of glue ear on early school performance, I have come across a small number of children who appear to compensate for their loss of auditory input and language activity by developing precocious analytical and mathematical skills. This was most graphically illustrated by the six-year-old whose attacks of glue ear were regularly heralded by a frenzy of mathematical activity, including writing out (unprompted and without help) his 17-times table.

I wonder whether other readers have experience of possibly beneficial effects of glue ear?

Yours sincerely,

PRISCA MIDDLEMISS,

London, W3

27 October