Health Update: Girls and glue ear

GLUE EAR in girls may not need surgery because the condition gets better without treatment more quickly than it does in boys, according to researchers at the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow. In a study of 78 children with hearing problems caused by middle ear infection, they compared one group who had grommets inserted (both with and without removal of the adenoids) with another who had nothing done surgically. After six months only the boys who had undergone surgery showed any benefits. Surgery in girls, the researchers conclude in the Journal of Laryngology and Otology, should be considered with greater caution, since it is likely that 'natural resolution is quicker than in boys'.