2024 Volume 49 Issue 1 Pages 16-22
Children with cleft palate are known to have a high incidence of otitis media effusion and are refractory to treatment with tympanic tube placement. The importance of early diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss has been strongly recognized with the spread of newborn hearing screening. Against this backdrop, the number of cases of tube placement within the first year of life in children with cleft palate and exudative otitis media has been increasing. In this study, we investigated the differences in the frequency of ear leakage, postoperative condition at home, and family psychology depending on the timing of tube placement. The subjects were 83 patients who had tubes implanted between January 2018 and October 2022, and for whom more than six months had passed since implantation. The patients were divided into three groups according to the time of tube placement: 30 were under 1 year of age, 40 were in the 1-year age range, and 13 were 2 years of age or older, with the mean age of placement in each group being 5.17 months, 14.3 months, and 56.5 months, respectively. The results showed that 27（90％）, 26（65％）, and 7（53.8％）of the families in each group felt that their children’s response to sound had improved. In addition, 8（26.7％）, 3（7.5％）, and 0（0％）of the families felt that their children’s emotional conditions had improved. It was found that many of the families in the under 1 year old group felt improvement in both the daily life and emotional aspects. Next, with regard to ear leakage, 4（13.3％）, 20（50％）, and 5（38.5％）of the patients in each group had no ear leakage, and 12（40％）, 10（25％）, and 3（23.1％）of the patients in the under 1 year old group had ear leakage that did not stop for a week or more, indicating a high likelihood of ear leakage and a low likelihood of stopping. However, while ear leaks were more common, they were less likely to be stopped at the hospital. However, while ear leakage was common, 3（10.0％）, 12（30％）, and 2（15.4％）of the families in each group felt it was a burden to go to the hospital. In terms of family psychology, 27（90％）, 28（70％）, and 8（61.5％）of the families in each group felt that they were glad their children had undergone surgery. Although ear leaks are more frequent when tubes are placed during infancy, many families were glad the surgery was performed because of the improvement in the child’s life and emotional state, and the sense of security that the otitis media could be treated. The results of the study showed that the families were happy that their children had undergone the surgery.
