Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of viewing television and playing video games upon children with chronic otitis media with effusion (OME). Forty-nine patients (31 males and 18 females) from 1-11 years old (mean: 4.5 y.o.) were assessed for OME outcomes under media restriction. The presence of OME was evaluated with otoscopic findings. Media restriction achievement and sleep habits were examined through the use of retrospective survey questionnaires. The group of patients in whom media restriction was well-enforced (n = 43) showed a significant amelioration of OME compared with the poorly restricted group (n = 6) [p < 0.05]. A positive correlation was found between the degree of media restriction achievement and the score of sleep habits improvement [p < 0.05], and the group in whom sleep habits improved well (n = 29) showed better OME outcomes than the unchanged group (n = 20) [p < 0.05]. These findings suggest that viewing television and playing video games are both associated with subsequent deterioration of OME through sleep disturbance.
