The prevalence of middle ear effusion at the time of grommet insertion—a retrospective cohort study

Background: Grommets/ventilation tubes insertion are common procedures completed in paediatric otolaryngology for recurrent acute otitis media (AOM) or otitis media with effusion (OME). OME can cause significant conductive hearing loss and impact on speech and language development. Timing of surgery is critical as many cases of OME are transient and improve spontaneously without intervention. Our study aims to assess the rate of dry taps at the time of surgery for OME.