Increased awareness and better treatment for Glue Ear and Ear Infections.

There are good professionals out there who can help. But there is also institutionalized lack of knowledge and awareness throughout the National Health Service of the problems facing children with Glue Ear with or without ear infections . Children are often misdiagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder or ADHD for example) or not diagnosed at all.
The lack of training in the NHS and our Education system not only results in a lack of correct treatment and help for the child but also results in the child feeling frustrated, misunderstood and alienated.

Hearing impairment is being downplayed, and it's emotional and behavoural effects are being misunderstood and misinterpreted.
This affects children lifelong. It affects the way society and the education system relates to them and destroys their belief in them self, eventually creating a self fulfilling prophecy.
Many children and babies are not being diagnosed during the first three crucial years for language and social development. The condition is being diagnosed too late and in many cases missed completely, leading to incorrect diagnosis and treatment. Doctors no longer automatically examinine the ear, nose and throat when presented with a poorly child. This has led to the condition being missed. There are now less referrals to ENT and less grommets insertions being performed. The preferred NHS strategy of "Watchful Waiting" does not work as it cannot possibly be used to diagnose a condition that in by nature recurrent. There are countless people whose children's health and development are being seriously affected by this condition and yet they are not receiving the treatment that they need. What is more alarming is that this is not a new problem. There are also a great many adults who have been let down and are still suffering today.
Different health authorities differ in their knowledge and treatment of the condition, some doctors refusing to perform grommets insertions until a child is five years old (even the most seriously affected children).
The experience of many parents is that health professionals do not fully understand the psychological, developmental and behavioural effects of recurrent glue ear with or without ear infections on children. And so this lack of understanding is passed on to teachers and educational specialists who then treat the child as having a different problem such as ASD, ADD etc.
Watchful waiting is damaging these children. Recurrent hearing loss causes a child to withdraw from listening and therefore language development fails. Recurrent pain, muffled hearing and increased isolation from peers causes increased behavioural problems as the child gets older.
Speech and Language Therapy Services are not trained fully enough to understand where these children are coming from. They are not in many cases treating the child as a child with a hearing and listening problem. Neither is there an awareness that often the child will have emotional issues around talking. In many areas children cannot even access speech and language therapy.
Children need to recieve early intervention and parents need to be helped by health professionals to make an informed choice over such treatments as grommets insertions, hearing aids, antibiotics and auto inflation. This is currently not happening.
Schools, teachers and SEN staff do not have the necessary knowledge of the possible effects of this condition and therefore are not able to recognise it or offer children appropriate help in schools.
Although there are many children who only experience one or two bouts of Glue Ear before it goes away on its own, there are also many children who experience chronic recurring bouts accompanied by infections beginning at a very young age and lasting years. The experience of many parents is that Doctors view glue ear more as a minor condition with little effect on the child and overlook the often serious implications until it is too late.