The Effect of Age and History of Recurrent Otitis Media on Dichotic Listening and Verbal Memory in Children.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the possible effects of recurrent otitis media (ROM) in early childhood on binaural processing and verbal memory in school-aged children.

METHODS: Two hundred eleven children, including 31 children with and 180 children without a history of ROM, were examined. A dichotic digit test (DDT) and a forward and backward digit memory span test (DMST) were administered.

RESULTS: A significant difference was observed between age groups among ROM-free children. The ROM-positive group earned significantly poorer results than the ROM-free group in all measurements, except for the right DDT (rDDT) score. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between the DDT and EA scores with both DMST scores in the ROM-free group. The correlation between the rDDT and forward DMST scores was not significant in the ROM-positive group, and no significant correlation was observed between the EA score and either DMST score.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support that a history of OM in early childhood based on a parental survey of children is associated with differences in DDT and DMST outcomes.