A Sydney mother, in a bid to help to raise awareness about the relationship between aggressive behaviour and glue ear, wrote a poignant magazine article entitled ‘My Aggressive Toddler.’ (Ref: Webchild magazine, July 2012, Nicole Hall) Her son, Sam, exhibited behavioural problems at 11 months of age; pulling hair and biting without provocation. At 2.5 years Sam played with little focus and ignored his mother’s warnings. Sam’s parents also noticed that Sam was snoring, dribbling and had sleep apnoea (short periods without breathing, which is disruptive to sleep). By the time Sam turned 5 his mother had followed a long and mostly fruitless journey seeking behavioural advice and trialling various recommendations. She had seen a child health nurse, a GP, a paediatrician, a Chinese Medicine practitioner and an allergy specialist. Sam was evaluated by a speech therapist, a child psychiatrist and a psychologist for autism. Autism was ruled out and Sam’s mother found herself at a complete loss. 

The crucial advice that would change Sam’s life came from another mother at a kids’ gym whose son, like Sam, had displayed social dysfunction and lack of focus. He had just been diagnosed with a blockage in his middle ears and needed to have grommets inserted.

Sam’s mother took him to an ear, nose and throat specialist, and finally received a diagnosis:

‘After investigation, the doctor said, “The problem is Sam’s ears. He has fluid in both middle ears and it is probable he has heard very little for a long time.” “Would this be causing his aggressive behaviour?” I asked. “Undoubtedly. Hearing loss is associated with behaviour problems and language delay in children. Sam’s speech does seem impaired for his age.” The puzzle was solved. Sam had ‘glue ear,’ in which enlarged adenoids cause fluid to build up inside his middle ears, resulting in hearing loss and pain.’

Following the operation to have his adenoids removed and grommets inserted, Sam’s hearing became better, as did his vocabulary and speech. Slowly, his behaviour also improved.