Hearing-related quality of life in children with otitis media with effusion: The impact of hearing loss presence and laterality.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate hearing-related quality of life in children aged 7-12 years with otitis media with effusion (OME) and determine whether it differs according to hearing loss presence and laterality. METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional single-center study included consecutive children aged 7-12 years with OME. Diagnosis was established using otoscopic/otomicroscopic findings and tympanometric assessment. Hearing status was classified according to pure-tone average from air-conduction thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz, and patients were categorized into three groups: no hearing loss, unilateral hearing loss, and bilateral hearing loss. Hearing-related quality of life was assessed using the Turkish adaptation of the Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children with Hearing Loss. RESULTS: A total of 115 children were included: 36 had no hearing loss, 38 had unilateral hearing loss, and 41 had bilateral hearing loss. Age and sex distributions were similar across groups. Environment, activity, emotion, and total scores differed significantly among groups, with the highest scores in children without hearing loss and the lowest in those with bilateral hearing loss. All pairwise comparisons remained significant after correction for multiple testing. Effect sizes were large, particularly for the total score (ε2 = 0.777; 95% CI, 0.711-0.844). Maternal education level, number of siblings, and symptom duration also differed significantly. CONCLUSION: Hearing-related quality of life in school-aged children with OME is associated with both hearing loss presence and laterality. Bilateral hearing loss showed the greatest impairment, while unilateral hearing loss was also associated with significantly reduced quality of life. These findings indicate that unilateral involvement should not be overlooked in clinical evaluation and follow-up.