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

Abstract

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