What is glue ear?
Glue ear (otitis media with effusion) happens when the middle ear fills with thick fluid instead of air, muffling sound like listening underwater. It is extremely common in early childhood — most children have at least one episode before school age — because their ventilation tubes (Eustachian tubes) are small and easily blocked after colds. Most cases clear on their own within three months, but persistent glue ear can hold back speech, listening and learning; adults can get it too, sometimes after flights or heavy colds.
Diagnosis involves looking at the eardrum, a tympanogram to measure eardrum movement, and age-appropriate hearing tests. Specialists usually recommend a three-month period of watchful waiting with repeat testing before considering grommets, since so many cases resolve naturally.
Common symptoms
- Muffled or reduced hearing
- A child asking for repetition or turning the TV up loud
- Delayed speech or unclear talking in young children
- Ear fullness or popping
- Balance problems or clumsiness
- Frustration, inattention or behaviour changes at school
How long will you wait?
After the standard three months of watchful waiting, children join the backlogged ENT surgical queue — only around 55% of ENT patients are treated within 18 weeks — so the full journey from first GP visit to grommets often takes six to twelve months.
Privately, you can typically see a paediatric ENT consultant within 3–7 days, with hearing tests done at the same visit and grommet surgery, if needed, usually scheduled within 2–3 weeks.
NHS England median referral-to-treatment wait: 12.4 weeks, with 2.5 million people waiting over 18 weeks (May 2026). Individual waits vary by trust and urgency.
Treatment options
- Watchful waiting. Around half of cases clear within three months, so monitoring with repeat hearing tests is the standard first step.
- Grommet insertion. Tiny ventilation tubes placed in the eardrum during a ten-minute operation restore hearing immediately and typically stay in for six to twelve months.
- Autoinflation. Nasal balloon devices that children blow up can help open the Eustachian tubes and clear fluid.
- Adenoidectomy. Removing the adenoids alongside grommets reduces the chance of glue ear returning in children with repeated episodes.
- Hearing aids. A temporary, non-surgical alternative for persistent glue ear where surgery is not wanted or suitable.
What does private treatment cost?
As a guide, private grommet insertion typically costs £2,000–£3,500, rising to around £4,000–£5,000 if adenoidectomy is performed at the same time.
Does health insurance cover glue ear?
Grommet surgery for persistent glue ear is normally covered by private medical insurance, including on children's policies or family cover, provided the condition arose after the policy began. As ever, glue ear already under investigation when you took out cover will usually be excluded as pre-existing. Routine hearing checks and watchful-waiting reviews may fall under outpatient limits on cheaper policies, so check your outpatient allowance.
Frequently asked questions
Will glue ear affect my child's speech and development?
It can, which is why persistent cases matter. A child who hears the world as muffled for months at a stretch may fall behind with speech sounds, vocabulary and attention, particularly between ages one and four when language develops fastest. The reassuring news is that hearing recovers immediately once fluid clears or grommets are inserted, and most children catch up quickly with normal hearing restored.
Do grommets hurt, and what is the operation like?
The operation itself is painless — it is done under a short general anaesthetic and takes around ten minutes for both ears. Children usually go home within hours and are back at school the next day. Afterwards there is little or no pain; parents often notice dramatically better hearing straight away. Grommets fall out by themselves after six to twelve months as the eardrum heals.
Can adults get glue ear?
Yes, though far less commonly than children. Adult glue ear usually follows a heavy cold, sinus problems or flying, and most cases settle within weeks. Persistent one-sided glue ear in an adult deserves specialist assessment, because the specialist will want to examine the area behind the nose where the Eustachian tube opens to rule out anything blocking it. Grommets work just as well for adults, and can be inserted under local anaesthetic.