Hearing outcomes in children with primary ciliary dyskinesia--a longitudinal study.

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a congenital abnormality of ciliary structure or function. The otological manifestations of the disease include otitis media with effusion (OME). To date, the severity of hearing loss and natural progression of OME in this select group of patients has not been documented. In this retrospective observational study, we looked at the tympanograms and audiograms of all children with PCD attending the Royal Brompton Hospital multidisciplinary clinic. Our results show an improvement in both hearing thresholds and tympanograms with age (p<0.001). Most cases resolve by the age of 12. This supports the current practice of conservative management in these patients. The problems of persistent otorrhoea and residual tympanic membrane perforation are thereby avoided with the reassurance that hearing loss will spontaneously resolve with time.