PROMOTION Stuck in the middle Glue ear is a common problem that is distressing for both children and their parents. But now there is an alternative to surgery H ave you noticed your child struggling to keep up with conversations, becoming aggravated because they're having to try harder to hear, or turning up the volume on the television (more than usual, that is)? Then it's possible they are suffering from glue ear, or otitis media with effusion (OME) to give the condition its proper name. It affects around 200,000 youngsters every year in the UK and is most common in children under the age of 10. The cause is a build-up of sticky fluid in the middle ear; the part