Thousands of children who suffer 'glue ear' could be spared surgery with the help of a wireless kit used by cyclists, scientists say.
The condition, which affects 80 per cent of youngsters, usually goes away on its own within days or weeks.
But if the hearing loss hampers their learning and development, children may need a small tube placed into their ear under general anaesthetic. Grommets, as they are known, drain away excess fluid that causes glue ear.
Researchers say the kit alleviates hearing difficulties caused by the condition, paving the way for children to avoid the operation.
More than 90 per cent of parents claimed their child's hearing returned to 'normal' or 'slightly below normal' while using the kit. And none of them required grommets, according to the study published in the British Medical Journal Innovations.
Experts at Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust sent bone conducting earphones and a wireless Bluetooth microphone (pictured) to families to determine whether glue ear could be self-managed
In the three months before the study, 73 per cent of parents said their child's hearing was 'poor' or 'very poor'. But using the kit improved youngsters' hearing, with 92.3 per cent of parents saying their child's hearing returned to 'normal' or 'slightly below normal'
The wireless kits contain bone-conducting earphones, a Bluetooth microphone and an app about glue ear.
The earphones connect to the microphone and transmit the sound it picks up as vibrations through the bone of the skull directly to the inner ear, bypassing the area where fluid has built up from the condition.
Bone conducting earphones cost around £100 and are usually used by cyclists so they can still hear the sounds around them, as well as audio from their phone.
