To many doctors this will come as a surprise because it's been a matter of some controversy and speculation and some doctors are convinced it's a problem,

All we have to do to solve the whole controversy is have the medical profession come forward (and) lay the guidelines down, ... The guidelines say only certain doctors can do it, and if you don't, we're going to punish you.

We were led to the conclusion that ear disease does not cause any developmental problems,

We concluded that it's highly unlikely that middle ear disease had any impact on children's later development, ... Children are pretty resilient, and it's not as though there's no hearing. They might be turning up the TV or parents might have to speak louder, but these children aren't deaf. When their hearing gets better, they make up for the temporary loss.

If I had any words of advice for parents with children with this condition, it would be, 'Don't just do something, sit there,'

The decision to undergo ear tube surgery should be discussed carefully with the doctor, ... A variety of factors go into this decision. If you think putting tubes in the child's ears is going to improve developmental outcome at age 3, the answer is: no, it won't.