Factors associated with time to improvement
Factors known to affect OME in adults were statistically analyzed. They
were patient age; the duration of symptoms; a history of OME; a history
of myringotomy; the characteristics of the middle-ear fluid, such as its
color; air in the middle ear; and the average air-bone gap. Three
factors were found to be related to time to improvement: a patient age
between 40 and 60 years, a duration of symptoms of < 2 weeks,
and a history of OME (Table 4).