“Glue ear muffles everything and makes it hard to hear quieter sounds”

“That’s why it’s important to give your child the best chance of hearing the sounds you’re making.”

One simple way to do this is turning off the TV while you’re talking to your little one.

“This is helpful for all children’s listening and language learning, but for a child with glue ear, it’s especially important as spotting the words among background noise is even harder.”

Make sure your child can see your mouth when you are talking.

“They will get lots of clues about what you’re saying by watching your face and how your lips move”,

“That’s why being face to face and getting down to your child’s level is really useful.”

“Shouting changes the way your lips move and the sound of your voice. This then makes it harder for your child to work out what you’re saying.

"Instead, talk clearly and at an average to slow speed. You want to keep the normal ups and downs in your voice because your child will pick up on those clues from a young age. They’ll use them to work out if it’s a question or statement.”

Not being able to hear properly might mean your child gets tired and irritated.

“Let your child decide how you play together”,

“For example, instead of a story at bedtime they might just want a cuddle while listening is hard work.”

“If you don’t think they’re hearing all the words, stick to the key messages."

Instead of saying, ‘Look over there, it’s a big plane flying in the sky,' you could say, ‘the plane’s flying.' It doesn’t change the meaning of what you’re saying and will help your child pick out the keywords.