IMPORTANT INFORMATION

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NHS Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group has been legally dissolved and from 1 July 2022 has been replaced by a new organisation: NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SY ICB). NHS South Yorkshire ICB is now responsible for commissioning and funding of health and care services locally. Please go to our new website www.southyorkshire.icb.nhs.uk for information about the work of NHS South Yorkshire ICB and details about how to contact us.

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Grommets for adults

This is a surgery for people who cannot hear well because of a build-up of fluid called glue ear in their ears. During the surgery, a tiny tube is inserted in the ear to drain this fluid. Glue ear is where the empty middle part of the ear canal fills up with fluid. This can cause temporary hearing loss. It usually clears up within 3 months, but see a GP about any hearing problems.

Read the Grommets in Adults checklist for further information.

Does it work?

Glue ear isn't always treated. Your GP will usually wait and see if the symptoms get better on their own. This is because there's no effective medicine for glue ear, and it often clears up on its own within 3 months. They may still monitor you for up to a year in case the symptoms change or get worse.

We recommend that doctors only prescribe this surgery in special cases, when several different conditions are met, like very acute loss of hearing that impacts their development.

How can I be referred?

To make sure that you get the best treatment for your condition your GP, hospital consultant or nurse specialist will discuss the different treatment options with you.

Some operations or treatments will only be recommended for some patients and your doctor will assess whether or not you meet the clinical conditions or criteria. Please click here to look at the criteria for Grommets.

If you meet the criteria then this will be the best treatment option for you and the procedure will be arranged.

If you don’t meet the criteria then you will be offered the most effective treatment for your particular condition.

If you don’t qualify for the treatment, but your doctor or nurse thinks that there are exceptional clinical circumstances in your case then they may submit an Individual Funding Request (IFR) to an independent panel for consideration.

The IFR panel meets weekly and aims to consider cases within 14days. The panel’s decision will be communicated to you by letter if you are an adult or by letter to your GP if you are the guardian of a child applying for funding.

If your IFR application is rejected (meaning that your surgery will not be funded by the NHS), then you or your GP has the right to appeal to the IFR panel against this decision within 90days. The panel is independent to your local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Get Fit First

The Get Fit First policy also applies to this intervention. For further information please see the Get Fit First page.