ABSTRACT
Otitis media (OM) is one of the most common childhood diseases and frequently results in a fluctuating mild-to-moderate conductive hearing loss (Paradise et al., 1997). Children in day care are also exposed daily to high levels of background noise (Painter & Frank, 1999). The combination of these factors places children in day care at high risk for not obtaining the auditory–verbal experience necessary for acquiring speech normally (Vernon-Feagans, Manlove & Volling, 1996).
