Eardrum implants made from pig guts could fix chronic glue ear

By Pat Hagan

Glue ear can be a painful condition

Tara Moore/Getty Images

A patch of tissue from a pig’s guts could treat severe cases of glue ear, a condition that develops when the middle part of the ear fills with a sticky, gluey fluid, often as the result of infection.

It is common in children, but can also affect adults. Although glue ear can be very painful and cause temporary hearing loss, most cases heal on their own within a few months. Yet in around 1 per cent of cases, pus that forms inside the middle ear pushes against the eardrum until …