Norowitz HL, et al. - Via this retrospective, practice based chart review , researchers investigated if frequencies of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) or asthma in early childhood are associated with failed otoacoustic emission (OAE) screenings later in life. From a primary care setting, they analyzed 517 pre-adolescent and adolescent children (49.9% female) (ages 10–21; mean, 15 y/o), who had presented with at least one specific bacterial URTI (acute otitis media [AOM], Group A Streptococcus (GAS) tonsillitis, or Influenza) during childhood. Evidence gained suggest that childhood history of AOM is associated with failed OAE screenings in adolescence. Presence of asthma seemed not strengthening the correlation between a number of AOM infections and number of failed OAE screenings.