Otitis Media

Otitis media results from the inflammation in the middle portion of ear caused by the bacterial or viral infections. It is more common among children in comparison to adults. In fact, about 75 percent of children under 3 years suffer from otitis media. The reasons for susceptibility of children to otitis media are smaller size of the ear and horizontal positioning of the eustachian tube, a structure that connects the middle ear to the nasopharynx. Otitis media is most common during the winter season.

Otitis media: Causes and Symptoms

In majority of the cases, otitis media is developed due to spread of pathogens that are responsible for causing cold, sore throat and other breathing problems. Other causes of otitis media are food and airborne allergies, nutritional deficiency, and blockage of eustachian tube due to other health conditions like swollen tonsils. Some of the risk factors for otitis media are an exposure to passive smoke, respiratory disorders and close contact with people having ear infections.

Otitis media can be acute or chronic, depending upon the symptoms. An acute condition is characterized by rapid onset of the symptoms that last for a short duration. Some of the noticeable signs of acute otitis media are earache, bulging eardrum, perforated eardrum, fluid accumulation in the middle ear and drainage of pus from the ear. A chronic otitis media usually lasts for a few months. The symptoms include fever, drainage of fluid from the ear (effusion), tinnitus and ear pressure (popping). If the symptoms of otitis media return frequently, then it is referred to as recurrent otitis media.

Otitis media: Diagnosis and Treatment

Otitis media in infants and young children is difficult to detect, as they cannot communicate properly. If a child shows irritability, difficulty in sleeping, ear pulling along with any of the symptoms of otitis media, then he/she should be examined by a pediatrician as soon as possible. Otitis media is diagnosed by examining the ear with the help of an otoscope. The health care specialist may screen the eardrum responses by giving gentle pressure to the ear. For confirmation of this ear problem, other diagnostic laboratory tests include audiogram and tympanogram.

The treatment approaches for otitis media may differ from patient to patient, taking into consideration the possible causes, patient's age, immunization status and severity of the condition. Children with mild otitis media are treated with the administration of analgesic eardrops and over-the-counter pain relievers. In case of severe inflammation and recurrent otitis media, the physician may prescribe daily antibiotics.

If the symptoms of otitis media persist even after administering the medications, the physician may consider culturing of the fluid extracted from the ear. Based on the result, further treatment including surgical procedure may be conducted to cure otitis media. The most popular surgical procedure for middle ear infection is myringotomy, in which a small ventilation tube or tympanostomy tube is used to drain the fluid accumulated in the middle ear. If chronic otitis media is resulted from the inflammation of adenoids, then the physician may consider removal of adenoids by adenoidectomy.

Otitis media if left untreated can lead to other complications of the eardrum and middle ear. One of the major complications is hearing loss due to prolonged retention of fluids in the middle ear. At times, it can cause cholesteatoma (accumulation of skin debris) and permanent damage to the bones of the middle ear.