Otitis Media - That Pain In The Ear

WHAT IS OTITIS MEDIA
Otitis Media (OM) is inflammation/infection of the cells in the middle ear cavity. There are three forms of otitis media.
First is acute OM which is the most common form of ear infection.
Second is the OM with effusion which normally precedes the acute otitis media, with a collection of fluid in the middle ear.
The third is chronic OM which is a perforation(hole) in the eardrum and bacterial infection within the ear.

WHAT CAUSES IT
Normally caused by the common flu/cold by damaging the the defenses of epithelial(skin) cells in the middle ear. It is also due bacteria that may travel from the nose through the Eustachian tube directly into the middle ear. Having nutritional deficiencies like from vitamin A, iron and zinc and also due to allergies(food and airborne).

WHO’S AT RISK
Normally children below the age of 7 are more probable to have OM as their auditory tube are more shorter and at a more horizontal angle compared to adults. It also due to their low resistance to virus and bacterias. However, adults can suffer from the OM too.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF OTITIS MEDIA
Acute OM– It may cause sudden earaches, ringing in the ears, irritability, headaches, fever and ringing in the ears and maybe even deafness.
OM with effusion – It usually precedes acute OM. It does not have any symptoms but hearing loss may be experienced.
Chronic OM– A few of the symptoms are persistant blockage or fullness of the ear, feeling of unbalance, hearing loss, severe headaches and swelling behind the ears.

THE DIAGNOSIS
OM can only be detetected by examining the ear with an octoscope, seeing how the eardrum responds to gentle pressure. Two tests will be done; an audiogram where tones are sounded at various pitches to measure level of hearing loss; a tympanogram to measure air pressure in the middle ear to find the condition of the auditory tube.

THE TREATMENT PROCESS
Normally the patient will be given anti-biotics if the condition of OM is not serious. However if the condtion of OM is serious or if the anti-biotics has no effect on the condition, surgery would be recommended.
Types or surgery:
- Myringotomy- a small incision in the eardrum is made and a ventilation tube is inserted to allow fluid in the middle ear to drain out and keep it from recurring.
- Adenoidectomy/tonsillectomy- used a last resort to remove the adenoids/tonsils. Only done if OM has lasted more than 3 months.

THE FUTURE
The prognosis is very good. But if it is left untreated, the infections can lead to hearing and speech problems.

POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS
The most common problem is recurrence of ear infections. Also with fluid present in the ear blocking sound transmission, it could lead to hearing loss and, in some cases, delayed language/speech development. Serious complications are rare like development of infection in the tissues covering the brain which can spread bacteria through the blood.