What is Otitis Media?
Children can pick up middle ear infection very easily – often following having a sore throat or a common cold.
- The infection causes fluid to build up in the middle ear.
- Too much fluid in the ear can put pressure on the ear drum and cause it to burst, resulting in a sticky discharge (often called glue ear).
In depth
Otitis Media is inflammation of the middle ear, or middle ear infection (the word otitis is Greek and it means 'inflammation of the ear', and media means middle).
Otitis Media occurs in the area between the ear drum and the inner ear, including a duct known as the Eustachian tube.
Otitis Media is very common in childhood, with the average toddler having two to three episodes a year, almost always accompanied by a viral upper respiratory infection (URI), mostly the common cold.
The viruses that cause the common cold infect the eustachian tube that goes from the back of the nose to the middle ear, causing swelling and unequal pressure, which interfers with the normal function of the tube.
In general, the more severe and prolonged the problems of eustachian tube function, the more severe the consequences are to the middle ear and its delicate structures.