Ear Infections - Introduction

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• OME is usually not painful. Sometimes the only clue that it is present is a feeling of stuffiness in the ears, which can feel like "being under water."
• It may impair children's hearing.
• Children who are susceptible to OME can have frequent episodes for more than half of their first 3 years of life.
• Most episodes will resolve within 3 months, but 30 - 40% of children may have recurrent episodes. Only 5 - 10% of episodes last longer than 1 year.

Chronic Otitis Media. This condition refers to persistent fluid behind the tympanic membrane without any infection present. It is called chronic suppurative otitis media when there is persistent inflammation in the middle ear or mastoids (the rounded bone just behind the ear), or chronic rupture of the eardrum with drainage.

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Other Types of Ear Infections

Swimmer’s Ear (Acute Otitis Externa). Acute otitis externa is an inflammation or infection of the outer ear and ear canal. It can be triggered by water that gets trapped in the ear. The trapped water can cause bacteria and fungi to breed. Otitis externa can also be precipitated by overly aggressively scratching or cleaning of ears or when an object gets stuck in the ears.

Otitis externa should be treated with topical antibiotics. For pain relief, over-the-counter remedies such as acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen) usually help. With eardrops, most cases will clear up within 2 - 3 days.

Review Date: 05/03/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).