Otitis Media: Risk factors
#otitismedia #otitis #earinfection #earinfections
Ear infections happen when viruses or bacteria get into the middle ear, the space behind the eardrum.
When a child has an ear infection (also called otitis media), the middle ear fills with pus (infected fluid).
The pus pushes on the eardrum, which can be very painful.
Otitis media (OM) or middle ear inflammation is a spectrum of diseases.
It includes acute otitis media (AOM), otitis media with effusion (OME; ‘glue ear’) and chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM).
OM is among the most common diseases in young children worldwide.
Although OM may resolve spontaneously without complications, it can be associated with hearing loss and life-long sequelae.
In developing countries, CSOM is a leading cause of hearing loss.
OM can be of bacterial or viral origin;
During ‘colds’, viruses it can ascend through the Eustachian tube to the middle ear.
Then it paves the way for bacterial otopathogens that reside in the nasopharynx.
Diagnosis depends on typical signs and symptoms.
Symptoms such as acute ear pain and bulging of the tympanic membrane (eardrum) for AOM and hearing loss for OME.

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