Infection
and inflammation of the middle ear is called Otitis media. Many children
in the US are affected with this problem. Otitis means inflammation of
the ear and media means middle. This infection caused by viruses or bacteria
usually starts with sore throat, cold or other respiratory ailments and
spreads to the middle ear that can be acute or chronic.
An acute otitis media can be sudden and brief. This is related with fluid
retention in the middle ear accompanied with hole in the eardrum, which
gives pain draining the pus outside. Older child whines of ear pain while
a young child stays awake with uneasiness due to the ear pain.
Children may have fever, vomiting, irritability and pain in swallowing
and have reduced hearing. All the above are the symptoms of acute otitis.
Chronic otitis media is a condition that is the result of a long-term
damage caused by the infection and inflammation to the middle ear. The
other symptoms of chronic otitis media are-
Frequent discharge from the ear, wearing away of the sound conducting
bones of the ear, erosion of the bone in the borders causing the infection
to spread till the brain, the eardrum is not damaged but there is fluid
retention behind it.
When there is congestion or swelling in the mucous membrane the Eustachian
tube is blocked which in turn creates an imbalance in the ear pressure.
When a hole is formed in the ear, the natural protection is lost leading
to easy entry for water and bacteria. This causes infection and inflammation
a pus discharge from the ear. Constant infection and swelling in the middle
ear leads to weakness of the facial nerves, leads to hearing loss and
imbalance.
When all other treatments fail then surgery is the answer for this otitis
media problem. Children suffering from otitis media for the last four
months accompanies by hearing loss, constant or repetitive attack of otitis
media without hearing loss, damage to the eardrum due to otitis media
are the reasons why surgery is opted to rectify the problem.
Antibiotics are given to rule out infections before thesurgery.
The otologist makes an incision behind the ear or within the ear canal.
A hole is made in the wall of the mastoid bone and the unnatural tissues
are removed. Sometimes the eardrum is rebuild along with the sound conducting
bones or postponed to a later date to restore hearing. The patient is
discharged the same day or the next day.
Although the surgical process sounds very simple, it takes a long time
to heal. Ninety percent of the surgeries are successful it repairing the
eardrum to a dry one but how far the hearing loss is restored is unpredictable.
It entirely depends on the severity of the condition and the presence
of many other ear problems.
The fluids are drained out, the middle ear packing is soaked up, and the
eardrum becomes thin leaving behind scar tissue that hardens the bones.
The different types of surgeries performed for otitis media are Tympanostomy,
Adenoidectomy with Myringotomy, Tympanoystomy along with Myringotomy.
Myringotomy alone is not recommended for otitis media. The types of surgery
depends on the severity of the condition and the patient.
