Chronic otitis media is present when fluid behind the eardrum does not go away. It occurs when the Eustachian tube becomes blocked repeatedly (or remains blocked for long periods) due to allergies, multiple infections, ear trauma, or swelling of the adenoids. The Eustachian tube is the passage from the back of the nose to the middle ear.
When the middle ear is actually infected with bacteria (or occasionally, viruses) rather than just inflamed, it is more serious. A chronic ear infection may be the result of an acute ear infection that does not clear completely, or the result of recurrent ear infections. The infection may spread into the mastoid bone behind the ear (mastoiditis), or fluid build-up may cause pressure that ruptures the eardrum or damages the bones of the middle ear.
"Suppurative chronic otitis" is a phrase doctors use to describe an eardrum that keeps rupturing or draining or inflammation in the middle ear or mastoid area that does not go away.
A chronic ear infection may be more destructive than an acute ear infection because its effects are prolonged or repeated, and it may cause permanent damage to the ear. However, a chronic, long-term infection may show less severe symptoms, so the infection may remain unnoticed and untreated for a long time.
Ear infections are more common in children because their Eustachian tubes are shorter, narrower, and more horizontal than in adults. Chronic ear infections are much less common than acute ear infections.
Symptoms
Ear pain or discomfort, earache
Usually mild
May feel like pressure in the ear
Pus-like drainage from the ear
Hearing loss
Note: Symptoms may be continuous or intermittent, and may occur in one or both ears.
Signs and tests
An examination of the ear may show dullness, redness, air bubbles, or fluid behind the eardrum. The eardrum may show drainage or perforation (a hole in the eardrum).
Ear infection - acute (5 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
While there are different types of ear infections, the most common is called otitis media, which means an inflammation and infection of the middle ear. The middle ear is located just behind the eardrum.The term"acute" refers to a short and painful...Reviewer: Mark Levin, MD, Division of Infectious Disease, MacNeal Hospital, Berwyn, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. Date: 04/25/2008
Otitis media with effusion (2 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Otitis media with effusion(OME) is fluid in the middle ear space without symptoms of an acute ear infection. Unlike children with an acute ear infection, children with OME do not act sick.Almost every acute ear infection is followed by days or wee...Reviewer: Daniel Rauch, MD, FAAP, Director, Pediatric Hospitalist Program, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. Date: 03/02/2009
Otitis (3 images)(Doctor-Reviewed information)
Otitis is a general term for infection or inflammation of the ear.Otitis can affect the inner or outer parts of the ear. The condition is classified according to whether it occurs suddenly and for a short time(acute) or repeatedly over a long peri...Reviewer: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. Date: 12/01/2008
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