How much does otitis media affect hearing?

Date:2024-04-09 10:33:43
Views:56
Source:Tiny Hearing Aids

If a baby cries and scratches his ears, he may have otitis media. Acute otitis media in infants and young children is a common infectious disease. Its incidence is second only to colds in clinical practice, and it is also the most common complication after colds. Statistics from the United States show that the disease for which American pediatricians prescribe antibiotics the most is acute otitis media.

Otitis media will affect the tympanic membrane, and inflammation of the tympanic membrane will directly affect hearing. Inflammation can perforate the tympanic membrane, which clinically manifests as ear discharge and hearing loss. Inflammation involves the ossicles, causing them to corrode and interrupt the ossicular chain. The pressurizing and amplifying functions of the middle ear are completely lost, resulting in more obvious hearing loss. Long-term pus discharge, especially cholesteatoma-type otitis media, toxins or bacteria entering the inner ear can cause the inner ear's sensory function to decrease or disappear, and the hearing test is classified as mixed deafness. If you suffer from otitis media, if it is not treated in time, the ears will have long-term and repeated pus discharge. In addition, the inflammation will destroy the auditory ossicles, and bacterial toxins will damage the auditory nerve, which will eventually cause hearing loss and even deafness.

Most cases of otitis media will affect hearing, leading to moderate to mild hearing loss, conductive deafness in the short term, and mixed deafness in the long term.

Acute otitis media and secretory otitis media – hearing killers in children

Acute otitis media and secretory otitis media can lead to thickening of the tympanic membrane and accumulation of cysts in the middle ear. If the middle ear effusion is not effectively treated, it will cause adhesions in the middle ear ossicular chain to restrict movement and cause conductive deafness. Generally speaking, according to the evidence of symptom-based medicine, most children's middle ear effusion will subside from the onset of illness to three months later, but there are still a small number of children whose effusion does not subside and the mucus-like effusion in the middle ear turns into Jelly-like, thus affecting hearing. In this case, middle ear tube surgery is required to restore hearing.

Many mothers may have this doubt: The middle ear is hidden in the ear, how do germs get in? The answer is simple: the human nasopharynx and ears are connected through the Eustachian tube. The Eustachian tube of infants and young children is particularly short, wide and flat. The tube orifice is often open and is connected to the middle ear. The nose If a bacterial or viral infection occurs in the pharynx, it is easy to infect the middle ear through the Eustachian tube, causing an inflammatory reaction. The bacteria that cause acute otitis media are often Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, etc., and the viruses that cause acute otitis media are often influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, etc. Although viruses can also cause otitis media, in general, acute otitis media is mainly caused by bacterial infection. Children with acute otitis media oftenSymptoms include ear pain, incessant crying, frequent scratching of the ears, fever, and refusal to breastfeed.

If accompanied by tympanic membrane perforation, purulent mucus secretions may also flow out of the ear, causing hearing loss in children. Acute otitis media should be treated actively and thoroughly. As long as it is treated in time, it can usually be cured without sequelae. Regarding the diagnosis and treatment of acute otitis media in infants and young children, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated the "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Otitis Media in Children" in early 2013, providing recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of uncomplicated acute otitis media in children aged 6 months to 12 years. These recommendations are based on evidence-based medicine and provide more stringent diagnostic criteria for acute otitis media, aiming to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.

How to deal with and prevent middle ear effusion

1. Identify the cause of middle ear effusion. Unilateral middle ear effusion in adults requires nasopharyngoscopy to rule out tumors in the nasopharynx. If there is pain, it is necessary to determine whether there is hyperplasia.
2. For children, upper respiratory tract infection and adenoid hypertrophy are the main causes.

3. Studies have shown that second-hand smoke is a high-risk factor, so parents must provide their children with an environment free of second-hand smoke. This is a heavy responsibility, and disease prevention is always more important than cure.

Chronic otitis media will affect hearing and how to deal with it
1. Chronic otitis media often leads to perforation of the tympanic membrane or limited movement of the ossicular chain, and can also lead to conductive or mixed For chronic deafness, surgery may be considered if conditions permit.
2. If you are too old or have a general condition that cannot tolerate surgery, you can consider wearing a hearing aid after controlling inflammation.