Otitis Media

Otitis—an infection affecting the middle ear, or the area behind the ear drum—can produce a conductive hearing loss. Often, the presence of an infection behind the ear drum results in the production of fluid that fills the middle ear. An impedance of the movement of the ear drum results. Therefore, the ear drum cannot vibrate appropriately impairing the conduction of sound into the inner ear from the outer ear.

The treatment of otitis media is with antibiotics. If the infection occurs frequently or the fluid will not resolve despite treatment with antibiotics, a myringotomy can be done. A myringotomy is an incision in the ear drum. Often, a button-like tube is placed through the ear drum to keep this ear drum incision open. The tube will act to drain the fluid out of the middle ear and allow air to ventilate the middle ear, while the diameter of the tube is typically too small to cause any detriment to hearing. The tube will often stay between 3-12 months before working its way out of the ear drum. Once it has worked its way out, it will remain harmlessly in the ear canal or work its way out of the ear canal also.