Health Conditions

Who has it?

One of the most common infections in infants and young children, otitis media is diagnosed more than 5 million times in the United States each year. The infection most often affects children age 6 months to 3 years. An estimated fifty percent of all children will develop otitis media by the age of one, and eighty percent will have had the condition by the age of three. If the child has not developed otitis media by the age of three, it is less likely they will ever develop severe or recurrent otitis media.

Otitis media can also occur in adults, but it is more common in children because their developing immune systems have more trouble fighting infections. In addition, a child's eustachian tube is shorter and straighter than that of an adult, which decreases air movement and fluid drainage in the ear allowing fluid to accumulate in the ear and cause infection.

How is otitis media diagnosed?
When attempting to diagnose otitis media, the doctor will obtain a detailed history of the patient's symptoms and look into the patient's ear using an instrument called an otoscope (an instrument that allows the doctor to see the eardrum). According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a diagnosis of otitis media can be made based on the patient's symptoms (decreased appetite, fever, fluid draining from ear, loss of balance, unusual irritability), how quickly the symptoms developed, symptoms of middle ear irritation (tugging at the affected ear), and the presence of fluid in the middle ear.

In rare cases in both adults and children with recurrent otitis media that does not respond to antibiotics, a sample of the fluid from the middle ear is sometimes obtained by inserting a small needle into the eardrum. The sample is sent to a lab to determine the type of organism that is causing the infection and to identify which medications are most effective against it.