What should I do if I have otitis media?

Written by Xu Qing Tian
Otolaryngology
Updated on March 01, 2025
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Otitis media is a common otolaryngological condition that often occurs in patients who frequently swim or clean their ears excessively, as well as those who accumulate cholesteatomas in the external ear canal, leading to otitis media and tympanic membrane perforation. The main pathogens associated with otitis media are typically Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. The treatment involves selecting sensitive antibiotics based on throat swab culture and drug sensitivity tests to provide anti-inflammatory symptomatic treatment. If the inflammation is severe and there is formation of cholesteatoma or granulation tissue along with perforation of the tympanic membrane in the external auditory canal, it may be necessary to perform mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty to thoroughly remove the middle ear lesions and achieve healing. (Medication should be used under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Deng Bang Yu
Otolaryngology
47sec home-news-image

What ointment is used for otitis media?

Clinically, otitis media primarily refers to the acute and chronic infections of the middle ear caused by various reasons, mainly acute infectious inflammation of the middle ear. The treatment of otitis media primarily involves the local and systemic use of anti-infection drugs, such as local use of ofloxacin ear drops, and systemic treatment with cephalosporin antibiotics. Ointments are generally not used for treatment. Ointments are difficult to apply to the external ear canal; once an ointment enters the external ear canal, it can block it. This blockage can prevent the timely expulsion of secretions from the ear canal, potentially exacerbating the inflammation. Currently, ointments are not used in the treatment of otitis media.

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Written by Xu Qing Tian
Otolaryngology
59sec home-news-image

What should I do if I have otitis media?

Otitis media is a common otolaryngological condition that often occurs in patients who frequently swim or clean their ears excessively, as well as those who accumulate cholesteatomas in the external ear canal, leading to otitis media and tympanic membrane perforation. The main pathogens associated with otitis media are typically Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. The treatment involves selecting sensitive antibiotics based on throat swab culture and drug sensitivity tests to provide anti-inflammatory symptomatic treatment. If the inflammation is severe and there is formation of cholesteatoma or granulation tissue along with perforation of the tympanic membrane in the external auditory canal, it may be necessary to perform mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty to thoroughly remove the middle ear lesions and achieve healing. (Medication should be used under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Yao Jun
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
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Symptoms of otitis media

Otitis media is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the tympanic cavity of the middle ear. The inflammation can cause pain, tympanic membrane perforation, pus, etc., and can lead to decreased hearing and a feeling of stuffiness in the ears. These are some of the common symptoms of otitis media. If the inflammation is recurrent and chronic, the pus inside may be yellow, viscous, and foul-smelling, and there may also be some gritty substances. This situation should be considered for the possibility of cholesteatoma otitis media, and it is best to check with a CT scan. If it is a frequently inflamed, chronic type of otitis media, it might be bone ulcerative otitis media or cholesteatoma otitis media, which requires surgical treatment. When washing hair, avoid getting water into the ears and refrain from consuming spicy and irritating foods.

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Written by Deng Bang Yu
Otolaryngology
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How to treat granulation in otitis media?

Granulation tissue proliferation in otitis media indicates an active phase of inflammation. In clinical treatment, the first approach is medication, mainly using antibiotics and hormones, with both local and systemic applications of these drugs concurrently. Treatment usually lasts about two weeks. Generally, most granulations in otitis media are relatively small and can gradually shrink or even completely disappear with such medication. For granulations that fill the middle ear and tympanic cavity, if they cannot be reduced or controlled effectively through medication, then surgical intervention is necessary to remove the granulations in the middle ear cavity and thus treat the otitis media.

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Written by Deng Bang Yu
Otolaryngology
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What should I do if otitis media causes a fever?

Otitis media is an acute infectious inflammation of the ear, which can also be chronic. Fever indicates that the otitis media is an acute inflammation, and the presence of fever, indicating an increase in body temperature, suggests that the inflammation is relatively intense and severe. Therefore, it is mainly necessary to provide enhanced anti-infection treatment. Otitis media is primarily a bacterial infection, so the main treatment is the use of cephalosporin antibiotics. Generally, when there is a fever, blood can be drawn to check a complete blood count to see the level of white blood cells, indicating the degree of infection. Clinically, infusion anti-infection treatment is generally provided, mainly using cephalosporin antibiotics. If the pain is significant and the temperature is high, corticosteroids can also be used for combined treatment.