This figure shows a schematic of a section through the head, showing the main components of the ear. The ear canal, as far down as the ear drum, makes up the outer ear . The inner ear includes the blue coiled structure, the cochlea in which the nerves pick up sound and carry it to the brain. The term describes a symptom - not a disease. It is used to categorize a broad spectrum of middle ear pathology that may involve recurrent acute infections occurring sporadically or extend to conditions of prolonged, refractory changes in a middle ear which harbors fluids of varying viscosity.
Confusion occurs when practitioners mistakenly equate inflammation with infection .
Otitis Media is defined as an inflammation in the middle ear. Acute OM is an infection in the middle ear with sudden onset and short duration. The clinical diagnosis includes both acute ear-related symptoms and signs of fluid in the middle ear. Middle ear effusion may be defined as the presence of fluid within the middle ear space. Our research focused on those patients who developed and maintained persistent effusion for more than two months and who subsequently required the placement of tympanostomy tubes.