Otitis Media: Causes and Symptoms

Otitis media is an infection of middle ear. Middle Ear is the area within the temporal bone. In simple words Middle Ear is the space comes after Ear Drum and before Inner ear when going deep inside the ear. Working of ear is a complex process. To understand any disorder of human ear you must have the basic knowledge of working of human ear. To understand it more effectively you can also take the help of otitis media animated video. This type of animation helps understanding the disease and ear structure simultaneously.

In words, I will try to provide you an overview of human ear and its working. It is unknown to most that the function of ear is not only to hear the sound but it also acts as a device for brain to balance and position thehuman body. Broadly, we study the working of ear by dividing itmainly into three parts called outer, middle and inner ear. The process of hearing starts when sound waves first strike outer or external ear, the visible part of the ear, also called Pinna. After passing the external ear waves enter the ear canal and collide with eardrum, the initial point of the middle ear. Eardrum is a membrane made of soft tissues to detect sound waves. When waves strike eardrum it vibrates. These vibrations are amplified by ossicles, a group of three bones. Ossices not only amplify vibrations but also carry them to inner ear.Inner ear converts the vibrations into electrical signals and carries them to auditory nerve connected to brain.

The point here is that for proper functioning of human ear the air pressure of middle ear cavity or Tympanic cavitymust be equal to outer atmosphere. Eustachian tube is responsible to control the pressure in the hollow area or middle ear cavity. It is stretched up to nasopharynx allowing the air to move into the middle ear cavity and drains the fluids and mucus out of the middle ear. There are times when this tube is blocked during normal cold or by infection. Thus Fluids and bacteria remain behind in the middle ear cavity causinginflammation, pain and pressurein the ear. This situation is termed as Otitis Media.

Causes of Otitis Media Disease: Otitis Media is developed due to the blockage of Eustachian tube. The following are the two major factors that play role in blockage of Eustachian tube:

1. Normal Cold: During the normal cold the Eustachian tube is blocked by very thick mucus. This stops the flow of fresh air into the middle ear cavity and drainage of fluids and bacteria from the middle ear cavity.

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2. Bacteria and Viruses: Bacteria and viruses can enter the Tympanic Cavity, commonly known as Middle Ear cavity, through the Eustachian tube causing infection. Due to this infection the cells in the Eustachian tube swell. Swelling narrows or completely blocks the tubes and the Tympanic Cavity is filled with fluids. This reduces the space for membrane to vibrate making hearing difficult.

Among the victims of Otitis Media mostly are Children under three. At this age they are unable to tell about earaches. So it is better to have knowledge of disease. You can consult experts to have some knowledge or can take the help of otitis media animated video to understand what it is and how it is developed.

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