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The symptoms and potential outcomes of otitis media vary in severity, according to the progression of the condition.
There are several signs that usually present with the inflammation of the middle ear. If adequate treatment is not given, the infection can progress and lead to severe outcomes that may become permanent. Possible outcomes without timely and successful treatment include membrane rupture and hearing loss.
The primary symptom of otitis media is pain in the area of the ear and some patients may experience fever and have a decreased appetite. The pain within the ear is also sometimes described as a feeling of fullness.
For infants with the condition, parents may notice that the infant is more irritable than usual. This may present as difficulty sleeping and crying more than usual. This is a useful indication, as infants are unable to describe that they have pain in their ear, but it is often possible to understand that something is wrong by their irritability.
As an upper respiratory tract infection is often the cause, it is not uncommon for the ear inflammation to be accompanied by symptoms typical of this condition. This may include:
These symptoms are characteristic of upper respiratory infection and not otitis media, but are often present as the two conditions often present together.
Another possible symptom that may occur is a discharge coming from the ear. However, this is not a symptom that is exclusive to otitis media and it may also be caused by trauma and resulting cerebral spinal drainage from the brain out of the ear.
Particularly when the condition is severe, often due to inadequate treatment, pus in the middle ear space may drain out of the ear canal. This occurs because the tympanic membrane perforates allowing the pus to pass through. It is possible for a substantial quantity to pass through, making the drainage quite obvious.
Despite the fact that membrane rupture implies a painful and traumatic experience, the vast majority of people that experience this report that they feel a release of pressure and the pain from before it ruptured.
When people have recurrent or particularly severe episodes of otitis media, they are at a higher risk of losing their sense of hearing as a result. In most cases, it is fluid in the middle ear or membrane rupture that is responsible for this.
It is not uncommon for people to have minor hearing loss as a direct result of otitis media and approximately 2.1% of the population is affected, with males being more commonly reporting problems than females.
When the inflammation within the ear is prolonged, there is a great risk of ossicular complications. If the tympanic membrane does rupture, the risk of hearing loss is significantly greater. This is increased further still when a cholesteatoma of granulation tissue is present in the middle ear.
When children are affected by hearing loss as a result of otitis media, it can have a dramatic effect on speech development. In fact, some research has found that those affected are more likely to experience education problems, develop attention disorders and have problems with social adaptation.
There is also a link with some psychosocial disorders such as anxiety and depression, when individuals with long-term complications are compared to those with normal hearing.