Otitis is a general term for infection or inflammation of the ear, usually bacterial (98%) and occasionally fungal or viral. It is part of upper respiratory infections (URI). Ear infections do not spread from person to person and they most commonly occur as a surinfection following a cold. Antibiotics are often used to treat ear infections.
Different forms of otitis can be found :
Otitis externa (acute, chronic or malignant) which involves the outer ear and ear canal.
Otitis media (acute, chronic, with effusion) which involves the middle ear with a localisation just behind the eardrum. The usual symptomatic presentation is known as acute otitis media and is characterized often by fever, irritability, otorrhea, letargy, vomiting, diarrhoea and hearing loss in some children. Otitis media is the second most common childhood disease and it can occur at any age. It is estimated that over 80 % of children would have experienced at least one episode before the age of 2.
Otitis interna (Labyrinthitis) is an inflammation of the inner ear when bacteria move from the naso-pharynx to reach the level of the alignment of the ear.
The annual incidence of acute otitis externa is between 1/100 and 1/250 of the general population and 256/1000 for acute otitis media in European children under 5 years.
| Main bacteria involved in OTITIS | Otitis externa | Otitis media | Otitis interna |
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida | Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Moraxella catarrhalis | Mycoplasma pulmonis, Streptobacillus moniliformis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa |
The most common bacteria responsible for Otitis Externa, Media and Interna