Our team of specialists and staff believe that informed patients are better equipped to make decisions regarding their health and well being. For your personal use, we have created an extensive patient library covering an array of educational topics. Browse through these diagnoses and treatments to learn more about topics of interest to you. Or, for a more comprehensive search of our entire Web site, enter your term(s) in the search bar provided.
As always, you can contact our office to answer any questions or concerns.
Our Library at a quick glance:
Ears
- Children and Facial Paralysis
- Child's Hearing Loss
- Cholesteatoma
- Cochlear Implants
- Dizziness and Motion Sickness
- Fall Prevention
- Ear Plastic Surgery
- Ear Tubes
- Earaches
- Ears and Altitude
- Earwax
- Quick Glossary for Good Ear Health
- Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease
- Better Ear Health
- Buying a Hearing Aid
- Child Screening
- Chronic Otitis Media
- Cochlear-Meningitis Vaccination
- Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems
- Ear Infection and Vaccines
- Your Genes and Hearing Loss
- How the Ear Works
- Hyperacusis
- Know the Power of Sound
- Noise-Induced Hearing Loss In Children
- Pediatric Obesity
- What You Should Know About Otosclerosis
- When Your Child Has Tinnitus
- Why Do Children Have Earaches?
- Infant Hearing Loss
- Noise and Hearing Protection
- Perforated Eardrum
- Swimmer's Ear
- Tinnitus (also, heres a link to a very good tinnitus organization ATA)
- TMJ
Throat
- About Your Voice
- Common Problems That Can Affect Your Voice
- Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat
- Effects of Medications on Voice
- Gastroesphageal Reflux (GERD)
- How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
- Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
- Laryngopharyngeal Reflux and Children
- Nodules, Polyps, and Cysts
- Pediatric GERD
- Pediatric Obesity and Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
- Special Care for Occupational and Professional Voice Users
- Tips for Healthy Voices
- Tonsils and Adenoids
- Tonsillectomy Procedures
- Tonsillitis
- Tonsils and Adenoids PostOp
- Vocal Cord Paralysis
- GERD and LPR
- Hoarseness
- How the Voice Works
- Secondhand Smoke
- Sore Throats
- Swallowing Disorders
Nose and Mouth
- Allergies and Hay Fever
- Antihistamines, Decongestants, and "Cold" Remedies
- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
- Facial Sports Injuries
- 20 Questions about Your Sinuses
- Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)
- Allergic Rhinitis, Sinusitis, and Rhinosinusitis
- Antibiotics and Sinusitis
- Are We Through With Chew Yet?
- Could My Child Have Sleep Apnea?
- Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems
- Deviated Septum
- Do I Have Sinusitis?
- How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
- Pediatric Obesity
- Sinus Headaches
- Sinus Pain
- Sinus Surgery
- Sinusitis: Special Considerations for Aging Patients
- Tips for Sinus Sufferers
- Tongue-tie (Ankyloglossia)
- Your Nose: The Guardian Of Your Lungs
- Fungal Sinusitis
- Mouth Sores
- Nasal Fractures
- Nose Surgery
- Nosebleeds
- Post-Nasal Drip
- Salivary Glands
- Secondhand Smoke
- Sinusitis
- Smell and Taste
- Smokeless Tobacco
- Snoring
- Stuffy Noses
- TMJ Pain
Head and Neck
- Facial Plastic Surgery
- Facial Sports Injuries
- Children and Facial Trauma
- Pediatric Head and Neck Tumors
- Head and Neck Cancer
- Thyroid Nodules
- Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
- Pediatric Thyroid Cancer
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Smokeless Tobacco
- Are We Through With Chew Yet?
- Quiting Smokeless Tobacco
- Secondhand Smoke
- Skin Cancer
Pediatric
- Child Screening
- Children and Facial Trauma
- Could My Child Have Sleep Apnea?
- Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat
- How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
- Pediatric Food Allergies
- Pediatric Obesity and Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
- Pediatric Sinusitis
- Secondhand Smoke and Children
- Tonsillitis
- Tonsillectomy Procedures
- Tonsils and Adenoids PostOp
- Ear Tubes
Espanol
- Colesteatoma
- Diábolos Estudio acerca de causas y opciones terapéuticas
- Doctor? ¿Por Qué a Mi Hijo Le Duele El OÃdo?
- Doctor? ¿Qué Causa El Ruido En El OÃdo?
- El Humo del Tabaco Ambiental y los Niños
- La pérdida de la audición
- Otitis Media Crónica (Infección del OÃdo Medio) e Hipocusia
- Perfóracion Timpánica
- Qué Debe Saber Acerca de la Otoesclerosis
- Screening de Audición en Niños
- Sirvan Las Amigdalas Y Los Adenoides?
To understand earaches you must first know about the Eustachian tube, a narrow channel connecting the inside of the ear to the back of the throat, just above the soft palate. The tube allows drainage -- preventing fluid in the middle ear from building up and bursting the thin ear drum. In a healthy ear, the fluid drains down the tube, assisted by tiny hair cells, and is swallowed.
The tube maintains middle ear pressure equal to the air outside the ear, enabling free eardrum movement. Normally, the tube is collapsed most of the time in order to protect the middle ear from the many germs residing in the nose and mouth. Infection occurs when the Eustachian tube fails to do its job. When the tube becomes partially blocked, fluid accumulates in the middle ear, trapping bacteria already present, which then multiply. Additionally, as the air in the middle ear space escapes into the bloodstream, a partial vacuum is formed that absorbs more bacteria from the nose and mouth into the ear.
Why do children have more ear infections than adults?
Children have Eustachian tubes that are shorter, more horizontal, and straighter than those of adults. These factors make the journey for the bacteria quick and relatively easy. A child's tube is also floppier, with a smaller opening that easily clogs.
Inflammation of the middle ear is known as "otitis media." When infection occurs, the condition is called "acute otitis media." Acute otitis media occurs when a cold, allergy or upper respiratory infection, and the presence of bacteria or viruses lead to the accumulation of pus and mucus behind the eardrum, blocking the Eustachian tube.
When fluid forms in the middle ear, the condition is known as "otitis media with effusion," which can occur with or without infection. This fluid can remain in the ear for weeks to many months. When infected fluid persists or repeatedly returns, this is sometimes called "chronic middle ear infection." If not treated, chronic ear infections have potentially serious consequences such as temporary or permanent hearing loss.
How are recurrent acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion treated?
Some child care advocates suggest doing nothing or administering antibiotics to treat the infection. More than 30 million prescriptions are written each year for ear infections, accounting for 25 percent of all antibiotics prescribed in the United States. However, antibiotics are not effective against viral ear infections (30 to 50 percent of such disorders), may cause uncomfortable side effects such as upset stomach, and can contribute to antibiotic resistance. Medical researchers believe that 25 percent of all pneumococcus strains, the most common bacterial cause of ear infections, are resistant to penicillin, and ten to 20 percent are resistant to amoxicillin.
Is surgery effective against recurrent otitis media and otitis media with effusion?
In some cases, surgery may be the only effective treatment for chronic ear infections. Some physicians recommend the use of laser myringotomy, using a laser to create a tiny hole in the eardrum. The treatment is done in the doctor's office using topical anesthesia (ear drops). Laser myringotomy works by providing several weeks of ventilation for the middle ear. Proponents suggest this can reduce the many courses of antibiotic treatment for severe ear infections and eliminates the need for surgical insertion of tubes with general anesthesia.
Before the procedure:
Prior to the procedure, the otolaryngologist will examine the patient for a description of the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and the middle ear space. An audiometry may be performed to assess patient hearing. A tympanometry will be performed that tests compliance of the tympanic membrane at various levels of air pressure. This test provides a measurement of the extent of middle ear effusion, Eustachian tube function, and otitis media.
The procedure: During the procedure, a small incision is made in the ear drum, the fluid is suctioned out, and a tube is placed. In young children, this is usually done under a light, general anesthesia; older patients may have the procedure performed under local anesthesia. There are over 50 different tube designs, all in different shapes, color, and composition. In general, smaller tubes stay in for a shorter duration, while large inner flanges hold the tube in place for a longer time. Some recent tubes have special surface coatings or treatments that may reduce the likelihood of infection.
After the procedure : Immediately after the procedure, the surgeon will examine the patient for persistent or profuse bleeding or discharge. After one month, the tube placement will be reviewed, and the patient's hearing may be tested. Later, the physician will assess the tube's effectiveness in alleviating the ear infection.
What is the most common surgical treatment for ear infections?
The most common surgical procedure administered to children under general anesthesia is myringotomy with insertion of tympanostomy tubes (TT). A tube is inserted in the middle ear to allow continuous drainage of fluid. The procedure is recommended for treatment of: chronic otitis media with effusion (lasting longer than three months), recurrent acute otitis media (more than three episodes in six months or more than four episodes in 12 months), severe acute otitis media, otitis media with effusion and a hearing loss greater than 30 dB, non-responsiveness to antibiotics, and impending mastoiditis or intra-cranial complication due to otitis media.
If the patient is age six or younger, it is recommended that tubes remain in place for up to two years. Most tubes will fall out without assistance. Otherwise, the specialist will determine when the tubes should be removed.
Your ENT physician will recommend the most effective treatment for your child's ear infection.
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