Secretory otitis media, also known clinically as exudative otitis media, is a common cause of deafness in children. It has a high incidence in pediatric patients. Preschool-age children often ignore their parents’ calls and are easily mistaken for inattentive parents, while school-age children have a decline in academic performance and require excessive volume for television viewing. In adults, this disease can be the first symptom of insidious nasopharyngeal tumor, so it should not be taken lightly. Understanding the characteristics of the disease, early diagnosis and effective treatment will enable you and your family to seek early medical attention and obtain a cure. In pediatric patients, the main causes of this disease are adenoid hypertrophy, sinusitis and chronic inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract; in adults, it is caused by nasopharyngeal infection and tumor compression. Cold is a common trigger for the development of this disease. Therefore, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as the stuffy feeling in the ear or hearing loss occurs after a cold. If there is no obvious cause for the stuffiness in the ear and hearing loss, early examination is necessary to rule out the possibility of this disease and nasopharyngeal disease. The diagnosis of secretory otitis media is extremely simple and can be made initially by performing electrical auscultation and acoustic conductivity tests. Treatment is also not complicated, but early, timely and effective treatment is extremely critical. At present, the disease can be cured with timely and correct treatment. The treatment options include oral antibiotics, nasal drops, eustachian tube blowing and tympanic membrane puncture to extract the middle ear fluid. Otherwise, treatment will be delayed and develop into adhesive otitis media, sclerosis of the tympanic chamber and permanent hearing loss, which will definitely affect future work and quality of life. Because of the difficulties in expression in children, it is not easy to detect and diagnose otitis media early. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness of this disease among parents and teachers, and to bring children with recurrent upper respiratory tract infections, especially those who are unresponsive to sound and inattentive, to the hospital for timely examination. Strive for early detection, early diagnosis and treatment of the disease.