Do I need to treat otitis media? Otitis media, as the name implies, is an inflammation that occurs in the middle ear. So, where is the middle ear? Our ears are divided into three parts from a medical professional perspective, as shown in the picture above. “(the part to the left of the black line in the diagram above). The main function of the outer ear is to collect and conduct sound waves. If this part of the structure becomes blocked, then the sound transmission function is lost, such as the common blockage of cerumen (commonly known as “earwax”), which can cause a decrease in sound transmission and lead to hearing loss. Starting from the “tympanic membrane” (commonly known as the “eardrum”) shown in Figure 3, we enter the structure of the middle ear (the part between the black and red lines in the figure above). The tympanic membrane is the equivalent of a door, and under normal circumstances it is intact, effectively blocking all kinds of dirt from the outside world from entering the middle ear cavity and preventing middle ear inflammation. Inside this door is a small room called the “tympanic chamber”, which contains several pieces of “furniture”, namely the three small auditory bones indicated by 4,5,6 in the figure. They are the hammer bone in number 4, the anvil bone (pronounced “anvil bone”) in number 5 and the stirrup bone in number 6. These three small bones are the smallest bones in our body, the largest of which, the hammer bone, is the size of an apple. They form the chain of auditory bones that are responsible for our main sound transmission function. Finally, there is a “sewer” in the tympanic cavity – the eustachian tube shown in Figure 7. Under normal conditions, the eustachian tube is the only way for the tympanic cavity to reach the outside world. When the eustachian tube becomes blocked for any reason or when bacteria enter the tympanic cavity through the eustachian tube, an inflammatory reaction occurs in the tympanic cavity, and we say that otitis media has occurred. Since the middle ear is responsible for the most important sound transmission function, once inflammation of the middle ear occurs, hearing will be impaired. As inflammation of the middle ear progresses, the structure and function of the three auditory tuberosities may be damaged, with the result that the sound transmission function of the middle ear is progressively impaired and hearing is gradually reduced. In medical terms, this hearing loss is known as conductive hearing loss. As the disease progresses, the toxins produced by the bacteria may damage the more medial part of the stapes, called the “inner ear” (the part to the right of the red line in the figure above), which contains the cochlea (Figure 8), the auditory nerve, and other important neural tissues that sense and transmit sound. neurogenic hearing loss. Therefore, once inflammation of the middle ear occurs, our hearing will be damaged, and repeated episodes of otitis media may lead to progressive hearing loss with the possibility of neurological hearing loss. Inflammation of the middle ear needs to be taken seriously, and early intervention and management is required.