Colds and fevers are relatively common in everyday life and are not difficult to diagnose and treat. However, when a cold leads to changes in hearing, many people tend to ignore the effects of otitis media and only begin to regret it when it affects their hearing. What are the specific symptoms of otitis media, it is estimated that many people do not know too much about it. Many people with acute otitis media lose the best time for treatment because they don’t pay enough attention to it in the early stages of the disease. What are the treatment methods for otitis media? Special reminder: If you have ear pain and hearing loss when you have a cold, you need to go to the hospital promptly and do not delay. There is a difference between otitis media hearing loss and neurological deafness. Hearing loss needs to be treated in a hospital as soon as possible. Some people claim to have a cold-induced otitis media, but they were misdiagnosed as deaf. So how can we know if we have otitis media? Professor Tian Guangyong explains that there is a difference between hearing loss from otitis media and hearing loss from neurological deafness, and generally speaking patients cannot distinguish between them, so patients need to go to the hospital as soon as possible. The easiest test is to do a tuning fork test. In the tuning fork test, hearing loss in otitis media is conductive, so the type of hearing loss can be distinguished by whether the air conduction and bone conduction are down or not. If the air conduction is down, it is generally caused by otitis media. If the air conduction and bone conduction are both declining, then nerve deafness should be considered in this case. Hearing loss caused by sudden deafness and hearing loss caused by acute otitis media have different treatment options. Some patients who experience hearing loss mistake it for otitis media and buy their own medication as treatment, which is extremely wrong and can be easily misdiagnosed as other diseases. If the hearing loss caused by sudden deafness is delayed, the treatment effect is even worse. In contrast, early treatment is very effective. Prof. Tian Guangyong mentioned that both ten years ago and now, experts agree that hearing loss caused by sudden deafness over three months is not very effective. Can surgery cure some of the chronic otitis media that are more than ten years long? Many chronic otitis media develop as a result of acute otitis media that the patient had as a child and did not receive timely treatment. The biggest misconception of many patients with chronic otitis media is that chronic otitis media is better when there is no pus. In fact, the absence of pus only means that chronic otitis media has entered a quiescent phase, but it has not been cured. Therefore, for patients with chronic otitis media, Professor Tian Guangyong still recommends that they go to a higher level hospital to see if they are eligible for tympanoplasty. Tympanoplasty is a surgery that can eradicate middle ear lesions and reconstruct the sound-transmitting structures of the tympanic chamber, with the aim of removing the lesions and repairing the eardrum and reconstructing the auditory chain in order to improve hearing. Secretory otitis media itself is prone to recurrence and surgery is not very relevant. At present, otitis media is often treated by puncture, incision and tube placement, but this treatment method can also encounter patients with recurrence of the disease. Prof. Tian Guangyong mentioned that the recurrence of otitis media in some patients is not related to the surgery, but is due to the secretory otitis media itself; however, the recurrence of cholesteatoma otitis media is mainly related to the surgery, mainly because the lesions are not completely removed, leaving a little lesion, which can recur after a few years. Therefore, it is necessary to remove all the lesions completely and not to leave any lesions behind. It is worth reminding that patients still need to go to a hospital’s ear, nose and throat specialist when they choose to have otitis media surgery. Prevent aviation otitis media by doing more swallowing, chewing and yawning. Atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing altitude. Prof. Tian Guangyong mentioned that when flying altitude changes, the pressure inside and outside the middle ear cavity cannot be balanced quickly, and various syndromes will arise, collectively known as air pressure injury, and the injury to the middle ear cavity is called aviation otitis media. Mild symptoms of ear discomfort can be eliminated in a timely manner and generally do not require a hospital visit. Prof. Tian Guangyong specifically mentioned that if the symptoms are still not relieved after getting off the plane, timely treatment is needed. The earlier the treatment, the better the treatment effect and the simpler the treatment required. To prevent aviation otitis media, Prof. Tian also advises that people with abnormal eustachian tube function should not travel by airplane. Those who suffer from heavy colds should also try not to take the plane. If you must take the plane, make more movements such as swallowing, chewing, yawning, or pinching the nose and drumming to adjust the air pressure inside and outside the tympanic cavity to balance the internal and external air pressure when the plane is descending. For the prevention of otitis media, Prof. Tian Guangyong highlights the following points: First, pay attention to ear hygiene. Patients with chronic otitis media should prevent water from entering their ears when bathing or swimming, and they should also prevent water and unclean foreign objects from entering their ears when washing their hair at the barber store. Secondly, it is important to prevent colds, because colds are most likely to cause otitis media. Third, try to contact less irritating gas, irritating gas in the room is easy to cause edema of the ear mucosa, which can also lead to otitis media and directly affect the function of the eustachian tube. Wearing hearing aids varies from person to person and you should be cautious when buying hearing aids on your own. Some patients with otitis media have to wear hearing aids after their condition has stabilized, but nowadays there are more and more types of hearing aids, from intelligent ones to simpler ones like those in the past. Prof. Tian Guangyong mentioned that each type of hearing aid has its own advantages, and that wearing a hearing aid varies from person to person. Therefore, Prof. Tian Guangyong especially reminds us not to buy hearing aids on our own, because they are not suitable for us, and they are often either over-amplified or under-amplified without going through the regular fitting process. Inadequate amplification can make the patient feel inaudible even after wearing the hearing aid, while excessive amplification can make the patient feel harsh and noisy after wearing the hearing aid, which can cause further loss of residual hearing. Finally, Prof. Tian Guangyong mentioned that patients with otitis media should pay more attention to the cleaning and sterilization of the ear canal, use alcohol swabs to wipe the ear canal and hearing aids frequently, and pay attention to the dryness of the hearing aids, and not to wear hearing aids when otitis media attacks.