By Gabriel J. Tsao MD and Richard L. Goode MD, from The Laryngoscope Triological Society Best Practice Tympanostomy tube insertion is one of the most commonly performed pediatric procedures in the United States. In an effort to reduce the incidence of postoperative otorrhea, many surgeons have traditionally recommended strict avoidance of water exposure to the […]
What Is Otitis Media?
About Otitis Media Otitis media is an infection of the middle ear. Specifically, the middle ear is the area between the inner ear and the tympanic membrane. Middle ear infection is one of the most common causes of an earache. This type of infection can be either acute or chronic, and sometimes, the ear drum ruptures, […]
Antibiotics best for middle-ear infections, study finds
Antibiotics for middle ear infections SMH, By Thomas Maugh THE consensus on whether to give antibiotics to young children with ear infections has been swinging from one extreme to the other as conflicting evidence has pushed doctors first towards administering drugs, then towards a hands-off approach. Two new trials reported on Wednesday in the New […]
Why antibiotics can be health risk
Antibiotics for ear, nose, throat or chest infections SMH, By Amy Corderoy NEARLY 100 years after antibiotics were discovered, a study has found most Australians are confused about when they should take them and how they work. And this ignorance could be putting our health at risk, doctors say, with deadly superbugs on the increase […]
Can Chewing Gum Can Prevent Ear Infections?
Really? The Claim: Chewing gum can prevent ear infections? New York Times, By Anahad O’Connor In a meta-analysis published in the Cochrane database, a University of Toronto team analyzed several studies of 3,100 healthy children at day-care centers. They found that children chewing xylitol gum were 25 percent less likely to develop acute ear infections. […]
Hearing Problems in Children
Children’s hearing problems Hearing problems in children are a critical part of social, emotional, and cognitive development in the early stages of their lives. Children experiencing hearing problems can extend from a range of causes including: Build-up of wax within the ear canal Excess mucus within the Eustachian tube, caused by a cold Otitis media […]
Ear grommets and water
Precautions for children with ear grommets and water Ear grommets and swimming – can my child swim with grommets in? Yes – your child can swim one week after the grommets are placed. Swimming at an ocean beach needs no special care. Showering in clean water will be fine without precautions. If your child swims […]
People with hearing loss suffer in silence
Hearing loss SMH, AAP, August 20, 2011 More than half of Australians with hearing difficulties have not done anything to correct the problem, a survey has found. Almost one in five Australians suffers from hearing loss, making it hard for them to communicate with family, friends and colleagues in noisy environments. However, a survey of more than […]
The Eustachian Tube
The Eustachian tube The Eustachian tube, also auditory tube or pharyngotympanic tube is a tube that links the nasopharynx to the middle ear. It is a part of the middle ear. In adult humans the Eustachian tube is approximately 35 mm long. It is named after the sixteenth-century anatomist Bartolomeo Eustachi. Some modern medical books […]
Hemotympanum
About hemotympanum Hemotympanum or hematotympanum, refers to the presence of blood in the tympanic cavity of the middle ear. Hemotympanum causes The most common causes include therapeutic nasal packing, epistaxis, clotting disorders, blunt trauma to the head and skull base fracture. For patients with epistaxis, dysfunction of the Eustachian tubes is thought to be the […]
Should antibiotics be prescribed for acute otitis media?
Antibiotics for acute otitis media Abbas A. Anwar BS,Anil K. Lalwani MD The Laryngoscope, Volume 122, Issue 1, pages 4–5, January 2012 Background Acute otitis media (AOM) accounts for nearly 15 million antibiotic prescriptions every year and has become the most commonly cited reason for antimicrobial therapy among children in the United States With the continuing […]
