OME; Secretory otitis media; Serous otitis media; Silent otitis media; Silent ear infection; Glue ear

Prevention tips:

• Avoid irritants such as cigarette smoke, which can interfere with Eustachian tube function.
• Identify and avoid any allergans that may lead to your child's OME.
• Consider a smaller day care center, especially in the winter months. Day care centers that have six or fewer children result in fewer ear infections.
• Wash hands and toys often.
• Use air filters and get fresh air to help decrease exposure to airborne germs.
• Avoid overusing antibiotics. The overuse of antibiotics breeds increasingly resistant bacteria.
• Breastfeed. Nursing for even a few weeks will make a child less prone to ear infections for years.
• The pneumococcal vaccine can prevent infections from the most common cause of acute ear infection (which can lead to OME). The flu vaccine can also help.

American Academy of Family Physicians; American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery; American Academy of Pediatrics Subcommittee on Otitis Media With Effusion. Otitis media with effusion. Pediatrics. 2004;113:1412-1429.

Paradise JL, Feldman HM, Campbell TF, Dollaghan CA, Rockette HE, Pitcairn DL, et al. Tympanostomy tubes and developmental outcomes at 9 to 11 years of age. N Engl J Med. 2007;356:248-261.

Images

Middle ear infection (otitis media)

Ear anatomy

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Otitis media with effusion Treatment

Review Date: 07/26/2010
Reviewed By: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)