Otitis Media with Effusion

- Committee

Chair of the Panel:

Usama Abdel Naseer

Scientific Group Members:

Abdalla Anayet, Abdelrahman Eltahaan, Ahmed Mostafa, Alaa Gaafar, Amr Taha, Ashraf Lotfy, Athar Reda Ibrahim, Bahaa Eltoukhy, Haytham Elfarargy, Hazem Dewidar, Ihab Sifin, Loay Elsharkawy, Mai Mohammed Salama, Mina Esmat, Rania Abdou, Reda Sharkawy, Saad Elzayat, Samir Halim

Abbreviations

AOM: Acute otitis media

OME: Otitis media with effusion

Glossary

Acute otitis media (AOM) The rapid onset of signs and symptoms of inflammation of the middle ear.

Chronic OME OME persisting for 3 months from the date of onset (if known) or from the date of diagnosis (if onset is unknown).

Conductive hearing loss: Hearing loss from the abnormal or impaired sound transmission to the inner ear, which is often associated with effusion in the middle ear but can be caused by other middle ear abnormalities, such as tympanic membrane perforation, or ossicle abnormalities

Hearing assessment A means of gathering information about a child’s hearing status, which may include a caregiver report, audiological assessment by an audiologist, or hearing testing by a physician or allied health professional using screening or standard equipment, which may be automated or manual. Does not include the use of noisemakers or other nonstandardized methods.

Middle ear effusion Fluid in the middle ear from any cause. Middle ear effusion is present with both OME and AOM and may persist for weeks or months after the signs and symptoms of AOM resolve.

Otitis media with effusion (OME) The presence of fluid in the middle ear without signs or symptoms of acute ear infection.

Pneumatic otoscopy A method of examining the middle ear by using an otoscope with an attached rubber bulb to change the pressure in the ear canal and see how the eardrum reacts. A normal eardrum moves briskly with applied pressure, but when there is fluid in the middle ear, the movement is minimal or sluggish.

Sensorineural hearing loss Hearing loss that results from abnormal transmission of sound from the sensory cells of the inner ear to the brain.

Tympanogram An objective measure of how easily the tympanic membrane vibrates and at what pressure it does so most easily (pressure admittance function). If the middle ear is filled with fluid (eg, OME), vibration is impaired, and the result is a flat, or nearly flat, tracing; if the middle ear is filled