There is pain and yellow discharge from the ear

Ear pain and yellow discharge are typical symptoms of suppurative otitis media, accompanied by severe pain, which mainly occurs in children. There are many types of otitis media, which can be divided into acute and chronic. After the symptoms of suspected otitis media appear, further diagnosis is needed to clarify the specific situation before an effective treatment method can be determined. Let’s take a closer look below.

Causes

1. Acute otitis media is an acute suppurative inflammation of the middle ear mucosa, which is infected through the Eustachian tube. After a cold, inflammation of the pharynx and nose spreads to the Eustachian tube, causing congestion and swelling of the pharyngeal opening and mucosal cavity of the Eustachian tube, and ciliary movement is impaired, causing otitis media. Common pathogens include pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, etc.

2. Nasal mucus contains a large number of viruses and bacteria. If you pinch both nostrils and blow them hard, the pressure will force the mucus to squeeze out of the posterior nasal aperture, reach the Eustachian tube, and cause otitis media.

3. Avoid swallowing water when swimming to prevent water from entering the middle ear through the nasopharynx and causing otitis media. If the eardrum is perforated due to trauma, do not drip any liquids to avoid affecting the healing of the wound. You can use sterilized cotton balls to block the external auditory canal to prevent infection and otitis media.

4. If infants and young children are fed in a supine position, since their Eustachian tubes are relatively straight, with shorter tube cavities and wider inner diameters, milk can enter the middle ear through the Eustachian tubes and cause otitis media.

5. Smoking, including secondhand smoke, can also cause otitis media. Smoking can cause systemic arteriosclerosis, especially when nicotine in cigarettes enters the blood, causing small blood vessels to spasm, blood viscosity to increase, and arterioles that supply blood to the inner ear to harden, resulting in insufficient blood supply to the inner ear and seriously affecting hearing.

6. Listening to loud rock music with headphones for a long time can easily cause chronic otitis media.

Clinical manifestations

1. Suppurative otitis media

(1) Acute suppurative otitis media is an inflammation of the middle ear caused by suppurative bacterial infection, with the main symptoms being ear pain and pus discharge. Children's systemic symptoms are more obvious than those in adults, and may include fever, vomiting, etc. Serious complications include intracranial complications such as meningitis, brain abscess, etc. Other complications include labyrinthitis, facial nerve paralysis, etc.

(2) Chronic suppurative otitis media refers to chronic suppurative inflammation of the middle ear mucosa, periosteum or deep into the bone. This disease is relatively common in clinical practice, and its main clinical manifestations are intermittent or continuous pus discharge in the ear, tympanic membrane perforation, and hearing loss. In severe cases, it can cause intracranial and extracranial complications. ① Systemic symptoms vary in severity. There may be fear of cold, fever, fatigue, and loss of appetite. Children have more severe systemic symptoms, often accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. Once the eardrum is perforated, the body temperature will gradually drop and systemic symptoms will be significantly alleviated. ② Earache: Pain deep in the ear that gradually worsens. Such as throbbing or stabbing pain, which may radiate to the same side of the head or teeth. Ear pain worsens when swallowing and coughing. Severe ear pain can cause insomnia and restlessness at night. After the eardrum perforated and pus flowed out, the ear pain suddenly subsided. ③ Ear discharge is the main symptom of this disease, which can be mucous, mucopurulent or pure purulent. Non-dangerous pus discharge is thinner and has no odor. Although the dangerous type of pus discharge is not much, it is thicker, mostly pure purulent, and accompanied by a foul odor. ④ Hearing loss and tinnitus: The patient begins to feel stuffy in the ears, followed by a gradual decrease in hearing, accompanied by tinnitus. Deafness may be ignored in patients with severe ear pain. Some patients may experience vertigo, and deafness may be alleviated after perforation. ⑤ The severity of deafness varies, and because it usually occurs in one ear, it is easily overlooked. It is usually conductive hearing loss.

2. Non-suppurative otitis media and secretory otitis media.

(1) Hearing loss Acute secretory otitis media can often cause hearing loss after a cold, while descending on an airplane, or while diving, and may also be accompanied by a "self-enhanced sound" phenomenon. The severity of hearing loss in patients with chronic secretory otitis media often fluctuates. Hearing may improve when the tragus is compressed or the head position is changed. When the middle ear fluid is thick, hearing will not change with changes in head position. Most children do not complain of hearing loss, but may ignore their parents' calls, have difficulty concentrating, or request too loud a volume when watching TV.

(2) Earache: Mild earache may occur in acute secretory otitis media, while earache may occur in chronic secretory otitis media when secondary infection occurs.

(3) A feeling of stuffiness or blockage in the ear.

(4) Tinnitus is usually not severe and may be intermittent. The sound of air passing through water may be heard when the head moves, yawns, or blows the nose. A small number of patients with secretory otitis media may also experience water discharge in the ears, but the duration is very short, only a few hours or about a day.

(5) Otoscopic examination reveals radial vascular patterns around the tympanic membrane in the acute phase. The tense part of the tympanic membrane is indented, manifested by shortening, deformation or disappearance of the light cone; the handle of the malleus is displaced backward and upward; and the short process of the malleus protrudes significantly outward. When fluid accumulates in the tympanic cavity, the tympanic membrane loses its normal luster and becomes light yellow, orange-red or amber. In chronic cases, the tympanic membrane becomes milky white or gray-blue and opaque. If the secretion is serous and does not fill the tympanic cavity, the liquid level can be seen through the tympanic membrane as an arc-shaped line with a concave surface upward. Air bubbles can sometimes be seen through the tympanic membrane, and the number of bubbles increases after the Eustachian tube is expanded. If there is a lot of fluid in the tympanic cavity, the tympanic membrane will protrude and the mobility of the tympanic membrane will be limited.