children s health issues
Chronic Middle Ear Infection in Children
Causes
Chronic middle ear infections can be caused by an Acute Middle Ear Infection in Children (usually several), blockage of the eustachian tube (the tube that connects the Chronic middle ear infections may flare up after an infection of the nose and throat, such as the Common Cold , or after water enters the middle ear while bathing or swimming in children who have a perforated eardrum or tubes. Usually, flare-ups result in a painless discharge of pus from the ear (see Persistent flare-ups may cause Polyps of the middle ear Destruction of bones in the middle ear Cholesteatoma Middle ear polyps are noncancerous (benign), smooth growths that protrude from the middle ear through the perforation and into the ear canal. Persistent infection can destroy parts of the ossicles, which are the small bones in the middle ear that connect the eardrum to the inner ear and conduct sounds from the outer ear to the inner ear, causing Causes . A cholesteatoma is a noncancerous (benign) growth of white skinlike material in the middle ear. A cholesteatoma can destroy nearby bone and soft tissue and can eventually cause complications such as facial paralysis and abscesses in the brain or between the brain and the skull. 