Reported November 2008

About Ear Infections: There are three main parts to the human ear: outer, middle and inner ear. The outer ear is the part you can see, and it opens into the ear canal leading to the middle ear. The middle ear is a closed, air-filled chamber, separated from the outer ear by the ear drum and ventilated by the Eustachian tube. Sometimes the pressure in the middle ear becomes higher or lower than that in the outer ear, causing hearing loss, severe pain and the accumulation of fluid in the middle ear. The inner ear contains the hearing nerve that leads to the brain. It detects sound vibrations and turns them into electrical nerve impulses, which the brain then interprets as sound.

Preventing Ear Infections: Chronic middle ear fluid is a condition known as otitis media with effusion (OME). When this condition becomes persistent and antibiotics aren't effective, it is often treated with surgical insertion of ear ventilation tubes. More than 700,000 children undergo this procedure each year. The tubes often fall out within four to seven months, and patients may have a recurrence of the condition.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Sally H. Jones
Public Relations
UVA Health System
Charlottesville, VA
(434) 924-9241
shj3q@virginia.edu