Otitis is a fairly common disease, and about 10% of the inhabitants of the whole planet have been sick for once in their life of one of its forms. Most often, of course, children suffer from inflammation of the hearing organs, but adults are also prone to such a disease.
Types and causes of otitis
Otitis is any inflammation in the hearing organ caused by the presence of an infectious process in it. Otitis is divided into several varieties. The parameter of the disease gradation is the affected ear section. Therefore, otitis occurs:
- outer;
- interior;
- average.
If we use for gradation the nature of the course of the disease, we can distinguish:
- acute;
- chronic;
- purulent otitis media .
Symptoms of otitis in adults also differ depending on the type of disease course. So, when purulent otitis is characterized by discharge of pus from the auricle, a significant decrease in hearing. Usually the body temperature always rises.
The acute course of otitis in adults is characterized by a strong throbbing pain, which can not be tolerated. Such pain can be given to the dental region, the temporal and occipital parts of the head. For chronic otitis, a less intense pain with varying degrees of hearing loss is characteristic. There is such a disease, if you run the course of the disease with inflammation of the middle ear.
Different causes cause the appearance of various types of inflammation of the hearing organ:
- The presence of dirty water in the ear is often the basis for the appearance of external otitis media.
- Injuries to the skin of the external auditory canal.
- Complication after viral and respiratory diseases, sinusitis - in this way usually occurs the middle ear disease, because the infection gets through the nose in the ear. If such an otitis can not be treated, a labyrinth may develop.
- Penetration of foreign objects into the auricle.
Complications after otitis in adults can be the most unpleasant, among them the loss of hearing, as well as the transition of the disease to a chronic stage. Therefore, it is necessary to seek help in time to conduct proper treatment of the disease.
External otitis media
For external otitis characterized by inflammation of the auditory canal. There are two variants of the course of such a disease. Symptoms of external diffuse otitis in adults are skin lesions around the perimeter of the ear canal. Less common is external otitis in the form of a boil. In this case, not all skin is affected, but only a certain part of it.
Average otitis media
The location of the infectious process with average otitis occurs in the ear drum. That is, the name speaks for itself, this inflammation occurs in the middle of the ear. The tympanum is located in the thickness of the temporal bone and is limited by the tympanic membrane, which separates it from the cavity of the auditory canal.
Symptoms of otitis media or otitis media of the middle ear in adults include:
- obstruction of the ear and, accordingly, a decrease in hearing (phenomena can be observed in one ear, or on both sides);
- painful sensations in the ear (acute, pulling, throbbing, or giving pain to the temple or the occipital part);
- painful sensations in the tail area;
- there may be discharge from the ear;
- Lymph nodes are usually enlarged and painfully probed.
Against the background of otitis media, as a rule, a person feels a general weakness, the body temperature may rise, other lor-organs, nose and throat, can sometimes become inflamed.
Symptoms of otitis media in the middle ear in adults also depend
Internal otitis media
This type of disease is also called the labyrinthite. Internal inflammation is always a complication after otitis media and only in extreme cases can be a separate disease. The main feature of this otitis is that pain in the ear is not felt, but there is a decrease in hearing accompanied by dizziness.