Middle ear disease - what is it?

Transcript

Ear disease can affect a lot of our children. Doctors call it otitis media. But sometimes you might hear people calling it an ear infection. It can all start right after a child is born. They come into the world and start to pick up the little bugs and germs that are all around us. Some of them are good and don't make us sick, but some are bad, and if they breed up, they can be a problem.

The bad germs that cause ear disease live in the back of the throat and the nose. Once the bad germs get in there, they can be really hard to get rid of. Children get ear disease when there are more bad germs than good germs. The bad germs make it hard for children to hear, because they make the ears sick.

When a child's ear is sick, the different parts of the ear can't work properly, making all sounds hard to hear. Good hearing is really important, especially for our children, because they need to learn to speak and understand what's going on around them. Sometimes it's really hard to tell if a child has ear disease, and if they are having trouble hearing.

That's why it's important to get their ears checked regularly. Remember too that ear disease can come back. This is when bad germs come back and take over again. If you'd like to know more, you can contact your local health centre, or Deadly Ears team, or visit these websites.