Hearing loss globally due to ear infection is estimated to be 30 people in every 10,000. Around the world there is around 21,000 to 28,000 deaths due to complications from ear infections. These complications include brain abscesses and meningitis. Otitis externae peaks at age 7–12 years of age and around 10% of people has had it at least once in their lives.Cerumen impaction occurs in 1 out of every 10 children, 1 in every 20 adults and 1 in every 3 elderly citizens.Barotrauma occurs around 1 in every 1000 people.Of people presenting with ear pain, only 3% was diagnosed with eustachian tube dysfunction. History
Not much was known about ear pain and acute otitis media before the 17th century. It was a common phenomenon with no treatment. That changed when the otoscope was invented in the 1840s by Anton von Troeltsh in Germany. Another shift came with the invention of antibiotics. Before antibiotics was introduced there use to be a high rate of ear infections spreading to the bone around the ear, but that is now considered a rare complication. Society and culture
There was previously a strong tradition of treating acute otitis media with amoxicillin. One quote from the 1980s shows this sentiment by saying "any child with an earache has an acute amoxicillin deficiency". However, people started realizing that using antibiotics too much can cause bacteria to gain resistance. Increasing resistance makes antibiotics less effective.
Surgical drainage could be required. Bullous myringitis leads to the development of bullae on the tympanic membrane that can be punctured to give pain relief. Foreign body in the ear canal can cause pain and be treated with careful removal. Infected sebaceous cyst is treated with incision and drainage of the cysts, oral antibiotics and otorhinolaryngology assessment. Other
Given the variety of causes of ear pain, some causes require treatment other than antibiotics and procedures. Relapsing polychondritis is an autoimmune disease treated with immunomodulating medications (medications that help modulate the immune system). Temporomandibular joint dysfunction can lead to secondary ear pain and can be initially treated with a soft food diet, NSAIDs, application of a heat pack, massage of local area, and a referral to a dentist. Myofascial pain syndromes are initially treated with NSAIDs and physical therapy. Local anesthetic injection into the muscle trigger point can be considered in severe cases. Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is treated with carbamazepine. Epidemiology
2/3 of people presenting with ear pain were diagnosed with some sort of primary otalgia and 1/3 were diagnosed with some sort secondary otalgia.A common cause of primary otalgia is ear infection called otitis media, meaning an infection behind the eardrum. The peak age for children to get acute otitis media is ages 6–24 months. One review paper wrote that 83% of children had at least one episode of acute otitis media by 3 years of age. Worldwide, there are 709 millions cases of acute otitis media every year.