Accompanying SYMPTOME

During an inflammation of the middle ear, general symptoms such as fever and fatigue can occur. Often a reduced hearing ability and also dizziness is noticeable. In most cases, the general condition is also severely impaired.

The frequently occurring pain in the ear can also radiate and cause headaches. If the eardrum is ruptured, otorrhea can occur. This means that pus flows visibly from the ear.

Since an inflammation of the middle ear is often caused by ascending infections from the throat, nose and throat, swallowing difficulties, sore throats or rhinitis can occur or precede it. An inflammation of the external auditory canal results in a painful pressure on the ear. Here too, the swelling of the auditory canal can lead to hearing loss.

If a foreign body enters the ear and blocks the ear canal, hearing loss may occur on the affected side. Pain in the ear or in the area of the ear indicates an ear disease. The ear is particularly sensitive in the middle and outer areas.

Very severe and stabbing ear pain often occurs in cases of middle ear infection. In adulthood and adolescence, inflammation of the external auditory canal occurs more frequently. The cause is often too frequent cleaning of the auditory canal with cotton swabs.

These irritate the mucous membrane of the ear. This irritation can cause unpleasant pain and pus formation. Furthermore, ear herpes (zoster oticus) leads to severe pain in addition to blisters on the ear or in the ear canal.

This also leads to a secretion of the vesicles, which can be visible in or on the ear. This fluid is not pus but a clear vesicle fluid, which can appear yellowish due to earwax and can imitate pus. On the one hand, chronic otitis media can be painless but can be accompanied by pus.

In some cases, those affected have also “got used to” the pain and no longer perceive it as such. The secretion that flows from the middle ear into the external auditory canal is usually creamy yellow or even slimy. It can be malodorous or even odorless.Chronic inflammation of the middle ear can also be associated with hearing loss, dizziness and ringing in the ears (tinnitus).

On the other hand, if pus flows out of the ear without pain, it can be a tympanic effusion (seromucotympanum). In this case, a ventilation disorder in the ear causes secretions to accumulate in the tympanic cavity. If an infection and pus formation of the secretion occurs, pain is often associated.

The tympanic effusion is accompanied by a feeling of pressure in the ear and hearing loss. In adults, a further diagnosis should definitely be carried out, since in addition to rhinitis, throat infections and sinusitis, nasopharyngeal cancer (nasopharyngeal carcinoma) can also be responsible for the aeration disorder. Our next article could also be interesting for you: Treatment of middle ear inflammationAn inflammation of the throat (pharyngitis) or tonsils (angina tonsillaris) can also spread to the ears and cause an inflammation of the middle ear there.

Especially if bacteria such as streptococci have caused the inflammation in the throat, a purulent middle ear infection can follow. Acute tonsillitis can cause sore throat as well as pain and difficulty in swallowing. It can also lead to clotty speech and bad breath (foetor ex ore).

School children are particularly affected by angina tonsillaris. However, it can generally occur at any age. An inflammation of the ear can be accompanied by a secretion of pus from the ear (otorrhea).

In any case, the discharge of pus should be considered a pathological event in the ear. Pain is almost always present. If otorrhea is diagnosed, an ear, nose and throat specialist should be consulted to determine the cause.

In most cases, the inflammation lies directly in the ear canal. It often occurs when the ear canal is manipulated (for example, by frequent cleaning with cotton swabs).
Sometimes, however, the eardrum is ruptured by a purulent inflammation in the middle ear. In some cases, the pus can also be mixed with blood. Sometimes there is a stinking discharge of pus (foetal otorrhea). This typically occurs in cases of infection with the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa.