Abstract

Around a quarter of UK children will, at some time, visit a doctor for the treatment of earache or impaired hearing due to middle ear disease.1 Acute infection of the middle ear (acute otitis media) is one of the most common medical conditions for which GPs attend children.2 Otitis media with effusion (glue ear) is the most common cause of hearing impairment and reason for elective surgery in children; it occurs in about 20% of children around the age of 2 years, with another peak at around age 5.3 In this article we discuss the diagnosis and management of the two conditions.