Is Otitis Contagious?

Do you know what types of otitis exist? What are your symptoms? Is otitis contagious? For the general well-being of both infants and adults, resolving these doubts is a priority, especially when summer seasons approach where the ear is exposed to fluids in public baths, swimming pools or the sea.

Symptoms such as pain in the ear, fever, tinnitus (hearing ringing), and irritability can be signs of otitis. According to various studies, it is the most common pathology that causes visits to the doctor in childhood. It is estimated that around three out of four children suffer an episode of acute otitis throughout their development.

About otitis and its types

Otitis is defined as an inflammation of the ear, its tissues and its parts. According to the National Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), this pathology is divided into two types, depending on the area of ​​affection.

External otitis

As indicated by bibliographic sources, external otitis is an inflammation that compromises the auditory tissue most in contact with the outside. It is estimated that it is caused in 90% of cases by bacterial agents.

The main causative species is Pseudomonas aeruginosa and this pathology is also known as swimmer’s ear. This is due to the fact that statistics suggest that more than 80% of external otitis in summer occurs in swimming pools.

This variety is divided into three subtypes:

• Acute circumscribed or diffuse.
• Chronic external otitis.
• Invasive or malignant.

  

Otitis media

In this case , an inflammation occurs in the middle ear,  due to viral or bacterial contamination of the Eustachian tube (internal structure that connects the auditory with the throat). There are two main types of otitis media and they are as follows:

• Acute: the ear becomes infected and swollen with fluids and mucus that cannot get out of it. It generates significant pain that can be associated with headaches.

• Serosa: after passing an infection, some fluids can be trapped inside the ear, which leads to symptoms that no longer respond to the infectious, but to the pressure exerted by the retained trying to get out. This is the case with serous otitis.

Unlike its external variant, otitis media can be caused by spreads of diseases in the upper respiratory tract, as common as a cold. Microorganisms migrate from the upper respiratory tract to the auditory structures.

A study that tried to demonstrate this relationship found that, in a sample of monitored children, 70% of those with otitis also had cold-type illnesses. Rhinovirus appeared as the most common causative agent in these infections.

Is otitis contagious?

Otitis, then, is not contagious by itself, but its causal agents are. Being microorganisms, they can pass from one human to another in various ways, which we will now explain.

In the case of external otitis there is no reason to worry, because being caused by excess moisture in the ear canal (either from swimming or humid climates) there is no danger of direct contagion with an affected patient.

A very different case is that of otitis media. Its main cause is the cold caused by the rhinovirus and this does have an infectious capacity. The common cold has a basic reproductive value (R0) of 1.88. This epidemiology number means that every infected person passes it to almost two others.

This does not imply that a person with a cold and otitis media, by transferring the virus, will generate otitis in another patient. This depends on many more factors.

Risk factor’s

The fact of developing acute otitis media after an infectious process in the respiratory tract can happen normally. Still, scientific studies have explored risk factors that predispose to the disease. Some of them are the following:

• When another member of the family has a clinical history with repeated otitis over time.
• Conditions of poverty and malnutrition can promote this pathology, as a weakened immune system does not cope with the cold correctly.
• Exposure to tobacco smoke in infants also predisposes them to otitis media.

Otitis and contagion: what to remember?

When asked whether otitis is contagious, it can be answered that it is not by itself, but that its causative agents, in the case of otitis media, are. The fact of contracting a respiratory tract infection does not guarantee that it will pass to the ear, but there is a clear correlation between the two.

Still, it is essential to remember that there are antibiotic treatments for this condition, both for children and adults. In addition to attacking the very focus of the disease, in many cases anti-inflammatories and analgesics are necessary to alleviate ear pain.