Otitis media causes
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Causes
Streptococcus pneumoniae and nontypable Haemophilus influenzae are the most common bacterial causes of otitis media. Tubal dysfunction leads to the ineffective clearing of bacteria from the middle ear. In older adolescents and young adults, the most common cause of ear infections during their childhoods was Haemophilus influenzae. The role of the anti-H. influenzae vaccine that children are regularly given in changing patterns of ear infections is unclear, as this vaccine is active only against strains of serotype b, which rarely cause otitis media.
As well as being caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae it can also be caused by the common cold. Colds indirectly cause many cases of otitis media by damaging the normal defenses of the epithelial cells in the upper respiratory tract.
Another common culprit of otitis media includes Moraxella catarrhalis, a gram-negative, aerobic, oxidase positive diplococcus. Less commonly otitis media can be caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.