Long-term antibiotics, while they decrease rates of infection during treatment, have an unknown effect on long-term outcomes such as hearing loss. This method of prevention has been associated with emergence of antibiotic-resistant otitic bacteria. They are thus not recommended.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) in early infancy, decreases the risk of acute otitis media in healthy infants. PCV is recommended for all children, and, if implemented broadly, PCV would have a significant public health benefit. Influenza vaccine is recommended annually for all children. PCV does not appear to decrease the risk of otitis media when given to high-risk infants or for older children who have previously experienced otitis media.

Risk factors such as season, allergy predisposition and presence of older siblings are known to be determinants of recurrent otitis media and persistent middle-ear effusions (MEE). History of recurrence, environmental exposure to tobacco smoke, use of daycare, and lack of breastfeeding have all been associated with increased risk of development, recurrence, and persistent MEE. Thus, cessation of smoking in the home should be encouraged, daycare attendance should be avoided or daycare facilities with the fewest attendees should be recommended, and breastfeeding should be promoted.

There is some evidence that breastfeeding for the first year of life is associated with a reduction in the number and duration of OM infections. Pacifier use, on the other hand, has been associated with more frequent episodes of AOM.

Evidence does not support zinc supplementation as an effort to reduce otitis rates except maybe in those with severe malnutrition such as marasmus.

Adhesive otitis media occurs when a thin retracted ear drum becomes sucked into the middle-ear space and stuck (i.e., adherent) to the ossicles and other bones of the middle ear.

The incidence of otitis externa is high. In the Netherlands, it has been estimated at 12–14 per 1000 population per year, and has been shown to affect more than 1% of a sample of the population in the United Kingdom over a 12-month period.

The strategies for preventing acute external otitis are similar to those for treatment.

- Avoid inserting "anything" into the ear canal: use of cotton buds or swabs is the most common event leading to acute otitis externa.

- Most normal ear canals have a self-cleaning and self-drying mechanism, the latter by simple evaporation.

- After prolonged swimming, a person prone to external otitis can dry the ears using a small battery-powered ear dryer, available at many retailers, especially shops catering to watersports enthusiasts. Alternatively, drops containing dilute acetic acid (vinegar diluted 3:1) or Burow's solution may be used. It is especially important NOT to instrument ears when the skin is saturated with water, as it is very susceptible to injury, which can lead to external otitis.

- Avoid swimming in polluted water.

- Avoid washing hair or swimming if very mild symptoms of acute external otitis begin

- Although the use of earplugs when swimming and shampooing hair may help prevent external otitis, there are important details in the use of plugs. Hard and poorly fitting ear plugs can scratch the ear canal skin and set off an episode. When earplugs are used during an acute episode, either disposable plugs are recommended, or used plugs must be cleaned and dried properly to avoid contaminating the healing ear canal with infected discharge.

Adenoiditis occurs mainly in childhood, often associated with acute tonsillitis. Incidence decreases with age, with adenoiditis being rare in children over 15 years due to physiological atrophy of the adenoid tissue.

It is currently believed that bacterial biofilms play an integral role in the harboring of chronic infection by tonsil and adenoid tissue so contributing to recurrent sinusitis and recurrent or persistent ear disease. Also, enlarged adenoids and tonsils may lead to the obstruction of the breathing patterns in children, causing apnea during sleep.

The most common bacteria isolated are Haemophilus influenzae, group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus, Staphylococcus aureus, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Streptococcus pneumoniea. Heamophilus influenza, Moraxella catarrhalis and Streptococcus pneumonia are the three most resistant pathogens of otitis and rhinosinisitis in children suffering from these diseases.

In the United States and other developed countries, the incidence of mastoiditis is quite low, around 0.004%, although it is higher in developing countries. The condition most commonly affects children aged from two to thirteen months, when ear infections most commonly occur. Males and females are equally affected.

Some cases of pharyngitis are caused by fungal infection such as Candida albicans causing oral thrush.

Pharyngitis may also be caused by mechanical, chemical or thermal irritation, for example cold air or acid reflux. Some medications may produce pharyngitis such as pramipexole and antipsychotics.

With prompt treatment, it is possible to cure mastoiditis. Seeking medical care early is important. However, it is difficult for antibiotics to penetrate to the interior of the mastoid process and so it may not be easy to cure the infection; it also may recur. Mastoiditis has many possible complications, all connected to the infection spreading to surrounding structures. Hearing loss is likely, or inflammation of the labyrinth of the inner ear (labyrinthitis) may occur, producing vertigo and an ear ringing may develop along with the hearing loss, making it more difficult to communicate. The infection may also spread to the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII), causing facial-nerve palsy, producing weakness or paralysis of some muscles of facial expression, on the same side of the face. Other complications include Bezold's abscess, an abscess (a collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue) behind the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck, or a subperiosteal abscess, between the periosteum and mastoid bone (resulting in the typical appearance of a protruding ear). Serious complications result if the infection spreads to the brain. These include meningitis (inflammation of the protective membranes surrounding the brain), epidural abscess (abscess between the skull and outer membrane of the brain), dural venous thrombophlebitis (inflammation of the venous structures of the brain), or brain abscess.

Otitis is a general term for inflammation or infection of the ear, in both humans and other animals.

It is subdivided into the following:

- "Otitis externa", external otitis, or "swimmer's ear" involves the outer ear and ear canal. In external otitis, the ear hurts when touched or pulled.

- "Otitis media" or middle ear infection involves the middle ear. In otitis media, the ear is infected or clogged with fluid behind the ear drum, in the normally air-filled middle-ear space. This very common childhood infection sometimes requires a surgical procedure called "myringotomy" and tube insertion.

- "Otitis interna" or labyrinthitis involves the inner ear. The inner ear includes sensory organs for balance and hearing. When the inner ear is inflamed, "vertigo" is a common symptom.

Otitis media is a particularly common cause of otalgia in early childhood, often occurring secondary to other infectious illnesses, such as colds, coughs, or conjunctivitis.

Granular myringitis (GM) is a long term condition in which there is inflammation of the tympanic membrane in the ear and formation of granulation tissue within the tympanic membrane. It is a type of otitis externa.

Without treatment it can lead to narrowing of the ear canal. A number of treatment options exist including putting vinegar in the ear, using antibiotic drops, and surgery.

It is normally possible to establish the cause of ear pain based on the history. It is important to exclude cancer where appropriate, particularly with unilateral otalgia in an adult who uses tobacco or alcohol.Often migraines are caused by middle ear infections which can easily be treated with antibiotics. Often using a hot washcloth can temporarily relieve ear pain.

Various strategies may be used to manage tympanic membrane retraction, with the aims of preventing or relieving hearing loss and cholesteatoma formation.

Myringosclerosis seems to be more common than tympanosclerosis. Most research has not been conducted upon the general, healthy population, but rather those with otitis media or patients who have had tympanostomy tubes in prior procedures. Of the children studied who had 'glue ear', and who were treated with tympanostomy tubing, 23-40% of cases had tympanosclerosis. One study suggested that people with atherosclerosis were more likely to have tympanosclerosis than otherwise healthy individuals.

There is low or very-low quality evidence that probiotics may be better than placebo in preventing acute URTIs. Vaccination against influenza viruses, adenoviruses, measles, rubella, "Streptococcus pneumoniae", "Haemophilus influenzae", diphtheria, "Bacillus anthracis", and "Bordetella pertussis" may prevent them from infecting the URT or reduce the severity of the infection.

The perforation may heal in a few weeks, or may take up to a few months. Some perforations require intervention. This may take the form of a paper patch to promote healing (a simple procedure by an ear, nose and throat specialist), or surgery (tympanoplasty). However, in some cases, the perforation can last several years and will be unable to heal naturally.

Hearing is usually recovered fully, but chronic infection over a long period may lead to permanent hearing loss. Those with more severe ruptures may need to wear an ear plug to prevent water contact with the ear drum.

As retraction pockets may remain stable or resolve spontaneously, it may be appropriate to observe them for a period of time before considering any active treatment.

Children have 2-9 viral respiratory illnesses per year. In 2013 18.8 billion cases of upper respiratory infections were reported. As of 2014, upper respiratory infections caused about 3,000 deaths down from 4,000 in 1990. In the United States, URIs are the most common infectious illness in the general population. URIs are the leading reasons for people missing work and school.

Perforation of the eardrum leads to conductive hearing loss, which is usually temporary. Other symptoms may include tinnitus, earache or a discharge of mucus.

In most cases, tympanosclerosis does not cause any recognisable hearing loss up to ten years after the initial disease onset. Sclerotic changes seem to stabilise, but not resolve or dissolve, after 3 years.

The adenoids, like all lymphoid tissue, enlarge when infected. Although lymphoid tissue does act to fight infection, sometimes bacteria and viruses can lodge within it and survive. Chronic infection, either viral or bacterial, can keep the pad of adenoids enlarged for years, even into adulthood. Some viruses, such as the Epstein-Barr Virus, can cause dramatic enlargement of lymphoid tissue. Primary or reactivation infections with Epstein Barr Virus, and certain other bacteria and viruses, can even cause enlargement of the adenoidal pad in an adult whose adenoids had previously become atrophied.

Catarrh , or catarrhal inflammation, is inflammation of the mucous membranes in one of the airways or cavities of the body, usually with reference to the throat and paranasal sinuses. It can result in a thick exudate of mucus and white blood cells caused by the swelling of the mucous membranes in the head in response to an infection. It is a symptom usually associated with the common cold, pharyngitis, and chesty coughs, but it can also be found in patients with adenoiditis, otitis media, sinusitis or tonsillitis. The phlegm produced by catarrh may either discharge or cause a blockage that may become chronic.

The word "catarrh" was widely used in medicine since before the era of medical science, which explains why it has various senses and in older texts may be synonymous with, or vaguely indistinguishable from, common cold, nasopharyngitis, pharyngitis, rhinitis, or sinusitis. The word is no longer as widely used in American medical practice, mostly because more precise words are available for any particular pathosis. Indeed, to the extent that it is still used, it is no longer viewed nosologically as a disease entity but instead as a symptom, a sign, or a syndrome of both. The term "catarrh" is found in medical sources from the United Kingdom. The word has also been common in the folk medicine of Appalachia, where medicinal plants have been used to treat the inflammation and drainage associated with the condition.

Ear disease is a subfield of otolaryngology addressing the pathology of the ear.

Two of the major categories are otitis and hearing disorders. However, not all hearing disorders are due to structures of the ear.