The fluid build-up can cause discomfort or muffled hearing.
If it is unresolved, however, your child’s healthcare provider may need to help remove the fluid.
Children often get fluid in the ear partly because their eustachian tube is shorter than adults.
Illustration by Brianna Gilmartin, Verywell
The tube is also more horizontal in children, making it less likely to drain fluid.
Children are most likely to have fluid in the middle ear between two to seven years of age.
Most children will have had at least one episode of fluid in the middle ear before they reach school-age.
While it is most prevalent in children, adults can still have issues with serous otitis media.
However, it’s not as common.
Serous Otitis Media vs.
Ear Infection
Be aware that serous otitis media isnotanear infection, otherwise known as acute otitis media.
An ear infection will change the shape of the eardrum,making it bulgetoward the outside of the ear.
With serous otitis media, the shape isn’t always changed.
Your healthcare provider can look for this when making a diagnosis.
You will also notice a difference in symptoms.
An ear infection will often have a fever associated with it.
The level of pain noticed will also be different.
Tympanometry is a test that measures the eardrum’s response pressure waves.
Fluid can also be determined by observing for color changes of the eardrum, representing changes behind the eardrum.
Duration
Serous otitis media usually will last for around two to 12 weeks.
This can cause pain or hearing loss.
SOM is most common in children, but it can also affect adults.
2016;154(S1).
2013;8(2):3235.
