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Incidence

Authoring team

About 25% of children in the UK will visit their general practitioner at some time for the treatment of earache or impaired hearing due to middle ear disease.

With respect to acute otitis media (AOM) (1):

  • AOM is one of the most common complaints seen in children in primary care
  • age is the most important risk factor, with three quarters of cases of AOM occurring in those aged less than 10 years
  • at least one in four children has an episode of AOM before they are ten years old with the peak incidence occurring between the age of three and six years
  • other main risk factor is contact with other children, for example at nursery
  • other associated risk factors include (2,3):
    • environmental tobacco smoke
    • male sex
    • genetics
    • craniofacial abnormalities (eg. Down’s syndrome and cleft palate)
    • breastfeeding duration less than 3 months

Reference:

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The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

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