Otitis Media across the Lifespan

BackgroundOtitis media remains a major cause of morbidity and healthcare utilization worldwide. Although it is often viewed as a condition of infancy and early childhood, otitis media affects individuals across the lifespan and can have important consequences for hearing, communication, balance, and quality of life.In early life, recurrent and persistent otitis media may disrupt auditory input during sensitive developmental periods, with possible downstream effects on speech and language acquisition, learning, and psychosocial well-being. In adolescents and adults, chronic middle ear inflammation, tympanic membrane pathology, cholesteatoma, ossicular erosion, and mastoid involvement can result in long-term conductive or mixed hearing loss, tinnitus, vestibular symptoms, and reduced quality of life. In older adults, otitis media and its sequelae may coexist with age-related hearing loss, frailty, and multimorbidity, complicating diagnosis, treatment decisions, and rehabilitation planning.Despite progress in vaccination, diagnostics, imaging, antimicrobial strategies, and surgical techniques, important gaps remain in disease phenotyping, prediction of recurrence and chronicity, and understanding how infection, inflammation, Eustachian tube dysfunction, biofilms, microbiology, host factors, and environmental exposures shape disease trajectories and outcomes over time.GoalThis Research Topic aims to bring together clinically relevant and translational research on otitis media across the lifespan, linking mechanisms, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management to hearing and patient-centered outcomes. The Topic Editors seek to advance the field by improving phenotyping and outcome measurement, strengthening evidence for medical and surgical decision-making, and clarifying optimal timing and approaches for monitoring, intervention, and hearing rehabilitation in patients with current or past otitis media.ScopeWe welcome submissions addressing themes such as, but not limited to: o Epidemiology and natural history of otitis media across life stages, including incidence, recurrence, chronicity, and complications o Pathophysiology of middle ear and mastoid disease, including immune responses, inflammation, mucosal remodeling, Eustachian tube dysfunction, biofilms, microbiology, and antimicrobial resistance o Acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion, including risk factors, disease burden, progression, and resolution o Recurrent acute otitis media and chronic otitis media, including predictors, disease trajectories, and outcomes o Chronic suppurative otitis media, including mechanisms, clinical management, and long-term consequences o Cholesteatoma, including pathogenesis, classification and staging, surgical strategies, recurrence surveillance, and long-term hearing outcomes o Ossicular chain pathology and reconstruction, including mechanisms of damage, surgical techniques, and functional results o Diagnostic and monitoring approaches, including otoscopy and endoscopy, audiologic profiling, tympanometry, imaging, biomarkers, and standardized outcome sets o Medical and surgical management, including antibiotics and stewardship, ventilation tubes, tympanoplasty, mastoidectomy, perioperative strategies, and management of complications o Hearing and vestibular consequences of otitis media, including conductive and mixed hearing loss, tinnitus, balance symptoms, and quality-of-life outcomes o Hearing rehabilitation in patients with otitis media and chronic ear disease, including amplification, bone-conduction solutions, implantable options when appropriate, and timing of intervention o Real-world and implementation studies, including care pathways, telehealth models, follow-up adherence, and approaches to reduce disparities in access and outcomes across age groups Topic editors: Borlingegowda Viswanatha, Sady Selaimen Da Costa, Hantai Kim, Mainak Dutta Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78691/otitis-media-across-the-lifespan