What Chronic Otitis Media Does Inside the Ear
Each time the middle ear fills with fluid or pus and goes untreated, it puts pressure on three tiny bones, the malleus, incus, and stapes, that are responsible for transmitting sound vibrations to the cochlea. One or two infections, resolved properly, leave no lasting mark. But when infections return repeatedly across months or years, the ossicles begin to erode. The tympanic membrane, the eardrum, can rupture. Scar tissue builds where healthy tissue once moved freely.
