ABSTRACT
Acute middle-ear infections usually occur during (viral) head colds. Some acute middle-ear infections may themselves be viral, but the majority are caused by secondary bacterial infection associated with blockage of the Eustachian tube which drains and ventilates the middle ear. Since colds and related infections are commoner in childhood, and Eustachian tubal function is generally poorer in childhood, acute middle-ear infection is largely a disease of children.
