Ear infections are common in young children.

The terms that health care professionals use to describe children’s ear conditions can be confusing. There are 3 common terms. (1) Acute otitis media (AOM) is the term used for middle ear infections. (2) Otitis media with effusion occurs when there is fluid in the middle ear space that is not infected. This does not require antibiotics. (3) Otitis externa is an infection of the space outside of the eardrum and involves the ear canal. Sometimes, this condition is known as swimmer’s ear.

Acute otitis media is one of the most common illnesses evaluated by pediatricians. About 50% of all children will have at least 1 ear infection by the time they reach their second birthday. The most common age range in which children are likely to get AOM is 3 to 24 months.

耳部感染在幼儿中很常见。

医护人员用来描述儿童耳朵状况的术语可能会造成混淆。有3个常用术语。（1）急性中耳炎（AOM）是用于中耳感染的术语。（2）中耳腔有积液未被感染时，会发生积液性中耳炎。这不需要抗生素。（3）外耳炎是鼓膜外部空间的感染，累及耳道。有时，这种情况被称为游泳者的耳朵。

急性中耳炎是儿科医生评估的最常见疾病之一。到他们的第二个生日时，约有50％的儿童至少有1次耳朵感染。儿童最有可能发生AOM的年龄范围是3到24个月。