▲ Professor Joong Ho Ahn of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Asan Medical Center is treating a patient with otitis media.

Professor Joong Ho Ahn of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Asan Medical Center and his team recently revealed in their study showing that there was an average of 40% decrease in the number of patients with otitis media with effusion (OME) over the three years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While statistics have reported a decline in common cold cases during the COVID-19 pandemic due to public health measures, such as wearing masks, no clear studies have tackled the actual change in the incidence of otologic diseases.

Using patient data from three hospitals in South Korea between 2017 and 2023, the research team analyzed the annual incidence trends for otologic diseases, including OME, chronic otitis media, congenital preauricular fistula, and facial nerve palsy. The results showed that the number of patients who received ventilation tube insertion for OME was 893 in 2019, compared to 562 in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic bloomed, marking a 37% drop. In 2021 and 2022, the number decreased to 483 and 545, respectively, a 45.9% and 38.9% decrease from 2019.

OME is a condition characterized by the accumulation of fluid called effusion in the middle ear cavity, mainly caused by upper respiratory tract infections, such as the nose, pharynx, and larynx. It was suggested that social distancing, hand washing, and mask-wearing may have resulted in reduced upper respiratory tract infections, contributing to a decline in OME cases.

In 2023, the last year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients who received ventilation tube insertion was 779, reflecting a 42.9% surge compared to the previous year. This sharp rise in the incidence of OME is likely attributed to lifting infection control measures, leading to an increase in infectious diseases such as rhinitis and salpingitis. In addition, no significant correlation was found between the COVID-19 pandemic and the incidence of chronic otitis media, congenital preauricular fistula, and facial nerve palsy.

Professor Ahn stated, “Further research is needed to clarify how the COVID-19 virus, vaccines, and various control measures affected otologic diseases and their correlation.”

The study findings were recently published in the international academic journal ‘Acta Oto-Laryngologica.’