Fluid in the middle ear is a pathological condition induced by various etiological factors and recognized by a pathognomonic pattern of diagnostic signs and symptoms. It is not a new clinical entity, having been described in the literature, by diverse terms, however, for the past 50 years or more.
As an illustration of the confusion in terminology, Politzer1 described this condition as seromucous catarrh of the middle ear, otitis media serosa, exudative catarrh, and catarrh of the tympanic cavity and Eustachian tube. Kerrison2 referred to it as an acute serous otitis media, while more recently, to mention only a few of the many writers on this subject, Tobey3 called it acute catarrhal otitis media with effusion and Jordan4 alluded to it as chronic secretory otitis media. According to Hoople 5 it is otitis media with effusion, while Armstrong6 described the condition, when incurred in air