The term 'inflammation of the middle ear' covers a couple of deseases
which range from the acute otitis media to the middle ear cholesteatom
a. However, a clear characterization of a certain pathology is essenti
al for any further treatment. Therefore this article presents a short
overview about the different types of infections and their clinical ma
nifestation. The tumors of the temporal bone show a great variety in t
heir incidence. Even if tumors like the acoustic neurinoma or the para
ganglioma are compareable common, the chondroblastoma of the temporal
bone is absolutely rare. In spite of these differences the individual
temporal bone neoplasias are shortly mentioned herein.