Under the present conditions, exudative otitis media (EOM) becomes one of the most common causes of conductive hearing loss in children. Objective: to optimize the early diagnosis and treatment of EOM in children with chronic persistent viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. The infection was found to have an impact on the occurrence and course of EOM. Chronic persistent viral infection of the upper respiratory tract was shown to be detected in the majority of children with EOM, accounting for 89.4% of cases, and to be one of the etiopathogenetic factors of its development. Children with EOM in the presence of persistent viral infection should be long followed up by an ENT doctor and, besides conventional therapy, indicated to have a cycle of antiviral and immunomodulatory therapy under control of an allergist/immunologist.