Introduction: Perforation of tym-panic membrane or cholesteatoma and pus discharge from ear charac-terize Suppurative Otitis Media (SOM). Apart from causing ear dis-charge and decreased hearing it can progress to cause life threatening complications. Early health seeking behaviour is mandatory. A number of barriers prevent early presenta-tion at health facilities. Materials and Methods: Patients with suppurative otitis media at-tending Ear Nose and Throat De-partment were included in this study. Patients were given struc-tured questionnaire to determine their health seeking behaviour and health related practices. Results were tabulated and compared with literature. Results: 33.67% of pts did not seek health care services- most were males in age group 20-39 yrs with education up to class 10 and in-come less than Rs 10 000 per month. 29% patients had only ear discharge and were unaware of their hearing handicap. Awareness about complication was seen in less than 15% patients. Conclusion: Majority of respondents had good and positive attitudes and practices regarding health seeking behaviour. The lack of appropriate knowledge perception and errone-ous practices stresses the im-portance of specific health educa-tion to the population. There is need to improve the community’s awareness for the care of ear infec-tions. Key words: Suppurative Otitis me-dia health seeking