The levels of inflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, in the AOM/DSS-induced CC group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.01), while GL significantly lowered the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the CC + GL group compared to those in the CC group (p < 0.05; p < 0.01, Figure 2a,b). Here, TNF is linked to infectious otitis media.