Ear Infections

What is an ear infection?

Ear infections can be either bacterial or viral infections. They can occur in your middle ear, the part of your ear just behind your eardrum, as well as the outer and inner ear. They often clear up on their own but can be painful due to inflammation or fluid buildup. Ear infections can be chronic or acute. Acute ear infections are painful but short in duration. Chronic ear infections either don’t clear up or recur many times. They can cause damage to the middle and inner ear, which is infrequently permanent.

What are the symptoms of ear infections?

Common symptoms of ear infections include:

• Mild pain or discomfort inside your ear
• A persistent feeling of pressure inside your ear
• Pus-like ear drainage
• Hearing loss

These symptoms might persist or come and go. Symptoms may occur in one or both ears. Pain is usually more severe with a double ear infection, which is an infection in both ears. Chronic ear infection symptoms may be less noticeable than those of acute ear infections.

Symptoms of an ear infection in children

Along with symptoms seen in adults, such as ear pain and drainage, young children and babies may show other signs of an ear infection, such as:

• Rubbing or pulling their ear
• Fever
• Not reacting to certain sounds
• Frequently losing balance
• Headache
• Fussiness or restlessness
• Loss of appetite

Usually, ear infections last fewer than 3 days, but they can persist for up to a week. Children younger than 6 months who have a fever or other ear infection symptoms should see a doctor. Seek medical attention if your child has a fever higher than 37.5 or severe ear pain.

What causes an ear infection?

Ear infections are caused by viruses or bacteria, particularly the bacteria Streptococcus pneumonia or Haemophilus influenzae. They often result from a blockage of your Eustachian tubes, which causes fluid to build up in your middle ear. Eustachian tubes are small tubes that run from each of your ears directly to the back of your throat. Causes of Eustachian tube blockage include allergies, colds, sinus infections, excess mucus, smoking, and changes in air pressure. Ear infections can also develop from infected adenoids/tonsils.

Your adenoids are glands on the roof of your mouth behind your nose that help protect your body from infections. Infections can spread from these glands to the nearby ends of your Eustachian tubes.

What are the risk factors for ear infections?

Ear infections occur most commonly in young children because they have short and narrow Eustachian tubes. About 80 percent of children develop an acute ear infection at some point. Infants who are bottle-fed also have a higher incidence of ear infections than their breastfed counterparts. Other factors that increase the risk of developing an ear infection are:

• Altitude changes
• Changes in temperature and humidity
• Exposure to cigarette smoke
• Pacifier use
• Recent illness or ear infection
• Being male
• Low birth weight
• Lack of access to healthcare
• Being in daycare
• Potential complications of an ear infection

Ear infections usually clear up without intervention, but they may recur. These rare but serious complications may follow an ear infection:

• Hearing loss
• Speech or language delay in children, which is more common when there is chronic fluid in the middle ear
• Mastoiditis (an infection of the mastoid bone in the skull)
• Meningitis (a bacterial infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord)
• Ruptured eardrum

How are ear infections treated?

While most mild ear infections clear up without intervention, the following treatments can also help:

Home treatment

These methods are effective in relieving the symptoms of a mild ear infection:

• Apply a warm cloth to the affected ear.
• Avoid sleeping on the affected ear.

Medical treatment

If your symptoms get worse or don’t improve, see a doctor. They may prescribe antibiotics if your ear infection is bacterial, chronic, or doesn’t appear to be improving. Antibiotics don’t help treat viral infections.

Surgery

Surgery may be an option if your ear infection isn’t eliminated with the usual medical treatments or if you have many ear infections over a short period. Most often, ear tubes are placed in your ears to allow fluid to drain out. These tubes are surgically inserted into your eardrums. They eventually fall out and the holes heal over. Sometimes these holes need to be closed surgically. Adenoids may have to be removed if they repeatedly get infected over a short time.