As well known equally astute otitis media, a babyhood ear infection is when the middle ear — between the outer ear and the innermost office of the ear — becomes plugged with fluid, infected and inflamed.

This inflammation so results in redness and bulging in the eardrum, hurting and often fever. Ear infections are one of the most common childhood illnesses, hitting kids younger than iv most often.

What causes ear infections in babies and toddlers?

Babies go ear infections when they catch a cold or other upper-respiratory infection, which causes the lining of the Eustachian tube (the tube that connects the heart ear to the nose and the back of the pharynx) to swell, become congested and accumulate fluid. The fluid becomes a convenance basis for infection-causing germs — which could be viral or bacterial. Allergies that cause congestion may also cause ear infections.

The pain and temporary hearing loss your kid may feel are due to the fluid putting pressure on the eardrum. The fever he may develop is due to the infection in the middle ear that his trivial body is fighting.

Ear infections are more than mutual in babies and toddlers because their Eustachian tubes are shorter, narrower and more horizontal than the tubes in adults' (or older kids') ears, making it piece of cake for fluid to become trapped and build upwardly. That'south why most kids have at to the lowest degree 1 ear infection by the time they plow 2.

Some babies and toddlers may exist especially prone to chronic ear infections. While experts aren't entirely sure why some kids get more ear infections than others, in that location are a few factors that seem to heighten the risk for them, including:

  • A family unit history of ear infections
  • Living with a smoker
  • Bottle-feeding when lying downwardly (experts believe that this can cause milk or formula to menses into the middle ear, resulting in infection — the sucking motion an baby makes while breastfeeding doesn't have the same effect)

What are the symptoms of ear infections in babies and toddlers?

The signs and symptoms of an ear infection in your baby include:

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  • Tugging or pulling at the ear or intentionally hitting his head
  • Lament of pain in his ear or of a headache
  • Crying more than than usual
  • Night waking or trouble sleeping (lying down changes in force per unit area in the ear, causing pain to become worse at nighttime)
  • Failing to respond to sounds, including your voice
  • Crankiness and irritability
  • Fever
  • Dizziness or clumsiness (your toddler may stumble more usual or bump into things because the ear infection affects his balance)
  • Irritation when lying down, chewing or sucking (all of which can cause painful pressure changes in the centre ear)
  • Decreased appetite
  • Articulate or bloody discharge or pus that drips out from the ear
  • Crust in and effectually the ear

Are ear infections contagious?

No, an ear infection itself is not contagious. However, the common cold or illness that led to information technology could be. So while your child can't take hold of an ear infection from a friend at twenty-four hour period care, he tin catch the cold or flu virus that results in an ear infection.

To help forestall this, teach your kid proper hygiene, such as washing easily ofttimes and sneezing or coughing into the crook of his arm or a tissue that is immediately thrown away. Also brand sure he's up-to-date on his vaccinations.

If your child already has an ear infection, he can go dorsum to school or solar day care after his fever clears upwardly and he'south no longer in pain.

What'southward the difference between an ear infection and an earache?

An earache (pain inside or around the ear) is just one symptom of an ear infection. But simply because your child has ear pain doesn't necessarily mean he has an ear infection.

Earaches may have a number of causes likewise ear infection, including a sore throat, fluid behind the eardrum, a buildup of earwax, a sinus infection or a tooth infection. They could also exist acquired by soap or shampoo residual in the ear or by using a cotton-tipped swab.

Because ear infections are so common in young children, call your dr. if you notice an earache along with other symptoms of an ear infection.

How do you treat ear infections in babies and toddlers?

If you suspect your baby has an ear infection, take the post-obit steps:

  • Call the doctor. Your kid's pediatrician will bank check your little i'due south ears, since yous won't be able to see an ear infection from the outside.
  • Inquire nigh medication. Some pediatricians will take a wait-and-come across arroyo (the infection might clear up on its own), but many will prescribe antibiotics — usually a x-24-hour interval class.
  • Offering your child appropriate hurting relievers. Whether or not your kid gets antibiotics, your doctor volition likely recommend acetaminophen (for babies over ii months) or ibuprofen (for babies older than 6 months) for pain and fever relief.
  • Apply oestrus (or cold). Yous can reduce the hurting associated with an ear infection by applying estrus (in the class of a warm compress or a covered hot-h2o bottle filled with warm water) or cold (in the class of an ice pack wrapped in a wet washcloth or a washcloth soaked in cool water) to the outer ear.
  • Elevate your baby's head. If your baby is older than 1, yous may want to insert a pillow under the crib mattress to reduce hurting while he sleeps, simply be certain to enquire your doctor before y'all attempt this (and don't use this strategy for babies nether 12 months). And remember, never place pillows, wedges or other soft objects on top of the mattress in your babe's crib, as they may pose a suffocation take chances.

Once the ear infection has cleared — usually within a week to 10 days — it'due south not uncommon for there to still exist a scrap of fluid left over in the ear, which commonly resolves on its own. Your pediatrician should continue to check your child'southward ears at each visit to make certain there'south no infection.

Do ear infections go away on their own?

Frequently, ear infections go away on their own within 2 or 3 days. This is why pediatricians sometimes accept a look-and-see approach — for, say, 48 to 72 hours — particulaly for children anile ii and older who have milder ear infections.

Non every childhood ear infection warrants antibiotics, since some are caused by viruses that won't respond to antibiotics, and giving your kid too many antibiotics can put him at take a chance for becoming resistant to these strong drugs when they're actually needed.

If your baby is 6 months or younger and information technology's adamant to be acute otitis media, however, your doctor volition probably prescribe a grade of antibiotics. Pediatricians may also prescribe antibiotics for children aged 6 months to ii years who are having more severe symptoms. Your physician may also start your kid on antibiotics if his symptoms haven't gotten better within two to 3 days.

Fifty-fifty if your doctor has suggested a expect-and-see approach for past ear infections, that may not be what your child needs for this one. So if you suspect your child has an ear infection, call your pediatrician to become your child'south ears examined.

When should I take my baby to the doctor for an ear infection?

Call during normal function hours if y'all suspect an ear infection (it'south not an emergency). And exist sure to get in touch correct away if you notice any of the following:

  • Fever. While some pediatricians have different standards for what constitutes a fever, if you suspect an ear infection and your child is running any kind of fever, don't worry near "bothering" your pediatrician with a call to the office. Definitely call the doctor immediately if your infant is nether 3 months old and has a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher (this could be a sign of a serious infection and your child will probably need to get a COVID-19 examination) or if your kid is between 3 months and 3 years old and the fever reaches 101.5 degrees F or higher (though whatever temp over 100.four degrees F will likely warrant a COVID examination).
  • A discharge of blood, fluid or pus from the ear (or crust in and around the ear). This could mean that the pressure from the buildup of fluid in the ear has acquired your child's eardrum to rupture — which is not as scary as you might think. The release of pressure level usually relieves some hurting, and the eardrum ordinarily heals itself within a few weeks. Still, you'll desire to see the pediatrician inside a day or so since your child may need antibiotics to kill any leaner that may have acquired the ear infection.
  • No improvement in your child's symptoms. Call if symptoms oasis't diminished afterwards three days with or without antibiotics. Or make it touch if the infection seems to get better and and so returns, which could mean that your child has a chronic ear infection.

When is it more than than an ear infection?

There are a couple of cases when your child may be experiencing more than a standard ear infection:

  • The "chronic" ear infection: One or two ear infections a twelvemonth, while never fun to handle, are fairly normal. A chronic ear infection may exist the consequence of an acute ear infection that does not articulate completely, or of recurrent ear infections.
  • Otitis media with effusion (OME): Sometimes fluid from an ear infection remains in the heart ear and doesn't clear even later treatment. When fluid remains for too long in the ear even afterward an infection clears, it'south considered otitis media with effusion, or OME. While typically temporary — lasting four to 6 weeks — OME could pb to temporary hearing loss. Since the hearing loss can go permanent if the condition continues untreated for many months, information technology'due south important for your child to see the pediatrician.

How to preclude childhood ear infections

While yous tin't do much to change your child's family history, y'all can take the following steps to foreclose ear infections:

  • Avoid secondhand fume. Exposure to secondhand smoke tin make children more vulnerable to ear infections.
  • Wash your child'south hands often. Hand washing can reduce your kid'south risk of getting an upper-respiratory infection, which can lead to an ear infection. It'due south as well a adept idea to steer clear of ill kids.
  • Stay up-to-appointment on your child's immunizations. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar xiii), which is given to prevent serious infections such every bit pneumonia and meningitis, may too reduce the risk of ear infections. And since ear infections are a common complication of the influenza, brand sure your infant receives a yearly influenza vaccine once he reaches 6 months of age.
  • Breastfeed your baby for at least six months, if y'all can. Breast milk contains antibodies that may offer protection from ear infections.
  • Concord your baby upright during feedings if you feed him from a bottle. If your baby is lying down during a feeding, milk or formula tin become into the middle ear.
  • Limit pacifier use to slumber time only.
  • Wean off the bottle between 12 and eighteen months.
  • Consider putting in tubes.While tubes are becoming less common, your doctor may advise tube insertion if your baby or toddler has suffered from chronic ear infections or if he experiences OME for more iii months and/or if that fluid causes hearing loss. These tiny tubes (also called myringotomy or tympanostomy tubes) are about the size of two assertion points put together and assist prevent fluid and bacteria from building up within your child's ear, reducing the incidence of infections and the risk of hearing loss. The insertion procedure only takes a few minutes and is done by an ear, nose and throat specialist nether general anesthesia. Your tot will be upwards and running as early on as the next day. The tubes will autumn out on their own anywhere from half-dozen to eighteen months after the insertion.
  • Dry your kid'south ears after swimming or bathing. Using a towel to dry out off your child'due south ears can help prevent "swimmer'due south ear" (otitis externa), a different type of ear infection that affects the outer ear canal, but is notwithstanding common in children who have recently gone swimming. If your kid is prone to swimmer's ear, inserting ear plugs into your kid'due south ears before swimming or bathing can assist, as can over-the-counter swimmer's ear drops (though be sure to check with your pediatrician before using them on your footling one).

Baby and toddler ear infections, while unpleasant, are fairly mutual. Your doctor will be able to confirm the diagnosis during an in-part visit, and will likely treat the infection with a wait-and-see approach or a course of antibiotics.