Ear infection

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Ear anatomy

Middle ear infection (otitis media)

Eustachian tube

Mastoiditis - side view of head

Mastoiditis - redness and swelling behind ear

Ear tube insertion - series

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Ear infection - acute

Alternative Names:

Otitis media - acute; Infection - inner ear; Middle ear infection - acute

Symptoms:

An acute ear infection causes pain (earache). In infants, the clearest sign is often irritability and inconsolable crying. Many infants and children develop a fever or have trouble sleeping. Parents often think that tugging on the ear is a symptom of an ear infection, but studies have shown that the same number of children going to the doctor tug on the ear whether or not the ear is infected.

Other possible symptoms include:

Fullness in the ear
Feeling of general illness
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Hearing loss in the affected ear

The child may have symptoms of a cold, or the ear infection may start shortly after having a cold.

All acute ear infections include fluid behind the eardrum. You can use an electronic ear monitor, such as Earcheck, to detect this fluid at home. The device is available at pharmacies.

Signs and tests:

The doctor will ask questions about whether your child (or you) have had ear infections in the past and will want you to describe the current symptoms, including whether your child has had any symptoms of a cold or allergies recently. Your doctor will examine your child's throat, sinuses, head, neck, and lungs.

Using an instrument called an otoscope, the doctor will look inside your child's ears. If infected, there may be areas of dullness or redness or there may be air bubbles or fluid behind the eardrum. The fluid may be bloody or purulent (filled with pus). The physician will also check for any sign of perforation (hole or holes) in the eardrum.

A hearing test may be recommended if your child has had persistent (chronic and recurrent) ear infections.

References:

Noble J, ed. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3^rd Ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby; 2001.

Gershon, AA, Hotez, PJ, and Katz, SL, eds. Krugman’s Infectious Diseases of Children. 11^th ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby; 2004.

Long, SS, Pickering, LK, and Prober, CG, eds. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 2^nd Ed. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone, 2003.

Review Date: 6/24/2004
Reviewed By: Alan Greene, M.D., F.A.A.P., Department of Pediatrics, Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine; Chief Medical Officer, A.D.A.M., Inc.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 2004 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.