{"id":1499,"date":"2020-05-03T08:32:41","date_gmt":"2020-05-03T08:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.kayawell.com\/?p=1499"},"modified":"2026-01-16T10:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:41:08","slug":"ear-infection-symptoms-causes-risk-factors-and-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/ear-infection-symptoms-causes-risk-factors-and-prevention","title":{"rendered":"Ear Infection- Symptoms, Causes, Risk Factors and Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>An Ear Infection (sometimes called acute otitis media) is a middle-ear infection, the air-filled area behind the eardrum that includes the tiny vibrating bones of the ear. Kids are more likely to get ear infections than adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since ear\ninfections often clear up on their own, treatment may start with pain control\nand monitoring of the problem. Antibiotics are often used to break down the\ninfection. Many individuals are predisposed to multiple ear infections. This\ncan cause issues with hearing, and other severe complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Symptoms of<\/strong> Ear Infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The signs\nand symptoms of ear infection are typically fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Children<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Signs and symptoms common in children\ninclude:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ear pain, especially when lying down<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tugging or pulling at an ear<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trouble sleeping<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Crying more than usual<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fussiness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trouble hearing or responding to sounds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Loss of balance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High fever (100 F) (38 C) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drainage of fluid from the ear<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Headache<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Loss of appetite<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Adults<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Common signs and symptoms in adults include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ear pain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drainage of fluid from the ear<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trouble hearing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When to see a doctor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Signs and\nsymptoms of an ear infection may indicate several conditions. Having a correct\ndiagnosis and prompt care is important. Call a doctor for your child, if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Symptoms last for more than a day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Symptoms are present in a child less than 6<br>months of age<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ear pain is severe<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your infant or toddler is sleepless or<br>irritable after a cold or other upper respiratory infection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You observe a discharge of fluid, pus or<br>bloody fluid from the ear<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your child or baby becomes sleepless or irritable<br>after a cold or other upper respiratory infection <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Note fluid, pus, or bloody fluid discharge<br>from the ear<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Causes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A bacterium\nor virus in the middle ear triggers an ear infection. This infection also\nresults from another disease such as cold, flu, or allergy, which causes the\nnasal passage, throat, and eustachian tubes to cough and swelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Risk factors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Risk factors\nfor ear infections may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Age:<\/strong> Children aged 6 months to 2\nyears are more vulnerable to ear infections due to the size and shape of their\neustachian tubes and because their immune systems still continue to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Group Child Care:<\/strong> Children\nwho are cared for in group environments are more likely to develop colds and\near infections than children who live at home. During social environments, the\nchildren are exposed to more diseases, such as a common cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Infant Feeding:<\/strong> Babies who\ndrink from a bottle, particularly when lying down, appear to have more ear\ninfections than babies who are breast-fed do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Seasonal Factors:<\/strong> Infections\nwith the ears are most common in fall and winter. Persons with seasonal allergies\ncan be at higher risk of ear infections when there is a high pollen count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Low Air Quality:<\/strong> Tobacco\nsmoke exposure, or high air pollution rates, can increase the risk of ear\ninfections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Alaska Native Heritage:<\/strong> Among the\nAlaska Natives, ear infections are more popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cleft Palate:<\/strong> Differences\nin bone structure and muscles in children with cleft palates can make draining\nof the Eustachian tube more difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Complications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the\near infections will not cause problems in the long run. Ear infections which\noccur over and over again can lead to serious complications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Impaired Hearing:<\/strong> Mild\nhearing loss that comes and goes with an ear infection is relatively normal,\nbut it typically gets better after the infection clears. Ear infections that\noccur regularly, or fluid in the middle ear, which may lead to more severe\nhearing loss. If the eardrum or other middle ear structures get permanent\ndamage, permanent hearing loss can occur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Speech or developmental delays:<\/strong> If the\nhearing in infants and toddlers is temporarily or permanently impaired, they\ncan experience delays in voice, social, and developmental abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Spread of infection:<\/strong> Untreated\ninfections or infections which do not respond well to treatment may spread to\nsurrounding tissues. Mastoid infection, the bony protrusion behind the ear, is\ncalled mastoiditis. This infection may result in bone damage and pus-filled\ncyst formation. Extreme middle ear infections seldom spread to other skull\ntissues like the brain or the membranes around the brain (meningitis).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tearing of the eardrum. Most eardrum tears\nheal within 72 hours. In some cases, surgical repair is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prevention<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nfollowing tips will reduce the risk that ear infections can develop:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Prevent common colds and other illnesses.\nTeach your children to regularly and thoroughly wash their faces, and not share\nutensils for eating and drinking. Teach your kids to cough or sneeze within\ntheir arm&#8217;s crook. Reduce the amount of time your child spends in community\nchild care where appropriate. A child care environment that has fewer kids will\nimprove. Consider holding your child home away from childcare or school while\nyou are sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Avoid secondhand smoke. Make sure that no\none smokes in your home. Away from home, stay in smoke-free environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Breast-feed your kids. Breast-feed your\nbaby for a minimum of six months if possible. Breast milk contains antibodies\nwhich can be protective against ear infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Holding your baby in an upright position\nwhile you are bottle feeding. Stop putting a bottle in the mouth of your infant\nwhen lying down. Don&#8217;t bring the baby bottles into the crib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Talk to your doctor about vaccinations. Ask\nyour doctor about what vaccinations are appropriate for your child. Infections\nwith seasonal flu, pneumococcal and other bacterial vaccines may help prevent\near infections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Ear Infection (sometimes called acute otitis media) is a middle-ear infection, the air-filled area behind the eardrum that includes the tiny vibrating bones of the ear. Kids are more likely to get ear infections than adults. Since ear infections often clear up on their own, treatment may start with pain control and monitoring of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ear-care"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kayawell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}