What you can do
- Warm compress. Try placing a warm, moist compress over your child's ear for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Acetaminophen.
- Warm oil.
- Stay hydrated.
- Elevate your baby's head.
- Homeopathic eardrops.
Baby
ear infections are common but are usually nothing to worry about. Many young children will not need
antibiotics and can be
treated with home remedies, such as acetaminophen, warm compresses, and drinking more fluids.
Remedies may include:
- Over-the-counter medication.
- Warm compress.
- Fluids.
Many infections will go away on their own and the only treatment necessary is medication for pain. Up to 80% of ear infections may go away without antibiotics.
Ear infections can lead to more serious complications, including mastoiditis (a rare inflammation of a bone adjacent to the ear), hearing loss, perforation of the eardrum, meningitis, facial nerve paralysis, and possibly -- in adults -- Meniere's disease.
Ear pain and new onset fever after several days of a runny nose is probably an
ear infection.
Bacterial Infections
- Symptoms persist longer than the expected 10-14 days a virus tends to last.
- Fever is higher than one might typically expect from a virus.
- Fever gets worse a few days into the illness rather than improving.
Call your doctor about an ear infection if:
- Your child's body temperature rises above 100.4°F.
- You or your child frequently develops ear infections; repeated bouts with the disorder can lead to hearing loss or more serious infections.
- You or your child has hearing problems; the infection may be the cause.
Cold or warm compressesPeople often use ice packs or warm compresses, like a heating pad or damp washcloth, to relieve pain. The same can be done for ear pain. This method is safe for both children and adults. Place the ice pack or warm compress over the ear and alternate between warm and cold after 10 minutes.
Tips you can try at home include getting your child to rest in an upright position instead of lying down, to help relieve some of the pressure and place a warm flannel against the affected ear to help relieve the pain. If your child is in pain you can also give them some pain relief medicine to soothe their earache.
Cleaning your child's ears
- Use a cloth or tissue to wipe away any wax that has migrated out of the ear canal.
- To dry ears after a bath or a shower, instruct your child tilt their ear to one side against a towel, and then tilt their head to the other, allowing water to drip out on its own.
How can you care for your child at home?
- Soften and loosen the earwax with warm mineral oil.
- As soon as the wax is loose and soft, all that is usually needed to remove it from the ear canal is a gentle, warm shower.
- If the warm mineral oil and shower do not work, use an over-the-counter wax softener.
Items such as cotton swabs or hair pins should not be put in the ear canal. Using these items in the ear canal will pack the wax in further or cause damage to the ear canal. Ear candling and peroxide cleaners are not recommended for cleaning your child's ears.
How do I clean out my child's ears safely? We recommend using over-the-counter earwax removal drops, or you can make your own with a 50:50 mixture of mineral oil and vinegar or hydrogen peroxide and distilled water.
Doctors can remove earwax in different ways, including:
- scooping it out, pulling it out, or suctioning it out with special instruments designed for this purpose.
- flushing it out with warm water. Sometimes a doctor will put drops into the ear canal to soften the wax and break it down.
While common causes of the condition include oral-motor problems (difficulty controlling speech muscles), significant ear wax buildup, chronic ear infections, or fluid behind the ear drums, signs of speech delay are varied.
The sustained microfoam cleansing action of Debrox® may make mild bubbling or crackling sounds. This is not cause for alarm and is evidence of Debrox® hard at work inside your ear. Any earwax remaining after treatment may be removed by gently flushing the ear with warm water.
Lifestyle and home remedies
- Soften the wax. Use an eyedropper to apply a few drops of baby oil, mineral oil, glycerin or hydrogen peroxide in your ear canal.
- Use warm water. After a day or two, when the wax is softened, use a rubber-bulb syringe to gently squirt warm water into your ear canal.
- Dry your ear canal.
Sometimes a build-up of ear wax can block the ear canal. This build-up can cause discomfort like an earache. The build-up can also sometimes cause dizziness, mild deafness or ringing in the ear.
Often, children don't get better the first day. Most children get better slowly over 2 to 3 days. Note: For mild ear infections in older children, antibiotics may not be needed.
How can I tell if my child has an ear infection?
- Tugging or pulling at the ear(s)
- Fussiness and crying.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Fever (especially in infants and younger children)
- Fluid draining from the ear.
- Clumsiness or problems with balance.
- Trouble hearing or responding to quiet sounds.
Children get more ear infections than adults because their bodies are still developing. In kids, the parts of the ear that drain fluid, the Eustachian tubes, are smaller and almost level to the ground. That means they don't drain as well even when a young one is healthy.
Pain or ear infectionSudden head shaking may be a sign of an ear infection, especially if the baby has a fever or grabs at their ear. Doctors may prescribe antibiotics to treat ear infections.
Signs of InfectionHere are some things to look for: A red, bulging eardrum. Clear, yellow, or greenish fluid behind the eardrum. There may also be some blood.
Teething Can Be Confused with Baby Ear InfectionsIf he has a fever and seems to be most uncomfortable lying down, it's more likely he has an ear infection, says Dr. Dempsey. Red, swollen gums are a sign of teething.
An instrument called a pneumatic otoscope is often the only specialized tool a doctor needs to diagnose an ear infection. This instrument enables the doctor to look in the ear and judge whether there is fluid behind the eardrum. With the pneumatic otoscope, the doctor gently puffs air against the eardrum.
It could be an ear infection. Children are more likely than adults to get ear infections. Talk to your child's doctor about the best treatment. Some ear infections, such as middle ear infections, need antibiotic treatment, but many can get better without antibiotics.
What are the signs that my child has ear fluid?
- Difficulty hearing (if your child frequently says “what”, turns the volume up on the TV, etc.)
- Speech delay.
- Failed school hearing screening.
- Balance problems.
Often middle ear fluid is found at a regular checkup. Ear discomfort, if present, is usually mild. Your child may be irritable, rub his ears, or have trouble sleeping. Other symptoms include hearing loss, irritability, sleep problems, clumsiness, speech or language problems, and poor school performance.
A doctor may prescribe antibiotics to treat ear fluid. The combination of a decongestant and an antihistamine can help reduce congestion. If this treatment is not effective, the doctor can place an ear tube through the middle ear to allow fluids to drain as usual.
If water does get trapped in your ear, you can try several at-home remedies for relief:
- Jiggle your earlobe.
- Make gravity do the work.
- Create a vacuum.
- Use a blow dryer.
- Try alcohol and vinegar eardrops.
- Use hydrogen peroxide eardrops.
- Try olive oil.
- Try more water.
Most ear infections get better on their own. You don't have the possible side effects and cost of antibiotics. You reduce the chance that antibiotics won't work in the future because of overuse. If your child isn't better after a couple of days, you can ask your doctor for antibiotics.
For years, scientists have observed that many children and adolescents with severe inner-ear disorders -- particularly disorders affecting both hearing and balance -- also have behavioral problems, such as hyperactivity.
