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Ear infections are the most common reason parents bring their child to a doctor. Three out of four children will have at least one ear infection by their third birthday. Adults can also get ear infections, but they are less common.
The infection usually affects the middle ear and is called otitis media. The tubes inside the ears become clogged with fluid and mucus. This can affect hearing, because sound cannot get through all that fluid.
If your child isn’t old enough to say “My ear hurts,” here are a few things to look for
- Tugging at ears
- Crying more than usual
- Fluid draining from the ear
- Trouble sleeping
- Balance difficulties
- Hearing problems
Your health care provider will diagnose an ear infection by looking inside the ear with an instrument called an otoscope.
Often, ear infections go away on their own. Your health care provider may recommend pain relievers. Severe infections and infections in young babies may require antibiotics.
Children who get infections often may need surgery to place small tubes inside their ears. The tubes relieve pressure in the ears so that the child can hear again.
NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Ear Infection (Middle Ear) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Ear Infections (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Ear Infections in Children
(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish - Middle Ear Infections (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Ear Problems (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Can I Prevent Ear Infections When My Child Swims? (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
- Ear Infection Treatment: Do Alternative Therapies Work? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Ear tube insertion – slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Ear Tubes (American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery)
- Eardrum repair – slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work – Ear Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- How to Use Ear Drops Properly (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists)
- Is Ear Candling a Safe Way to Remove Earwax? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Middle Ear Infections (American Academy of Pediatrics)
- Cholesteatoma (American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery)
- Ototoxicity (Ear Poisoning) (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Ruptured Eardrum (Perforated Eardrum) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Labyrinthitis and Vestibular Neuritis (Vestibular Disorders Association)
- Swimmer’s Ear (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Ear Infection Treatment Shouldn’t Be Shortened (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
- Statistics about Hearing, Balance, Ear Infections and Deafness (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Otitis Externa (National Institutes of Health)
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Otitis Media (National Institutes of Health)
- Article: Are Children Scheduled for Ventilation Tubes Insertion Overweight? A Cohort of…
- Article: Quality of Patient Education Sections on Otitis Media Across Different Website…
- Article: Antibiotics versus topical antiseptics for chronic suppurative otitis media.
- Ear Infections — see more articles
- NIDCD Glossary (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
- American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
- Find an ENT (American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery)
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Cholesteatoma (Nemours Foundation)
- Middle Ear Infections and Ear Tube Surgery (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Pain in the Ear: Fending off Ear Infections (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
- Swimmer’s Ear (Nemours Foundation)
- Tympanoplasty (Nemours Foundation)
- What Is an Ear Infection? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Your Ears (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Swimmer’s Ear (External Otitis) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Cholesteatoma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Ear discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Ear examination (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Ear infection – acute (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Ear infection – chronic (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Ear tube insertion (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Earache (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Otitis media with effusion (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Swimmer’s ear (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish