Elevate Your Health Colorado Recognizing childhood ear infections

For many kids, ear infections are just a part of growing up.  In fact, about 75 percent of all children will get an ear infection at some point in their childhood. As common as the condition is, many parents don’t realize these infections are potentially dangerous to their child’s hearing.

“Recurring or untreated ear infections can lead to severe sinus infections, a ruptured eardrum, or temporary or permanent hearing loss,” says Mary Maguire, MD, pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente Colorado.

Anatomy of an ear infection
Ear infections affect the middle ear just behind the eardrum and are commonly triggered by the common cold, flu, and allergies. When fluid builds up in the middle ear, it can damage the eardrum or prevent sounds from reaching the middle ear. Children who have early hearing impairment from ear infections are likely to have speech and language disabilities, which makes early diagnosis critical.

If children are pulling at their ears, crying excessively, have fluid draining from their ears, have a fever or have problems hearing that worsens after 48 hours, Dr. Maguire recommends taking them to a pediatrician. The doctor can usually diagnose the condition by viewing the eardrum and middle ear for inflammation and fluid.

“Ear infection symptoms are not always apparent, and the only way to diagnose the condition is a clinical exam of the middle ear for inflammation and fluid,” Dr. Maguire says.

Treating and preventing ear infections

You can easily protect your child’s hearing health by preventing ear infections. Dr. Maguire recommends the following:

• Don’t smoke around your children. Secondhand smoke irritates the respiratory passages and is often a leading cause for childhood ear infections. A new study recently proved that a reduction in secondhand smoke was linked to fewer childhood ear infections.

• Keep immunizations up to date. Some of the vaccines administered to children protect against forms of bacteria that cause some ear infections. Follow the Centers for Disease Control immunization schedule.

• Try to prevent the common cold. Research shows that when children get colds, they end up with an ear infection 61 percent of the time. Keep germs at bay through frequent hand washing and limiting your child’s exposure to other sick children. “Avoiding colds is probably the best way to prevent an ear infection,” says Dr. Maguire. Also, help your child avoid common allergens, such as pollen and dust, which irritate the Eustachian tubes – the tubes that help drain fluid from the middle ear.

• Feed infants in an upright position. When infants nurse or feed from a bottle lying flat on their back, it can cause milk to reflux back through the nose and throat and block up the ear tubes.

• Breastfeed your baby. Breastfeeding boosts children’s immunity, protecting them against colds, the flu, and even certain allergies. Read about the benefits of breastfeeding.

Learn more about protecting your child’s hearing health by preventing ear infections at kp.org.