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• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

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• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

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

Start Here

• 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

Diagnosis and Tests

• Ear Problems (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Can I Prevent Ear Infections When My Child Swims? (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• 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)

Related Issues

• 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)

Specifics

• Labyrinthitis and Vestibular Neuritis (Vestibular Disorders Association)
• Swimmer's Ear (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• 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)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Otitis Externa (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Otitis Media (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Immunoglobulins and Transcription Factors in Otitis Media.
• Article: Otitis media guidelines for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children:...
• Article: Pediatric Otogenic Cerebral Sinus Vein Thrombosis and Thrombophilia.
• Ear Infections -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• NIDCD Glossary (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Find an Expert

• 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

Children

• 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

Teenagers

• Swimmer's Ear (External Otitis) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• 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