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Signs Your Child May Have A Chronic Ear Infection And What You Can Do About It

6 March 2015 by Julia Gregory

It's fairly common for young children to get ear infections occasionally, and although they cause pain and discomfort, the infections usually clear up on their own in a few days. While it's a good idea to take your child to the pediatrician to have an earache checked out, if your child has frequent, chronic problems with ear infections, you may need to see an ear, nose, and throat doctor instead. Chronic ear problems can be difficult to manage, and if the infection interferes with your child's hearing, it could lead to speech delays and impaired learning.

Signs Your Child Has An Ear Infection

If your child is in pain and pulling at his or her ears, that's a pretty clear sign of an earache. However, it's possible to have an ear infection and not have much pain. Your child may have a high pain tolerance, or could become accustomed to discomfort if it is a chronic occurrence. Other signs you should watch for include poor balance, which can happen when fluid accumulates in the ear, and fluid or pus discharge from the ear canal. Your child may not respond to noises very well, and you may suspect hearing problems, when the culprit could be a chronic infection.

Dangers Of Not Treating An Infection

When fluid builds up inside the ear, it has nowhere to go since the eardrum blocks it from draining. This pressure can actually cause the eardrum to tear. This usually isn't a serious complication in children since the eardrum will often heal itself in a short period of time. Repeated tearing and scarring of the eardrum can lead to hearing loss though. Other parts of the ear can be damaged by chronic infections too. If structures in the middle ear are damaged, this can lead to permanent hearing loss. Hearing loss, even if it's temporary, can be a big problem for your child because it can lead to difficulty learning to speak, and it may cause delayed social development too. Even worse, it's possible for the infection to spread to nearby tissues and bones.

Treatment Options For Chronic Ear Infections

When you take your child for an examination, the doctor looks inside the ear with devices that are able to gauge the presence of fluid behind the eardrum. Relieving pressure on the eardrum and clearing the infection are important goals of treatment. To do this, the doctor may need to insert a tube in the ear that allows fluid to drain through the eardrum. You may also need to administer antibiotic drops into your child's ear. Treatment is likely to include frequent doctor visits to monitor your child's condition, to make sure the infections stay under control, and to ensure your child's development is not delayed by hearing problems.

While chronic ear infections are frustrating to deal with as a parent because you hate to see your child in discomfort, it's helpful to know your child will probably outgrow the condition as he or she gets older. In the mean time, you can help your child deal with pain by applying heat to the ear and being extra vigilant about protecting your child from cold and flu germs that could trigger another infection.

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