Ears are one of the most important sensory organs in a human body. Taking care of the health of the ears is very necessary. Ear infections are very common in infants and young children, it also occurs in adults. Usually the ear infection takes place in the “middle ear” that is behind the eardrums. It could be either acute or chronic, where in acute you experience pain and chronic ear infection could cause permanent damage to the inner and middle ear.
Ear infection is caused due to liquid filling up in the middle section of the ear behind the eardrums causing inflammation. Here it becomes the breeding ground of bacteria and fungus leading to infection. The middle ear usually is filled with air and is connected via a small tube called the Eustachian tube to the back of the throat.
If this tube swells up or gets blocked then fluid or mucus fills in the ear causing infection and discomfort. Below you will get to read about the Ear Infection Symptoms so that it will help you if others or you are experiencing any pain, discomfort or trouble in hearing.
Causes of Ear Infection
Ear infection is mainly caused by the filling of fluid in the middle or inner, leading to the generating of bacteria or fungi. But, there are agents that cause or aggravate this infection. The agents are as below:
- if you have allergies
- cold and viral causes mucus to fill into the middle ear
- sinus infections inflame the Eustachian tube
- excess mucus in the ENT (ears, nose and throat) ends up flooding the middle ear
- tobacco, cigarette smoking
- infected or swollen adenoids that are the tissues near the tonsils which trap harmful bacteria or viruses
Ear Infection Symptoms:
You should be familiar the ear infection symptoms since it also involves infants and children. Adults are able to speak if they face any sort of pain and discomfort in the ears. But, it is difficult to identify if an infant is suffering with ear infection. So below are given the symptoms that are common, for adults and infants.
Common Ear Infection Symptoms:
Earache is the most common symptom, but does not occur regularly.
- Low hearing sense for a few days.
- High fever is also common.
- Children may get sick or vomit and often be unwell.
- Infants may be hot, irritated and cranky due to an ear infection.
- Sometimes the eardrum bursts (perforates) on its own letting out the fluid/mucus and often relives the pain. If the hole is small then the eardrum heals by itself within a week’s time.
Ear becomes runny and could continue for few days The symptoms of an ear infection in adults are
- Sharp earache, sudden or a dull, continuous pain
- Chronic pain with sudden warm drainage from the ear canal
- Fullness in the ear
- Nausea/vomit
- Muffled hearing
- Ear drainage
The symptoms in children are:
- Tugging the ear
- Disturbed sleep
- Often getting fever
- The infant often gets irritated and becomes restless
- Ear drainage and foul odor
- Loss of appetite
- Crying at night when laid down
Treatment for Ear Infection:
If you experience discomfort or often pain in your ear and you doubt the ear infection symptoms, then you should consult an ENT specialist and get a check- up. After diagnosing and depending where the infection is either in the inner or the middle ear section the doctor will recommend medication, ear drops and pain killers. If the infection is too bad then a minor surgery is performed to extract the infected fluid.