Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Support Groups
Expectations (prognosis)
Ear infections can be treated but may occur again in the future. They can be quite painful. If you or your child are prescribed an antibiotic, it is important to finish all your medication as instructed.
Complications
Generally, an ear infection is a simple, nonserious condition without complications. Most children will have minor, temporary hearing loss during and right after an ear infection. This is due to fluid lingering in the ear.
Fluid can remain behind the eardrums even after the infection has cleared.
See also:
Other potential complications from otitis media include:
Ruptured or perforated eardrum Chronic, recurrent ear infections -
Enlarged adenoids or tonsils -
Mastoiditis (an infection of the bones around the skull) -
Meningitis (an infection of the brain) - Formation of an abscess or a cyst (called cholesteatoma) from chronic, recurrent ear infections
- Speech or language delay in a child who suffers lasting hearing loss from multiple, recurrent ear infections
Calling your health care provider
Call your child's doctor if:
- Pain, fever, or irritability do not improve within 24 to 48 hours
- At the start, the child seems sicker than just an ear infection
- Your child has a high fever or severe pain
- Severe pain suddenly stops hurting -- this may indicate a ruptured eardrum
- Symptoms worsen
- New symptoms appear, especially severe headache, dizziness, swelling around the ear, or twitching of the face muscles
For a child younger than 6 months, let the doctor know right away if the child has a fever, even if no other symptoms are present.
Images
Review Date: 04/26/2010
Reviewed By: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of
Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also
reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
