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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffEar infections in children can be hard to detect, especially if your child is too young to say, "My ear hurts." Knowing what to look for can help. Children with ear infections may:
- Complain of pain in their ears
- Tug or pull at their ears
- Cry more than usual
- Have trouble sleeping
- Fail to respond to sounds
- Be unusually irritable
- Develop a fever of 100 F (38 C) or higher
- Develop a clear fluid that drains from the ears
- Have headaches
Don't stick anything in your child's ears to check for an ear infection.
Adults who have a middle ear infection may have these symptoms:
- Earache
- Fever of 100 F (38 C) or higher
- A feeling of blockage in the ear
- Dizziness
- Temporary hearing loss
When to see a doctor
Ear infections aren't usually an emergency — but they can make you or your child uncomfortable. If the signs and symptoms last longer than a day, call a doctor. In children younger than age 2, watch for sleeplessness and irritability after an upper respiratory infection, such as a cold.
If you see a discharge of blood or pus from the ear, call your family doctor or pediatrician. This could mean your child has a ruptured eardrum. While this might seem like an urgent emergency, the rupture of the eardrum may actually relieve your child's pain, and you can usually safely see the doctor within a day or two for treatment.
If your child has been diagnosed with an ear infection, call the doctor if your child's signs and symptoms don't improve or they get worse after three days.
