Is It an Ear Ache?

Hi T.,

I know you have tons of responses, but mines a little different. Babies that are 9 months old are fascinated when they find new parts to their bodies. He may just be playing with his ears!! Let us know what happens.

K.

You should take him to the doctor before putting anything in his ears. Putting ear drops in his ear will help if it is an outer ear infection but not a middle ear infection which happens behind the ear drum. I could be he has just noticed his ears. My daughter is two and she had tubes placed in August. She has had two infections since then. Some kids are just more prone to ear infections. Without doubt see a doctor.

It sounds like it might just be another ear infection. I've been easily prone to ear infections since I was a child. My ears are very sensitive to the wind. I've gotten sick and tired of going to the doctor for the same problem over and over. Try putting a couple of drops of sweet oil in his ear(they sell it @ Wal-Mart). That always works for me.

It is very possible that he is teething and there is a nerve that runs by his ear that is effected by teething. I had that problem.. My sister in laws son would pull at his ear after he discovered it. Since he isnt crying or it isnt bothering him i wouldnt worry about it.

T. - I can't encourage you enough to have him checked by a chiropractor. I know it may seem like a strange suggestion, but there has been SO MUCH success with ear conditions and chiropractic.
Check this website for more info:
http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/chiropractic.htm

and please email me if you need a recommendation for a good chiropractor. I am not in your area, but I will find someone.
Have a great day!
J.

Hi T. and little Phenoix,

I would like to suggest 2 things

1st ask the Dr. for some gentamyacin drops. They are antibiotics but go straight to the ear and not the whole body and it has a pain releiver agent in the drops.

2nd go to the county health department and have them do a FREE screening to see if he is developmentally where he should (every state has this screening at an early age due to federal grant money you can not be turned away do to your income) be he may be advanced or behind and the head banging may very well be indicative of this behavior. The health department also has audiology equipment to teast his hearing even at this early young age. Also an eye exam would be helpful he just may be frusterated and that is the head banging.

good luck keep us posted.
S.

My daughter went through the same thing. When she started tugging at her ears or banging her head on the floor, or a loss in appetite, it was time to go back to the Dr. She had 3 ear infections during her first year. One thing to ask your Dr. about is the "Z-pack" for kids. (zithromycin) It's a stronger antibiotic than the normal axmoicillian (sp?) and it knocks out the ear infection faster. It's only given 5 days instead of 10. Good luck. When in doubt, go see the Dr. You'll feel better instead of guessing what's wrong.

My son just saw the dr a few weeks ago.. his ears were fine.. then 2 days later he had Puss come out of his left ear!! yeck!!! I called in HEY we have Puss.. they called in augmenten.. we did that 10 days.. and flauxin I think it was auntibotix drops for his ears 4 drops.. Anyway... I took my older son to dr for his headaches just 2 days ago.. Little Josh was with us.. Dr said I now He does not have an apt.. but let me look at his ears... the left ear is still red.. she gave us Omnicef.. It is pricey.. but It from what I looked up is a reallly good med.. Lots have said so too... I hope it catches what is left.. I know I could not take Augmenten as a child.. I had sooo many earinfections It was like candy.. Did not touch it.. some kids it just does not touch it... Ears are not things to mess with!!! My son was still cupping his ears... So I was still doing the drops...

I would take him in.. If one med did not work.. try the other.. but yes.. it could be teeth too.. feel around for teeth.. But of any feever... Take to dr.....

Hope your little one feels better!!!!

Earaches are no fun!!! I had sooo many and no tubes!!! OUCH!!!!

Please don't mess around anytime you think your son has an earache, you need to take him to the right Dr. ear. nose. and throat specialist. I am 42 years old and have had earaches as young as I can remember it cause me to loose alot of hearing in my right ear. My grandson 18 months ear has been draining,my daughter took him to the Pediatrician still kept draining the infection turned to staff which the Dr. said it could be very dangerous maybe deadly put him on some strong medicine luckly it was caught intime before it did any harm. When my daughter was 13 she complained about her ear mainly in the summer when she been swimming so I treated it as swimmers ear, when she got older she had to have an eardrum transplant. Ear infection are more serious than Parents realize. so any time you think his ear is bothering him please take him to the Dr. ear infection can cause hearing lose. and turn to other type of infection, like staff which is dangerous and contagous

You need to take him back to the doctor. Ask if he needs to be seen by an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat)Doctor. Sounds very similar to the behavior my son displayed before he got tubes. Your son may need to have tubes, to drain the fluid in his ears. My son had minimal ear infections, but he displayed similar behaviors, as your son. Finally, someone told me to ask about an ENT and they said set me up with an appointment. Within a week, he had tubes and was on the road to recovery. It can't hurt to check it out. Good Luck, S.

Looks like you already have lots of responses. My daughter went through the same thing. She had 3 ear infections in a row. She would be off the antibiotic for 2 weeks and then get another one. Luckily, we have not had one in 2 months. I would definitely take your son back to the doctor just for peace of mind and to have his ears re-checked. You just never know. I know when they start teething too, they tend to pull at their ears too so sometimes its hard to know. Good luck.

My son from the age 6 months to about 12 months had one solid ear infection..same thing they'd said it was gone then a few days later it was back, they ended up sending up to Children's Mercy to the Ear, Nose and Thoat clinic and had him checked out there. It could be that there is fluid build up..but I'm no expert.

It sounds like it could possibly be another ear infection. By the time my daughter was around 9 months we had 3 or 4 ear infections. We were referred to an ear, nose, throat specialist and he ended up putting tubes in. Tubes may sound bad, but it took like 2 minutes for the entire procedure, the worst part was she was not permitted to eat before the surgery because they put her under anesethia (they rearranged their schedule to get her in first thing in the morning). She is now two and has not had an ear infection since, one tube has even fallen out already. We were very glad we were referred to a specialist. They do have child doctors that specialize although we did not go to a child ear, nose, and throat specialist.

I have a two and a half year old that was going through the same thing. His ears seemed to bother him but he never complained of pain. I took him to the doctor all the time and they gave me medicine it would go away and a couple of days he was tugging again. Someone suggested having him go to the audiology clinic, so his doctor sent a referal. He had tons of fluid in his ears which was causing him not to be able to hear correctly. We just got tubes to drain the fluid and he is talking way more than he used to and he is leaving his ears alone. You might want to see if maybe his ears aren't draining the fluid and its collecting in his ears.

Don't worry, it is perfectly normal for your son to get so many ear infections. Some are worse than others, yes, but not to worry. It is known that boys are more suseptable to ear infections than girls. My nephew had about 8 of them by the time he was 3 and there is nothing wrong with his hearing. Good luck to you and have patience. God Bless.

please take ur baby to the spec.ear thoat and nose,my middle boy had 24 earaches by the time he turned 1 and his baby dr. said it was the norm, well its not i took him to our family dr and he had a fit sent him to a ear,tho., and nose dr.who gave him tubes right away. my boy almost all the hearing in one ear and 50% in the other,he is fine now but dont play with the ears.

It could be possible he could have some wax buildup in his ear and it could be bothering him, my son does the same thing he plays with his ears and taps on his head, but not crying, and I had brought him to the doctors they checked him out and said he didnt have an ear infection but upon looking in his ears he had pulled some wax out.

Hope that helps

G.

He may have water in his ears. Try using the nose suction thing on his ear with the specialized cotton swabs for little ones. If that doesn't work take him to the doctor again and ask them to check and see if he has water behind his ear drum because that can happen and he will need tubes in his ears to prevent further complications and hearing loss.

It could be an ear ache, but my daughter pulls on her ears when she's teething. I think some of the discomfort of the teeth cutting through is felt by them in their ears. So (if he lets you) you might take a peek in his mouth and check for white gums somewhere.

This is not to say that you shouldn't pursue making sure it's not an ear infection, but his temp would probably shoot up a bit if it's an infection.

I would take him back to the doctor just to make sure the infection has not returned or a new infection hasn't set in. I don't think only two ear infections at this point calls for a visit to an ENT. My son had 9 or 10 infections in his first winter(along with many colds, RSV and bronchiolitis), but has not had one at all this winter now that he is a little bit older. Ear infections can be very common in little ones and usually they grow out of them by the time they are a year to 18 months old. If he continues to get them very frequently, then I might take him to a specialist.

Also, make sure he is not lying down while drinking a bottle or just after he drinks or nurses.

Hi I just took my son to the doctor and thought maybe my son had an ear infection cause he kept pulling at his ears but his doctor told me his ears were fine, there is a muscle that runs along the jaw to the ear and when they teeth they can't destinguish pain in the ear from pain in there mouth due to teething so you might need to see if your son is teething. Well hope your son gets better.

It could be another ear infection. I took my daughter back to the doctor because I thought her ears weren't getting better after 5 days and they were clearing up but she was teething also. But then 2 weeks after I had her there she has another ear infection so especially this time of year they can recur fairly quickly. I would trust your instinct and take him back to the doctor.

first i love his name! im from phoenix orgionally. my son doesnt have ear trouble but i do and it had been determined that my trouble was due to algeries and they were nasty, theyd drain and weep and id just lay on aheating pad. algeries make the ears itch bad and i use a little baby oil in the ear and lots of advil. but they said if i take antibiotics each time i will become immunee, im tired so if this doesnt make sence please get back with me

Just to be safe I would take him to the doctor. Some kids just have chronic ear infections. I had to deal with it for 4 months straight with my now 14 month old. If you don't feel like you can trust your doctor then I can give you The name of my doctor which I really love. She is great!

I would absolutely without a doubt take him to a different doctor! I used to have horrible earaches as a child of course my father smoked. However I would get a second opinion! good luck and hurry those things hurt.I would also like the other ladies said go to the ear, nose and throat doctors at children's mercy they are very good at seeing what your doctor does not see. They will be sure and figure out the problem before it becomes a big problem.

If he were my son, who is 11 months old and has two ear infections, I wuld take him back, or at least call the Dr. to see if they want to see him or not. My son ran a fever with both of his earaches and tugged on his ears with the first one (around 9 months), but I thought he had "found his ears" and didn't give it much thought until the fever set in. The second ear infection I had him to the Dr. for a runny nose, cough and sneezing that had lasted for over a week and he had a low fever. I hadn't seen any signs of an earache before then, but they did.