What Causes Ear Infections?

The signs to look for in an ear infection are her pulling at her ear and possibly running a fever aswell. Sometimes they just wake up in the night for no reason , have a little cry and then go back to sleep again. She could have some more teeth coming in which can cause pain and make them wake in the night.

Our 2 year-old daughter just had tubes put in for the second time on Monday. Her almost-4 year-old brother has had 1 ear infection. She has had 10 or 11 (5 this year after tubes in February, 2009).

She never displays symptoms. The only way we know is that she begins to drain badly from her nose. And, there are usually 2 ears infected. She never has fevers, she never complains about her ears hurting or tugs on them. She's just really susceptible to them, and I've learned that 2 rounds of tubes is more common than I would have thought.

Generally, the infection is caused by the improper drainage of fluid that than becomes infected with bacteria that the ear would normally battle on its own.

Since babies that age can't communicate well, I'd recommend calling the pediatrician and asking what they think based upon the symptoms. They'll let you know if they want you to bring her into the office. I always think it's better to call and let them determine if you need to come in personally.

Good luck. It could also be allergy related as bad as the pollen has been, but her symptoms are vague, and I'm not medically trained.

I agree with the other posters she may just have woke up dream or whatever. let her go and see if she will self sooth. I have been through multiple ear infections on kids. water in the ear that sits can cause it. (swimmers ear) if she is not swimming this probably isn't it. Pollen high like other posters have said I agree with it could be allergies causing it. Keep their ears covered wind in the ear canal can cause an ear infection. I never ever buy a jacket with no hood. ever. I also agree it could be teething. listen to the pitch of her cry. high pitch cries are usually sick or ears or teeth or pain in general. low pitch cries on a cry it out are usuall I just cant get comfortable. or I am awake but not totally awake. When she hurts herself listen to the pitch of her cry it will be the same if she is in pain.

The phase of the moon!

Seriously, while it's usually associated with headcolds, my kids have come down with them with absolutely no other symptoms (no cold, no fever). The refusing to lie down was always the tip off. It's hard to tell, but if the baby gets quick relief within 30 minutes of Motrin or Tylenol, you're on to something.

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My daughter was getting ear infections constantly and did not exhibit any of the typical signs (pulling on ears, sometimes she wouldn't even have a fever). She was getting ear infections when she was teething and when she had a cold. The drainage would get caught in her ears (because the canals are small) and she would get an infection.

It's kindof tough to tell whether it's teething, a cold, a dream, or ear infection. You just have to try to rule out the others. Good luck!

i'm not exactly sure what causes ear infections, but my daughter had them so often i opted to have tubes put in her ears. what a difference it made. i would recommend it to anyone who has a child who gets frequent ear infections. my daughter would go off one cycle of antibiotics and a week later be one them again. she didn't always have a fever right off the bat, but she would do exactly what you are discribing. she'd just start screaming out of the blue for no reason, then be ok. it was confusing at first, but it was her ears. she'd be fast asleep and get up crying, sometimes she would just be too tired for the pain and eventually go back to sleep, poor thing. have your daughter examined by a physician, ongoing ear infections can cause a lot of problems and can slow down their speech and learning and they are not always obvious. my daughter was a little behind in her talking because she simply couldn't hear well enough to learn. good luck and i hope she is fine.

Vaccinations can cause them... Since there are antibiotics in Vaccines, everytime they are given, you need to restore the body with probiotics to prevent infections.

Also if it is a Physical Problem take her to a good Osteopath and have them do cranial sacral work on your child, that usually solves the problem...

I think she wants company. It's totally normal at this age to have some separation anxiety, and leaving her to cry will likely make that worse. Comfort her! She's still a baby.

I just wanted to share this story with everyone. Jessica Briggs'son, Jonathan, is 3 years old. For the last 3 years, he has suffered with Chronic Ear Infections.
*Day 1* His nose would start running
*Day 2* He would start running high (104) fever (Usually bi-lateral ear infections)
*Day 3* He would get a stiff neck due to the swollen glands
*Day 4* He would start, yet another, antibiotic
*Day 14* He would finish the antibiotic
Within 1 week, we started all over again

When he was 20 months old, we had tubes put in his ears - a common procedure in which your young child is completely put under for surgery. For the next 8 months or so (until the tubes fell out), we only had about 4 ear infections. But as soon as the tubes fell out, we started on the same trend as before the tubes.

Just over 1 month ago, I was introduced to the Kids Need Us Website. This is when I discovered that the plug-in air fresheners that I had all over my home were giving off FORMALDEHYDE. After reading several things from Melaleuca and doing my own research, I discovered that FORMALDEHYE may be a possible major cause for chronic ear infections in children. The moment I read this information, I removed all of those plug-in air fresheners from my home. My son has not had an ear infection since that time. I know some people would just say that I didn't know for sure that the air fresheners were causing his ear infections. What I say to that is Why take that chance? If there is an alternative which makes my house smell just as good and my son is no longer sick, this is definitely worth it to me. Plug-ins is just one of the many products that companies put formaldehyde in, such as childrens' body wash, childrens' shampoo, cologne.

P. S

I have a 13 month old also and she has got ear infections from cutting teeth (noth of my girls did) Also, she is getting her 1 year molars right now, so that could be a reason for the crying. Also, this is a big age for Separation Anxiety, so they could just want extra attention during this time.

I just wanted to say i wish they came with a manual or someone to tell you what to do too!! : ) Hope she feels better.

Ear infections usually start with negative pressure in the middle ear caused by the eustacian tubes being clogged (by a cold or some other inflammation that keeps the ears from draining). The negative pressure creatives a vacuum in the middle ear that pulls mucus from the wall membranes. That fluid is just clear liquid, but when it stays there awhile, it can get infected. That's when the fluid becomes thick and causes pain (some hearing loss can happen with both infection (otitis media) and plain fluid (sirus otitis)).

Kids get a lot more ear infections than adults because their eustacian tubes are parallel to the floor, and therefore don't drain as well as adults' ears do (which are at a diagonal).

If your child is experiencing a lot of fluid (infected or not), she could be dealing with fluctuating hearing loss, which can cause speech and language difficulties. Might be worth it to take her to an ENT.

Was this WAY more information than you were looking for? :-)