Hearing Loss & Ear Infections

When a child develops otitis media, an infection of the middle ear, the inflammation associated with that infection can cause a temporary hearing loss. If she has persistent or untreated otitis media, the hearing impairment may become more permanent.

Features

• When an ear infection causes a build-up of fluid in a child's middle ear, the three small bones (hammer, anvil and stirrup) that normally transmit sound can't carry vibrations efficiently from his eardrum to his inner ear.

Functions

• Because the three bones vibrate less efficiently than normal, sound energy is lost within the fluid-filled middle ear. Environmental sounds are muffled, or the child may not be able to hear them at all.

Effects

• As the fluid level goes up and down (fluctuates) within the middle ear, it creates a fluctuating conductive (sound-transmitting) hearing loss. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), this scenario creates the most common type of hearing loss in young children.

Tips

• A child who can't hear normally may have significant delays in speech and language development. ASHA recommends that children with frequent ear infections be evaluated by both an audiologist and a speech language pathologist.

Warning

• According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, ear infections that aren't treated promptly and effectively can contribute to long-term hearing loss.