Why Are Ear Infections More Common in Children?

Ear infection, medically termed acute otitis media, affects three out of four children by the time they are 3 years old. Children tend to develop ear infections more because their Eustachian tubes (tube connecting the middle ear to the pharynx) are more narrow and shorter as they are still developing. Additionally, their immune systems are underdeveloped, so they are more likely to experience illness such as ear infections.

Symptoms

• These include complaining of pain in ear, pulling at ears, crying more, not sleeping, being irritable, not responding to sounds, fever and clear fluid that drains from the ear.

Causes

• Causes of ear infection in children include colds that cause fluid to collect behind the eardrum, swelling of the Eustachian tubes that that connect the ear to the nose and swelling of infected adenoids (tissues by the Eustachian tubes in the throat).

Risk Factors

• Ear infections are most common for children between 6 and 18 months, children who are in daycare and exposed to more viruses and babies who are fed a bottle lying down versus being held upright.

Treatment

• Treatment includes natural methods (vitamins or homeopathic drops), antibiotics or tubes inserted into the eardrum via surgery to allow air to flow into the middle ear to encourage drainage.

Misconceptions

• One of the common misconceptions is that ear infections must be treated. Most ear infections will go away without treatment.