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Treatments for Middle Ear Infections

The U.S. National Library of Medicine describes a middle ear infection as infection or inflammation of the Eustachian tube. Bacterial or viral infections occur when fluid builds up in the middle ear and becomes blocked as a result of allergies, multiple infections, ear trauma or adenoid swelling. This condition is common among infants and small children because of sucking on sippy cups, exposure to other children or living in a home with smokers. Middle ear infections often go away after two or three day; however, doctors recommend treatment for repeated middle ear infections.

  1. Home Remedies

    • Many treatments for middle ear infections begin at home. The National Library of Medicine says that acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, reduces infection-related fevers and relieves pain. Parents also can apply warm cloths or warm water bottles to the ear and use ear drops. Parents can guard against children's middle ear infections by not smoking or using a wood-burning stove in the house.
      The Home Remedies website states that homeopathic treatments for middle ear infections include taking vitamin C and zinc to combat infection, eating foods containing lots of calcium, and avoiding hydrogenated oil. Breastfeeding, too, reduces middle ear infections.

    Antibiotics

    • The National Library of Medicine says doctors prescribe antibiotics for middle ear infections that are accompanied by fever and other conditions outside the ear. If antibiotics don't help in 48 to 72 hours, your doctor may prescribe stronger doses of antibiotics. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians state that doctors try to avoid this treatment for middle ear infections if possible because overuse of antibiotics creates bacteria that are resistant to these drugs.

    Surgery

    • Kids Health, a website sponsored by the children's health organization Nemours Foundation, states that doctors perform tympanostomy tube surgery as a treatment for chronic middle ear infections. To perform this surgery, patients go to a hospital and receive general anesthesia. Anesthesiologists monitor children during this 10- to 15-minute procedure in which surgeons make small holes in the eardrum and drain fluid from the inner ear. Surgeons then insert small metal or plastic tubes in the eardrum holes. Recovery in the hospital can take a few hours or a day, depending on the patient's age or medical condition. Tubes fall out of children's ears between six to 18 months after surgery. Tubes that remain in the ear longer than two or three years must be removed by doctors.

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