Approximately five out of six children have at least one ear infection by their third birthday. Children with ear infections may have ear pain, ear pressure, ear discharge or trouble hearing out of the affected ear. If your child gets recurrent ear infections, you may worry about whether those hearing problems will be permanent. Luckily, they rarely are.
Temporary Hearing Loss From Ear Infections
Hearing loss during an ear infection occurs because fluid buildup in the middle ear can prevent sound from reaching the inner ear clearly. Your child may describe the sensation as trying to hear through a pillow or wall. Typically, their hearing will return to normal when the infection clears and the fluid drains. If the fluid doesn’t drain on its own, we may recommend ear tubes to help drain it and reduce the likelihood of further infections.
In some cases, fluid buildup from an ear infection can tear the eardrum and interfere with sound transmission. If your child has a torn eardrum, it will either heal on its own, or we can help it along by placing a medicated patch over the hole in a procedure called a tympanoplasty.
Permanent Hearing Loss From Ear Infections
If an ear infection does permanent damage to the middle ear, hearing loss may become permanent as well. If your child develops lasting hearing loss or frequent but temporary hearing loss, they may also have slower speech development than is typical for their age, especially if their hearing loss begins when they’re young. That slowed development happens because children rely on their hearing to round out their speech development; hearing loss can interfere with that process.
How Can I Manage My Child’s Ear Infections
Most ear infections resolve on their own, but severe or long-lasting infections may require antibiotics or ear tubes.
If your child has frequent or severe ear infections, schedule an appointment with Puget Sound Ear Nose and Throat. We can determine whether an underlying cause is contributing to the repeated infections and help you decide whether ear tubes or other treatments are necessary to prevent hearing damage.
Sources
Jamal, A., Alsabea, A., & Tarakmeh, M. (2022). Effect of Ear Infections on Hearing Ability: A Narrative Review on the Complications of Otitis Media. Cureus, 14(7), e27400. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.27400
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2022). Ear infections in children. Nidcd. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/ear-infections-children