Identifying when a very young child has a middle ear infection can be difficult, especially for first-time parents. There are several myths floating around about how to identify when an infant has an ear infection.
A study conducted by Laine et al. published in Pediatrics (volume 125, number 5) concluded that some of the main indicators parents often use to identify when a child has an ear infection (ear rubbing and pulling, fever, and restless sleep) are not necessarily indicative of such. Laine et al. concluded that neither the presence of the symptoms (ear rubbing, fever, and restless sleep), the duration, nor the severity could accurately predict when a child had a middle ear infection.
The only way to be sure if your child has a middle ear infection is to take him or her in to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Your OrlandoENT specialist will use a otoscope to look inside of the child’s ears for abnormal size, shape, or color of the eardrum and send a small puff of air to check if there is fluid inside.
