26 answers

Is It an Ear Ache?

My son who is 9 months has had 2 minor ear infections. Each time he was given antibiotics and at the follow up visit he was given a clean bill of health. Now he has been tugging at his ears and even cupping his hands over them. He is also banging stuff on his head(don't know if there's any correlation) but I'm wondering what to do. Do I take him back to the doctor, a different doctor or is this just normal? He doesn't cry or show any signs of being in pain.

What can I do next?

Featured Answers

Hi T.,

I know you have tons of responses, but mines a little different. Babies that are 9 months old are fascinated when they find new parts to their bodies. He may just be playing with his ears!! Let us know what happens.

K.

You should take him to the doctor before putting anything in his ears. Putting ear drops in his ear will help if it is an outer ear infection but not a middle ear infection which happens behind the ear drum. I could be he has just noticed his ears. My daughter is two and she had tubes placed in August. She has had two infections since then. Some kids are just more prone to ear infections. Without doubt see a doctor.

It sounds like it might just be another ear infection. I've been easily prone to ear infections since I was a child. My ears are very sensitive to the wind. I've gotten sick and tired of going to the doctor for the same problem over and over. Try putting a couple of drops of sweet oil in his ear(they sell it @ Wal-Mart). That always works for me.

More Answers

If he were my son, who is 11 months old and has two ear infections, I wuld take him back, or at least call the Dr. to see if they want to see him or not. My son ran a fever with both of his earaches and tugged on his ears with the first one (around 9 months), but I thought he had "found his ears" and didn't give it much thought until the fever set in. The second ear infection I had him to the Dr. for a runny nose, cough and sneezing that had lasted for over a week and he had a low fever. I hadn't seen any signs of an earache before then, but they did.

I would absolutely without a doubt take him to a different doctor! I used to have horrible earaches as a child of course my father smoked. However I would get a second opinion! good luck and hurry those things hurt.I would also like the other ladies said go to the ear, nose and throat doctors at children's mercy they are very good at seeing what your doctor does not see. They will be sure and figure out the problem before it becomes a big problem.

Just to be safe I would take him to the doctor. Some kids just have chronic ear infections. I had to deal with it for 4 months straight with my now 14 month old. If you don't feel like you can trust your doctor then I can give you The name of my doctor which I really love. She is great!

first i love his name! im from phoenix orgionally. my son doesnt have ear trouble but i do and it had been determined that my trouble was due to algeries and they were nasty, theyd drain and weep and id just lay on aheating pad. algeries make the ears itch bad and i use a little baby oil in the ear and lots of advil. but they said if i take antibiotics each time i will become immunee, im tired so if this doesnt make sence please get back with me

It could be another ear infection. I took my daughter back to the doctor because I thought her ears weren't getting better after 5 days and they were clearing up but she was teething also. But then 2 weeks after I had her there she has another ear infection so especially this time of year they can recur fairly quickly. I would trust your instinct and take him back to the doctor.

Hi I just took my son to the doctor and thought maybe my son had an ear infection cause he kept pulling at his ears but his doctor told me his ears were fine, there is a muscle that runs along the jaw to the ear and when they teeth they can't destinguish pain in the ear from pain in there mouth due to teething so you might need to see if your son is teething. Well hope your son gets better.

I would take him back to the doctor just to make sure the infection has not returned or a new infection hasn't set in. I don't think only two ear infections at this point calls for a visit to an ENT. My son had 9 or 10 infections in his first winter(along with many colds, RSV and bronchiolitis), but has not had one at all this winter now that he is a little bit older. Ear infections can be very common in little ones and usually they grow out of them by the time they are a year to 18 months old. If he continues to get them very frequently, then I might take him to a specialist.

Also, make sure he is not lying down while drinking a bottle or just after he drinks or nurses.

It sounds like it might just be another ear infection. I've been easily prone to ear infections since I was a child. My ears are very sensitive to the wind. I've gotten sick and tired of going to the doctor for the same problem over and over. Try putting a couple of drops of sweet oil in his ear(they sell it @ Wal-Mart). That always works for me.

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