A couple of weeks ago I noticed my son playing with his right ear a lot, and still does it. I never see him messing with his left ear, only the right. I switched shampoos about the time it started and last week I switched back to the old stuff thinking the new shampoo was irritating him, but today in the bathtub he kept tapping/rubbing his bath toys against his right ear. Sometimes he acts like he's scratching behind it. I have no idea why he's doing this, I had him checked for an infection and the dr. said his ears look great, and I keep lotion on them so the skin behind doesn't get dry. I dont' understand why it's only the right ear, if he was cutting a tooth it would probably have broken through by now. Does anyone know what this could be? Is it simply jsut playing with his right ear or should I check into it further?
I had the same worries about my daughter. He might just be discovering his ear, and for right now that's just the side he favors. It also might be a tooth, it can take a while for them to come through, especially the bigger ones.
Just keep an eye on it and watch for a fever, but I'm guessing it's just a new discovery.
I was going to say basically the same thing as the other responses. If you've had him checked for an ear infection already and that isn't the issue, he probably just discovered his ear and has developed a sort of habit playing with it. I would keep an eye out though. If he keeps doing it maybe get him re-checked in case it was an infection and was too early to detect when you took him in the first time.
I wouldn't worry about it. It is probably just a nervous habit kind of thing. He probably just does it on the right side because he has more dexterity with that hand. As long as there is no rash or sign of irritation, just chalk it up to one of those quirky little things that your little guy does.
He might have an ear infection. I would take him to the Dr to get it checked out.
Greetings! What is his sleep/rest positions? Maybe he is a 'Holiday (Billie)' bsby (plesde smile).
You have done everything right so try to relaz.
Good Morning S., I would have him checked for ear infection. Our gr son pulls and rubs his ear when it hurts. We found out on our own it was ear infection. Dr. finally gave us and antibotic for it.
God Bless
K. Nana of 5
I agree with the others who say get it checked by an ENT. I read an article many years ago which stated that an ENT looks in an ear differently than a ped or reg. dr because they are trained differently and of course more thoroughly. My 4 kids all got ear problems from their father and have all had tubes. If it is fluid the earlier it is caught the better. It can effect speak and hearing. My now 27 year old didn't talk real clearly as a toddler and when I finally took him to the ENT at 4 1/2,he had fluid and needed tubes. It made all the different in the world. My other children all had them earlier and it didn't effect their speech. If you are in the St. Louis area, I would highly recommend Dr. Richard Schrick. He has offices at I-270 and Gravois or at St. John's Hospital. He is excellent and is great with kids. All four of mine have loved him. He is extremely patient and gentle with them. I go to him too!! Good luck.
My son gets ear infections pretty often and my dr said it could be caused by him laying down with a sippy cup/bottle. I don't know if you give your little one a sippy or bottle at bedtime but if you do this could be causing re accuring ear infections. Good luck!
my 9 month old son does this about a week or so before a tooth actually erupts...but i did read that children playing with their ears is very common...they can be sleepy, bored, etc.
I would recommend having him checked by an ENT...only reason is because my son went undiagnosed (by 4 pediatricians) for fluid on the ears until age 3 when a Speech Therapist diagnosed him because he recognized the symptoms. It may be nothing but obviously you are worried enough to be asking us so I think it's worth persuing just in case. Better safe than sorry, eh? The ENT can also check definitively whether he is experiencing any hearing loss which may explain a pulling at the ears if the sound from one ear is different than the other.
If you are in the KC area, I can highly recommend Dr. Pamela Nicklaus at Children's Mercy...she's awesome!
I would deffinetely have it checked again. I had constant ear aches and ear infections pretty much from birth until age 6 when i had tubes put into my ears. It could be his ear is just hurting or he could have an infection. I would say better safe than sorry.
Our daughter plays with her ears when she's tired. When she was that age, she was learning her body parts and she played with them more often - even if she wasn't tired. Is that something you've been working on with him? If you've had him checked for infections and there isn't one and it doesn't seem to bother him, he's probably ok. :)
