What to Do About Daughters Ear?

Updated on June 02, 2009
N.F. asks from Wyoming, MI
21 answers

Last night my 6 year old daughter started to complain of a ear ache. It was the first she had said anything to me about it hurting. So I gave her some tylenol and had her lay on a heating pad. Well about a hour later she was crying hard and I could really tell it hurt bad. She is a tuff little cookie nothing really hurts her. So i know it must of hurt bad. Well after a few more hour of just crying I gave her some of her left over vicidon i still had when she got her tonsils out a few months back and she got to sleep. Well she woke up this morning and feels alot better, but now has drainage coming out of that ear. I am assuming that it burst, but have never dealt with this before. Any advice out there. Or should I take her in. She says it still hurts alittle but nothing like last night. I think its very strange. Please help. Thanks N.

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So What Happened?

Thank you all Ive called and she is going in!! Thanks
Well as i said above after about 3 moms said take her in i called and they got her right in. He said it was (of course he said it in doctor words) like a blister on her eardrum which broke open and then caused the eardrum also to open. She is actually in no pain any more...so thats good. He did put her on a antibiotic. So hopefully it will all clear up. Thanks again to all!! N.

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C.B.

answers from Detroit on

Take her in!

I wasn't even 6 when I had ear problems. Bad enough that the crying woke the nasty neighbor up! And as a result I have a 5% and 15% hearing loss.

Why take chances? Especially with today's technology. Giving her Vicodin....I'll bet she feels better; that stuff knocks you out! Just get her to the doc and have the ear examined and tell the doc what you've shared here.

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F.W.

answers from Detroit on

Like everyone else said, you need to take her into the dr. right away. Any pain that is cause enough for Vicoden isn't
usual and needs to be treated. Dont' be suprised if she has hearing loss for now, (my daughter did) but it did come back in about 3 months. Don't wait around and see, she could be developing an infection. Is the drainage blood, pus, clear fluid? If it is not clear, then she already has an infection.

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P.R.

answers from Detroit on

Take her to the pediatrician--they may want her to see an ENT. My ear drum burst when I was a child and it was the most painful thing I remember from my childhood. It's up there w/ labor as an adult.

They'll want to watch it to make sure it heals without scarring and they'll probably want to put her on an antibiotic to avoid infection.

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P.R.

answers from Grand Rapids on

take her in it might be an infection...nothing hurts like those!!

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S.S.

answers from Detroit on

Please take her into the Dr.s office this morning. You don't want to play games with the ears. I am glad the vicidon helped her sleep, but remember meds can mask the situation. Just my opinion but I would hate to see something serious happen. Please keep us posted and let us know what happened and how she is. Good Luck and I hope she feels better soon.

S. S.

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L.L.

answers from Detroit on

Yes, you are correct. The eardrum has burst, and therefore the pain is relieved. Obviously, bursted eardrums are not what you want to happen. When they heal, they created scar tissue. It is best to talk to your pediatrician about it. My son's eardrum burst quite frequently, even when he was over 6 years of age. We always followed up with a visit to the doctor and received ear drops. Be careful, the ear canal is open to infection just after it drains for a bit of time. Keep water out.

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M.G.

answers from Jackson on

N., How is it going with your daughters ear? How is she responding to antibiotics?

Have you ever heard about using onion juice for the ears?

Hope things are going weel.

M.

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L.O.

answers from Detroit on

yes you should take her to the dr...

today.

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S.M.

answers from Saginaw on

Hello N., This is not really strange. There was enough pressure inside the ear to rupture the ear drum. This will help with the pain, but can cause many other problems including severe infection. Get her to the doctor right away, because if the ear drum does not heal correctly it can interfere with her hearing in the future. Also, now that fluid can drain out of the ear, fluid can also now get into the inner ear from outside sorces, like showers, or swimming. Treat it as if she has tubes in her ears. The doctor will guide you through this. Good luck.

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R.H.

answers from Detroit on

Hi N.,

When my daughter was 13 months she had an ear infection that burst as well. I never knew she had an ear infection... she was cutting molars at the time and like your daughter is a tough cookie. Never complained, never pulled at her ear, was fine to lie down, etc...

Anyway, when she woke up in the morning with a draining crusty ear I KNEW what happened. I called the pediatrician and took her in. The pediatrician looked at it, confirmed it was an ear infection that ruptured, and checked the other ear. That was fine. But I'm glad I took her in just to make sure!

She said that once it ruptures typically the pain is gone because the pressure is gone. In addition, she said we COULD put her on an antibiotic as a precautionary measure, but in all honesty since it was draining the bacteria was draining out as well. I am a mom who gives medication only when necessary. I saw no need to give a prophylactic antibiotic, and the doctor was pleased with my decision.

We had to be careful during bath-time.... ensure no water got in her ear and just keep it clean. It healed in time and everything is fine now.

The doctor said 80% of the time when an infection ruptures like that it heals with no problems. We were one of those lucky 80%.

I would suggest taking her in just to get things checked out and ensure nothing else is going on. Particularly since your daughter is doesn't complain a lot, you want to be sure the other ear isn't infected as well. I have to be VERY careful with my daughter. If she has a runny nose for several days I start taking her temp every day to watch for an increased temp. Even something like 101 and we go to the doctor because that is my ONLY sign she might have an ear infection.

I hope she feels better soon!

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A.F.

answers from Detroit on

N.,

I would take her in for sure. She must've had some kind of infection, or something else could be the problem. It doens't mean that it's really serious, but be safe then sorry. Because if it occurs again it may be worse and you have to sit in a hospital for hours. Just as the doctors always says, "don't stop taking the medicine as soon as you feel better, take all of the medicine". She needs to be seen so she doesn't have another unbearable incident, even though she feels better.

All of my sisters children had to have their atnoids removed because of all of the ear infections and issues they were having. Drainage was one and it smelled horrible. So it's worth making sure that all is well. I was also told that I had a busted ear drum from my previous doctor, I went to an Ear doctor and he stuck an instrument in my ear and just pulled out a glob of wax so hard it was like a small rock. I've heard fine ever since...his name is Dr.Michael Klein and he was excellent.

Best of luck and keep us updated. I'm hoping that she's okay and it's nothing really serious.

A.

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G.B.

answers from Detroit on

I'd get her to an ENT right away or at least to her pediatrician.

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R.G.

answers from Detroit on

I would take her in. Her ear drums could burst. Ears are not something to play with. She probably needs some antibiotic ear drops. Good luck.

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C.S.

answers from Detroit on

My daughter's burst about 2 months ago. I assume the drainage is bloody? You need to take her in to avoid a deeper infection that could cause hearing problems. My daughter was given drops that we put in 2 times a day for 2 weeks and oral meds. It took A REALLY LONG time to heal! She actually has another check up tomorrow for it. Last month it still wasn't 100% clear. The good news is it doesn't effect hearing unless you let it go and the infection spreads to the inner ear. Good luck!

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S.T.

answers from Grand Rapids on

She probably has an ear infection. My son just had a double ear infection and both ears burst. One of them had drainage for over a week. The doc tells me that the drainage is very good because it relieves all of the pressure in the ear - which explains why she feels so much better today. She said that in the "old days", doctors would actually use a tool to puncture the ear so that the fluid would drain out. I'd take her in to her her doc so that she can get an antibiotic to clear it up.

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A.P.

answers from Grand Rapids on

You should take her in. I work in an ENT office and this can happen. The ear drum will usually heal on it's own over time but she still needs some type of antibiotics for her current infection that made it busrt so that it doesn't make any damamge permament.

C.B.

answers from Benton Harbor on

Yes, get her in to the dr. ASAP.

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L.G.

answers from Detroit on

sweet oil on cotton ball helps ear aches.

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J.R.

answers from Saginaw on

Hey N.,

Just wanted to add 1 thing that nobody mentioned, never put a heating pad on in infected ear. It "boils" the water trapped in the inner ear, this is probably why your daughter was crying harder after you did that. Remember for future - any drainage indicates infection and needs antibiotics. My son has had multiple infections, lost his hearing and has 2 ear surgeries. I wish you the best of luck.

K.H.

answers from Detroit on

Definitely get her into the doctor TODAY even if you have to take her to a walk in clinic. She needs antibiotics and possibly some sort of ear drops. Ear infections are like teeth - they just show up all of a sudden and they hurt like nothing else. Poor girl. Don't feel bad - there's no way you could have known and the bursting isn't completely abnormal. Good luck!

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R.S.

answers from Detroit on

I agree with everyone else take her to the doctor today. But one other thing with ear infections, They always hurt the most at night when you are laying down. So even if she does feel better today it will most likely rear up again tonight. My 6 year old daughter just went thru this and I made the mistake of giving her Benadryl because she also had a little cold. I was shocked when I finally took her to the doctor and they told me her ear had burst. So take her in as soon as possible

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