What are the symptoms of an ear infection?
Symptoms of an ear infection often begin after a cold. They include: Ear pain. Loss of appetite. Trouble sleeping. Trouble hearing in the ear that’s blocked. A feeling of fullness or pressure in your ear. Yellow, brown or white drainage from your ear. (This may mean that your eardrum has broken.) Don’t place anything in your ear canal if you have drainage from your ear. An item touching a torn (ruptured) eardrum can cause more damage. Infants and children Since small children and infants can’t always communicate their symptoms, it’s important to recognize the signs. A child with an ear infection may: Rub or tug on their ears. Cry more than usual or act fussy. Have a fever ranging from 100.5 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (38 to 40 degrees Celsius). (Half of children have fevers with ear infections.) Start mouth breathing or have increased snoring. Mouth breathing may be a sign of enlarged adenoids. (Adenoids are small pads of tissue above your throat, behind your nose and near your eustachian tubes.) Adenoids may become infected/inflamed with the same viruses or bacteria that cause ear infections. Refuse to eat during feedings. (Pressure in the middle ear changes as your child swallows, causing more pain and less desire to eat.)