Middle Ear Problems
Information for patients and families about problems in the middle ear.
What is the middle ear?
This drawing shows the various parts of the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear.
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Middle ear fluid
Fluid in the middle ear starts out as a sterile fluid. An ear infection occurs when the sterile fluid becomes infected with bacteria. Some children have middle ear fluid without any ear infection.
Signs and symptoms of ear infection
These signs may be an indication of ear infection:
- Pulling on the ear
- Pain in the ear
- Fever or cold
- Hearing loss
Hearing loss from middle ear fluid or ear infections
Your child will not necessarily develop hearing loss from middle ear fluid or an ear infection. It depends on the child and the type of middle ear problem.
How to tell if your child has hearing loss
Your child may have hearing loss if they:
- Don’t seem to hear as well as usual
- Don’t seem to pay attention
- Start to develop speech later than other children
- Begin to speak more loudly all the time
- Like turning up the television more loudly than other members of the family
What to do if you think your child has a middle ear problem
See your doctor right away if you think your child has an ear infection.
- An infected ear can usually be treated with medicine prescribed by your doctor
- Your doctor might send your child to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist
- A child with a middle ear problem may need a hearing test. The hearing test will show you if there is any hearing loss
- The best person to see for a hearing test is an audiologist, who is specially trained to test young children’s hearing
Download the Middle Ear Problems pamphlet (PDF) (contains the same information as this web page).