Healthy Person

sarah

An ear infection means that the middle ear is infected. The middle ear is the eardrum and the small space behind the eardrum. An ear infection is sometimes called 'acute otitis media'.
How does an ear infection occur?

The small space behind the eardrum in the middle ear is normally filled with air. It is connected to the back of the throat by a tiny channel called the Eustachian tube.

The middle ear space sometimes becomes filled with mucus (fluid), often during a cold. The mucus may then become infected by bacteria or viruses. Children with glue ear who have mucus behind their eardrum are more prone to ear infections. Sometimes an ear infection occurs 'out of the blue' for no apparent reason.
What are the symptoms of an ear infection?

* Earache is common, but does not always occur.
* Dulled hearing may develop for a few days.
* Fever (high temperature) is common.
* Children may feel sick or vomit, and can be generally unwell.
* Young babies cannot point to their pain. One of the causes of a hot, irritable, crying baby is an ear infection.
* Sometimes the eardrum perforates (bursts). This lets out infected mucus and the ear becomes runny for a few days. As the pain of earache is due to a tense eardrum, a burst eardrum often relieves the pain. A perforated eardrum usually heals within a few weeks after the infection clears.