Earaches/Ear Infections

Lee Health: Your Trusted Health Partner for Treating Ear Infections and Earaches

Earaches are a common problem, especially in children. While it can be worrying it will often improve within a few days even without treatment. Read more from our Lee Health Pediatric ENT specialists to learn more about common earache causes, risks, and treatment options.

Understanding Earaches and Ear Infections

While earaches usually occur in children, they can also occur in adults. Earache can be a sharp, dull or burning ear pain that comes and goes or is constant. An earache can affect one or both ears, but generally it is only in one ear. 

While causes for earaches can vary, some of the more common causes for earaches include injury, infection, irritation in the ear, or referred pain. Referred pain refers to pain originating elsewhere but felt in the ear such as jaw or teeth pain. 

Injury, infection, irritation in the ear, or referred pain may cause earaches. Referred pain is pain felt somewhere other than the infection or injured site. For example, pain that originates in the jaw or teeth may be felt in the ear. Causes of earaches can include:

If your child is experiencing ear pain contact your Lee Health practitioner to assess the cause.

Earache Symptoms

Earaches can develop from injury, infection, or even referred pain. Common symptoms include:

• ear pain
• impaired hearing
• fluid drainage from ear

Additionally children can typically show more symptoms, such as:

• fever
• sense of fullness in the ear
• difficulty sleeping
• tugging or pulling at the ear
• crying or acting irritable more than usual
• headache
• loss of appetite
• loss of balance

Ear Infections

The most common cause of earaches are ear infections or acute otitis media. Ear infections can occur in the outer, middle, and inner ear.

Outer ear infection is caused by damaging the skin inside the ear canal: Common causes include: swimming, wearing hearing aids or headphones, or putting cotton swabs or fingers in your ear canal. When the skin in the ear canal that gets scratched or irritated it leads to infection.

Middle ear infection is caused by infections that stem from a respiratory tract infection. These infections lead to fluid buildup behind the ear drums, breading bacteria.

Labyrinthitis is when the structure in your inner ear called a labyrinth becomes inflamed, often affecting your hearing or balance. This disorder is caused by viral or bacterial infections from respiratory illnesses.