There are various causes result in earaches, but the most common factors include sinus disease, common cold, inflamed tonsils, pharynx infection, impacted teeth and inflamed nasal. Also when the inner ear becomes damaged by insertion of a foreign object can cause earaches.
If you have severe cold or respiratory infection, Eustachian tubes become blocked with mucus from the virus. Dont ignore any of the symptoms. Visit your nearest urgent care center or primary care provider.
Most common symptoms associated with earaches include:
- Hearing difficulty
- Difficulty sleeping
- Draining of the ears
- Ear Drainage
- Ringing in the ears
- Fever
- Vertigo
- Pulling on the ears
- Limited desire to eat
- Irritability
- Temporary mild hearing loss caused by effluvia
You should consult your urgent care provider if you:
- Have had previous ear infection
- Have frequent colds or other infections
- Have allergies with nasal congestion
- Have a family history of ear infections
- Have nasal speech
Ear aches in children can cause a visit to urgent care provider, if they:
Along with the above symptoms, if your child has any of the below mentioned symptoms, consult urgent care provider:
- If the child attend day care
- Take a bottle to bed
- If the child lives around the people who smoke
- If the child born prematurely
- If the child born with low birth weight
- If child uses a pacifier
- If the child is a boy because boys tend to get more ear infections than girls
Care for earaches:
The doctor uses an otoscope (OH-toe-skope) to see the inner ears for infection. A tympanogram (tim-PAN-uh-gram) is another test that may be done. It involves inserting an ear plug to see how the eardrum moves. The doctor will prescribe an antibiotic. Use the entire prescription, even if the child feels better after the first few days. You’ll need to bring the child back to the doctor after finishing the medicine, usually in 2 to 3 weeks. The ears will be checked to see if the infection is gone. Sometimes more medicine is needed.
