Ear infection

[Tak]

Has anyone else had to deal with multiple ear infections? I've only ever had one, so my daughter's problem with them is a little beyond me. I didn't put this in wyp because I just want to know if there are others out there who have had this problem.

[rolllerblades]

I get ear infections every now and then because of the shape of my ears. Personally I have to use ear wax removal drops every week and that keeps infections away, but you should talk to her doctor if you can to figure out exactly what her problem is+what you can do to help it

[melodys_angel]

Yes.  As a kid I would have chronic ear infections...every month one would come up.

Its not uncommon

[kaoskat]

I got them off and on when I was a kid but I don't think in any unusual number. My brother had them ALL THE TIME and had to have tubes put in his ears at one point. My best friend still gets them all the time. I don't know why.

[Tak]

It turned out that one ear was filled with clotted blood they had to clean out and the other has a large hole in her tymphanic membrane. This is something she'll be dealing with for life.

[ringwraith10]

Yep! For the first year of my life I was on constant (literally, constant for the whole year) antibiotics because if I didn't take them I would immediately have an ear infection. After that for my entire childhood I would get an ear infection every few months, and every time my eardrum would burst (though somehow I still have perfect hearing, according to all the hearing tests I've had). I had ear tubes as a baby, but somehow one of the ear tubes got stuck in my ear and wasn't removed until I was 7. They thought that would solve my chronic ear infection problem, but it didn't, and I still have occasional ear infections as an adult (and the eardrum still always ruptures).

How old is your daughter? If she is an infant or toddler, she may need ear tubes. If she is older, it's probably a one-time thing and not a chronic condition. Obviously, though, I'm not a doctor, so do work closely with your child's pediatrician to find out how to manage it if it is chronic.

[Tak]

She had ear infections from a year old until four. She's started building a resistance to antibiotics. She finally got tubes about a year ago. They didn't help. She just turned seven last month. Never had an eardrum burst because I'm on of those worrying moms who when in doubt takes her in. Her hearing is perfect, though selective. I wish I had selective hearing. I have better than perfect hearing so the whine of electronics drives me bonkers. Also, when there are two or more noises my brain can't sort out which is what. Dad and grandpa have/had the same issue.

[ringwraith10]

Heh, my brother has perfect but selective hearing -- he can hear someone whispering in another room but he might not hear his name when you're trying to talk to him from five feet away.

My eardrums always ruptured only a few hours after the infection was noticeable -- so before I made it to the doctor. There would be a lot of intense, excruciating pain and then when the rupture occurred most of the pain would go away. I suppose the ear tubes I had as a baby helped because I no longer had to be on 24/7 antibiotics, but they certainly didn't prevent all future ear infections from happening. And I know that I have had severe side-effects/repercussions from all of those antibiotics as a child, and some of them are really weird. For instance, the antibiotics somehow removed much of the enamel from my teeth so now my teeth look weird (and no amount of bleaching or whitening will help). It sounds like your daughter didn't have the constant antibiotics that I had to have, though, so hopefully she won't have as severe side effects as I have had.

[Leave a Whisper]

As a kid during the summer months I had swimmer's ear. Ear infections are the pits. I second talking to her doctor

[Tak]

She's feeling better now. We're starting with an X-Ray of her sinuses to rule out infections or malformation.

[Leave a Whisper]

Hoping for the best.

[ringwraith10]

She's feeling better now. We're starting with an X-Ray of her sinuses to rule out infections or malformation.

Sounds like a good plan. If her eardrum is ruptured, hopefully it will just be like mine and heal over. I mean, I had holes in my eardrums about once a month and I'm mostly fine now, so maybe it won't be too bad. Good luck!

[Stormness_1]

I have one now... urgh. I'm becoming resistant to the antibiotics as well. I retain lots of fluid in my inner ear apparently, which causes excessive inflammation. usually it goes away with my cold/flu/whatever, but this time it's not. I had my first sinus infection recently, so I'm guessing it'll just get worse from here on out because I'll retain more fluids in my damaged sinuses... Yay...