Are You Dealing With an Ear Infection?

Ear infections can be painful and unpleasant whether you're a child or an adult. Fortunately, your ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctors in Long Beach, CA, Dr. Jesse Tan, Dr. Jesus Tan, and Dr. Rose Eapen of Tan Head & Neck Center offer treatments that will relieve your painful symptoms.

Ear infection symptoms

If you have an ear infection, you may experience these symptoms:

• Pain in Your Ear: Pain is due to fluids that become trapped in your inflamed ear. A viral or bacterial infection causes swelling that prevents the fluids from draining normally.
• Pressure: You may notice pressure or a feeling of fullness in your ear.
• Trouble Hearing: As fluid and mucus build up in the ear, sounds may become muffled
• Dizziness: Your inner ear plays an important role in balance. If you have an ear infection, you may feel dizzy or lose your balance easily.
• Drainage: Ear infections sometimes cause the eardrum to perforate or burst, causing mucus to drain out of your ear. (Fortunately, burst or torn eardrums usually heal on their own in a few weeks.)
• Other Symptoms: A headache, sore throat, fever, or ringing in the ears can also occur if you have an ear infection.

Children are much more likely than adults to get ear infections due to their smaller, more horizontal eustachian tubes. The eustachian tubes are the pathways that connect the throat to the ears. Signs of ear infections in young children can include:

• Pulling on the ear
• Fever of 100F or higher
• Frequent crying that worsens when the child lies down
• Fussiness
• Difficulty sleeping
• Balance problems
• Fluid drainage
• Hearing issues
• Ear infection treatment

Although antibiotics used to be automatically prescribed for all ear infections, whether they were viral or bacterial, that's not the case anymore. Prescribing antibiotics too often can cause resistance to a particular antibiotic and make it much less effective. Fortunately, ear infections caused by viruses usually go away on their own. Until the infection gets better, pain medication and ear drops can help relieve the pain. If the pain continues for more than a few days, you may have a bacterial infection that can best be treated with antibiotics.

During your visit to the ENT office in Long Beach, CA, your doctor will examine your ears, ask you about your symptoms, and prescribe medication that will help you feel much better.

Are you struggling with pain and other ear infection symptoms? Make an appointment with your Long Beach, CA, ENT doctors at Tan Head & Neck Center. Call (562) 988-8818 to schedule a visit with Dr. Jesse Tan, Dr. Jesus Tan, or Dr. Eapen.