Acute middle ear infection in children

[Ernesto]

Acute middle ear infection is a bacterial or viral infection of the middle ear, usually accompanying a cold.

• Bacteria and viruses can infect the middle ear.
• Children with ear infections may have a fever and trouble sleeping and may cry, become irritable, and pull on their ears.
• Doctors use a handheld light called an otoscope to check the eardrum for redness or bulging and to look for fluid behind the eardrum.
• Acetaminophen or ibuprofen can relieve fever and pain, and antibiotics are usually used when children do not get better quickly or get worse.

Acute middle ear infection (also called acute otitis media) usually develops and resolves relatively quickly. Middle ear infections that come back frequently or last for a long time are called chronic middle ear infections.

(See also Overview of Middle Ear Infections in Young Children and Otitis Media (Acute) in adults.)