Select a condition Absence seizures Acne ADHD Age-related macular degeneration AIDS Alzheimer's disease AMD Amebic dysentery Anal tears Angina, stable Angina, unstable Ankle sprain Anorexia Anxiety Appendicitis Arthritis Asthma in adults Asthma in children Athlete's foot Atrial fibrillation Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Autism Back pain Bacterial vaginosis Bad breath Bedsores Bedwetting Bell's palsy Benign prostatic hyperplasia Bipolar disorder Bladder infection in women Blood pressure Breast cancer Breast pain Bronchiectasis Bronchiolitis Bronchitis Bulimia Bunions Burning mouth syndrome Burns and scalds Canker sores Cardiac arrest Carpal tunnel syndrome Cataracts Cellulitis and erysipelas Chickenpox Childbirth, heavy bleeding Childbirth, tear or cut Chlamydia Chronic bronchitis Chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic prostatitis Chronic tension type headache Cold sores Colic in babies Colon and rectal cancer Colon and rectal cancer screening Colonic diverticular disease Common cold Conjunctivitis Constipation in adults Constipation in children COPD Crib death Deep vein thrombosis Dementia Depression in adults Depression in children Diabetes, type 1 Diabetes, type 2 Diarrhea in adults Diarrhea in children Diverticular disease Ear infection, middle ear Ear infection, outer ear Ear infection with discharge Ear infection with fluid Ear pain during air travel Ear wax Eczema Emphysema Endometriosis Enlarged prostate Epilepsy Episiotomy Erection problems Essential tremor Febrile seizures Fertility problems Fibroids Flu Gallstones Genital herpes Genital warts GERD GERD in children Glaucoma Gonorrhea Gout Group B streptococcus H. pylori infection Halitosis Hay fever Headache, chronic tension type Head lice Heart and circulation problems in diabetes Heart attack Heartburn Heart failure Heavy periods Heel pain Hemorrhoids Hepatitis B Hepatitis C Hernia Herpes, genital Herpes simplex eye infection High blood pressure High blood pressure in pregnancy High cholesterol HIV infection Hyperactivity IBS Incontinence in women Infection in newborn babies Infertility Influenza Insomnia in adults Irritable bowel syndrome Jaundice in newborn babies Jet lag Kidney infection Kidney stones Leg cramps Leg ulcers Lewy body dementia Lung cancer Lyme disease Macular degeneration Malaria prevention Manic depression Mastalgia Measles, mumps and rubella: prevention Melanoma Meniere's disease Meningococcal disease Menopause Migraine in adults Migraine in children MMR prevention Morning sickness Multiple sclerosis Nail infection, fungal Neck pain Nicotine addiction Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Nosebleeds in children Obesity Obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD Oral thrush Osteoarthritis Osteoporosis Ovarian cancer Painful periods Pancreas cancer Panic attacks Parkinson's disease PCOS Pelvic inflammatory disease Perineal care Peripheral arterial disease Peripheral vascular disease Pneumonia Polycystic ovary syndrome Postpartum depression Postpartum hemorrhage Post-traumatic stress disorder Preeclampsia Pregnancy, nausea Premature birth Pressure sores Prostate cancer Prostatitis, chronic Psoriasis PTSD Raynaud's disease Rectal cancer screening Recurrent cystitis Reflux in children Rheumatoid arthritis Scabies Schizophrenia Seasonal allergy Shoulder pain Sickle cell anemia Sickle cell disease SIDS Sinusitis Skin cancer (melanoma) Skin cancer (squamous cell) Sleep apnea Sleep problems in children Slipped disk Smoking Sore throat Stomach ulcers Stress headache Stress incontinence Stroke, emergency care Stroke prevention Sudden infant death syndrome Swimmer's ear Tennis elbow Tension headache Testicular cancer Thrush (oral) Tic douloureux Tinnitus Tonsillitis Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy Trigeminal neuralgia Underactive thyroid Urinary tract infections in children Varicocele Varicose veins Vascular dementia Warts Whiplash Wisdom teeth, impacted Wrinkles Yeast infection, vagina

Select treatment area Bladder & Kidneys Blood Brain & nervous system Cancer Children's health Diabetes Digestive system Ear, nose & throat Eating & weight Eyes Fertility Heart and circulation Hormones Infections Lungs & breathing Men's health Mental health Mouth Muscles & bones Pregnancy & childbirth Sexual health Skin Sleep Staying healthy Travel health Women's health

Most children get better in a few days.

About 4 in 5 children who have an ear infection get better without any treatment after about two or three days, and they have no lasting problems.¹

Some children get ear infections again and again, especially those who get their first ear infection when they're younger than 18 months.² We're not sure why this happens. Here are two theories.

• These children may have a problem with the tubes leading from their middle ear to the back of their nose (the eustachian tubes).
• Or they may have a problem with their immune system (the body's system for fighting infection).²

Children who have ear infections over and over again may have problems with speech and language. They're also more likely to have trouble eating and sleeping. And they seem to have more trouble paying attention than children who don't get ear infections that often. Sometimes this leads to problems in school. But it doesn't affect children's growth or development in the long term.²

As your child gets older, they are less likely to get ear infections. This is because your child's eustachian tubes get bigger and start to grow at an angle. This makes it harder for the tubes to clog with fluid and get infected.

Also, as children get older, they naturally develop some resistance to germs that can cause ear infections.

Usually ear infections aren't serious, but they can cause other problems if they don't clear up properly. These problems are more likely to happen if your child gets lots of ear infections.

After an ear infection, fluid can get trapped inside your child's ear.² This is called fluid in the ear. Your doctor might also call it otitis media with effusion. This fluid isn't infected with bacteria or viruses (unlike the fluid of an ear infection). That's why if your child has fluid in the ear, they won't have clear symptoms, such as pain or fever.

But fluid in the ear can stop your child from hearing properly, which can make learning difficult. For more on this condition and how it's treated, see Ear infection with fluid.

An ear infection can spread to the large bone behind your child's ear (the mastoid bone). Doctors call this mastoiditis. It can cause severe pain, swelling and tenderness behind your child's ear. But often there aren't any symptoms at all.

Mastoiditis is very rare. But if your child's ear infection doesn't seem to get better, they could have this condition. So, you should see your doctor right away.

Rarely, skin cells from the eardrum can start to grow into a child's middle ear. This is most likely to happen if your child has had many ear infections. It is called a cholesteatoma.

If a cholesteatoma isn't treated, the new skin can damage the tiny bones in the middle ear that carry sound waves. That can cause hearing problems. The skin is usually taken out by surgery through the child's eardrum.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.