How can you tell if your baby has an ear infection?

Question

What are the symptoms?

Answer 1

Some babies pull on their ears or rub them. Usually they run a slight fever. Some want to sleep or at least lay their heads down more often.

Answer 2

How can I tell if my baby has an ear infection?
The easiest way to tell if your baby has an ear infection (also known as acute otitis media) — or any other illness, for that matter — is a change in his mood. If he turns fussy, or starts crying more than usual, you should be on the lookout for a problem. If he develops a fever (whether slight or high) you have another big clue. Ear infections tend to strike after a common cold or sinus infection, so keep that in mind too. You may also notice the following symptoms:

• Your baby pulls, grabs, or tugs at his ears. This may be a sign he's in pain. (However, babies do pull on their ears for all kinds of reasons or for no reason at all, so if your baby seems fine otherwise, he probably doesn't have an ear infection.)


• Diarrhea. The virus that causes ear infections can also affect the gastrointestinal tract.


• Reduced appetite. Ear infections can cause gastrointestinal upset. They can also make it painful for your baby to swallow and chew. You may notice your baby pull away from the breast or bottle after he takes the first few sips.


• A yellow or whitish fluid draining from the ear. This doesn't happen to most babies, but it's a sure sign of infection. It also signals that a small hole has developed in the eardrum. Don't worry — this will heal on its own once the infection is treated.


• A foul odor emanating from the ear.

Answer 3

My girls never cried with an ear infection. They just would refuse to breast feed or take the bottle as the sucking really bothered their ears. So I always took them in for lack of eating and pulling on their ears.

Most babies scream, sitting up seems to not bother them so much but when they lay down the ears draining really hurts.

Answer 4

Some times you can't like my daughter never should signs of an ear infection only way we found out is if she was sick and took her to the docs. Some kids pull at their ear or their hair or they also chew on things and are fussy. They also try to put things to their ear hand , toy something that they think will help.

Answer 5

It can be difficult to tell, but if your child has a cold and then gets a fever about three to five days later, it may be caused by an ear infection. She may also tug at her ear or be out-of-sorts. Sucking and swallowing can also hurt, so if your baby starts to feed and then pulls away from your breast or a bottle, seemingly in pain, see your GP.

Answer 6

All of the above are awesome answers one thing you have to remember though and I've seen this I'm in nursing school and one mother didn't know her son had an ear infection didn't pay attention to see if he had a fever and when the fever spiked he had a seizure. I'm not trying to scare you but your a mom now and you have to know these things and you have to be prepared. When your son/daugh. goes to bed get up in the middle of the night and feel his head...you have to get up though you can't hear a fever spike through a baby monitor. Good luck

Answer 7

they will be really fussy, and sometimes extremely fussy when they go from an up right position to a laying down one, that is painful when you have an ear infection. also some babies will pull at their ears and also it is usually accompanied by a fever.

Answer 8

Pulling of the ear, or fever digging in the ear.

Answer 9

pulling at the ear, sometimes a fever, not eating and crying. You
should take the baby to the doctor.

Answer 10

my young son had an ear infection a few months ago he was fussing ,had a fever and was off his food. the yellow puss signfies the end of the infection(thats what i was told by my gp)