- A child repeatedly pulls, tugs, pokes or itches the outer ear or ear canal.
- No crying or report of earchace.
- Most younger children (under age 2 or 3) who pull or poke at the ear are unable to confirm or deny the presence of an earache. In a recent study, only 5% of these children had an underlying ear infection. It has been found that simple ear-pulling without other symptoms of an illness or infection has not been associated with ear infections.
Cause
- Infants: Normal touching and pulling with discovery of ears. This behavior is usually not seen before 4 months of age.
- Older Children: Mild swimmer's ear from: (1) water accumulation during swimming or showers, (2) soap or shampoo retention,(3) canal irritation from cotton-tipped swabs or (4) Some children are reacting to a piece of earwax in the ear canal.
|
If not, see these other symptoms
|