Beyond Pain: 5 Less Obvious Signs of an Ear Infection

Ear infections can be frustrating to manage, and pain is just one of the problems you deal with. Let’s examine some of the less obvious symptoms of ear infection that may be harder to associate with the condition.

Most organs perform multiple tasks for the body, and your ears are no different. While vital for hearing, ears play an equal role in achieving and maintaining balance, detecting direction, and also affect your sense of taste. Inside the cartilage of the outer ear are the middle and inner ear, with tiny bones called ossicles that transmit vibrations to help us hear.

This delicate arrangement of moving sound, which enables hearing, becomes compromised by illnesses such as ear infections, which can originate from various sources and affect both children and adults. Pain is a common problem when dealing with this condition, but many other symptoms can indicate infection without pain being present.

Managing ear infections in the Lake Oswego, Oregon, area with the team of physicians at Lake Grove ENT provides comprehensive care with various options tailored to your needs.

Ear infection causes

These infections occur in the outer, middle, and inner ear, and the causes frequently affect these specific parts:

Outer

Inflammation of the outer ear is called otitis externa, which can occur due to fungi or bacteria, also known as swimmers’ ear.

Middle

Upper respiratory infections typically lead to inflammation of the middle ear (otitis media), located just behind the eardrum, which occurs in the eustachian tube and can cause blockages.

The three forms of middle ear infection include acute otitis media (infection and inflammation), otitis media with effusion (buildup of noninfected fluid), and ongoing infections with persistent draining (chronic suppurative otitis media)

Inner

Infection in the inner ear’s central chamber, called otitis interna, comes in two forms: labyrinthitis, caused by a virus or bacteria, and vestibular neuritis, stemming from issues with shingles.

Non-pain-related symptoms

Pain often happens in these conditions, but it’s far from the only problem you’ll experience, which changes with the type of infection and the part of the ear it’s in. Unusual symptoms in ear infections include:

Ear tugging: more common in kids, and is often missed in detection

Low appetite: the discomfort can affect your desire to eat

Disequilibrium: loss of balance, dizziness, and sudden falling

Hearing loss: forces you to turn up the volume or struggle to hear others

Fever: temperature changes due to fighting an infection

Some types of infection may cause no pain at all, such as otitis media with effusion. Additionally, factors like age and pain threshold also influence the amount of pain you experience.

Treatment options

Managing these infections can involve various methods, and to treat them, we offer antibiotics for bacterial issues, ear tube surgery to ventilate and drain the ears, and pain relievers to alleviate discomfort associated with symptoms. Long-term solutions may be necessary for chronic problems, as taking too many antibiotics can lead to building an immunity to them.

Pain often accompanies these infections, but be aware of various signs that may indicate the type of infection. To get relief from all kinds of ear infections, contact the medical team at Lake Grove ENT today.