R U DEAF AWARE?

An Earache Can Be A Real Pain In The Ear!

But ear aches don't have to be.

Ear aches are a common problem for many children. Some children can go through childhood with very few ear aches or none at all. Other children may stay at the doctor's office with ear aches. In learning how to combat ear aches, it is important to learn what causes ear aches. This will help parents prevent ear aches in their children.

What causes an ear ache?

The tube connecting the middle ear to the back of the nose is called the Eustachian. This tube allows fluid drain out of the middle ear. However, if that tube's lining is invaded by bacteria or viruses, the tube can become swollen and may fill up with a thick mucus. This leads to the inability of the fluid to drain normally. As bacteria grow in the fluid, pressure can build behind the ear drum and this causes pain.

Allergies, cold and other illnesses can cause the Eustachian tube to become blocked. When the adenoids become enlarged they can block the Eustachian tubes as well. These are all referred to as ear infections. They usually clear up within a week or two, but in the meantime they can be extremely painful and include fever and other symptoms. There are also times that an ear infection will last even longer than two weeks and may even become chronic. Additionally, even after the infection clears, the fluid can remain in the middle ear which can lead to even more infections and, in extreme cases, hearing loss.

What are symptoms of an ear ache?

Older children can tell you that their ear hurts. Their ear pain may also be accompanied with fever. Babies, however, and children who are too young to tell you where it hurts may cry or pull on their ear or ears. A child with an ear infection, regardless of age, may show signs of irritability, listlessness, have difficulty hearing and may not feel like eating or sleeping. This is particularly true with breastfed babies who have an ear ache. Because a breastfed baby suckles in a certain way that is different and more difficult than suckling from a bottle, this motion can irritate the baby's sore ears causing him or her to "go off his feed."

What is the treatment for ear aches?

There are several ways that a doctor may approach treating an ear ache. If the doctor suspects the infection to be bacterial, he or she may prescribe an antibiotic. Pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol products) and ibuprofen (Advil and Motrin products) can offer some relief and reduce fever if it is present. Aspirin, however, is not recommended. Warm compresses or a heating pad applied over the ear may reduce the pain. There are also times when ear drops are prescribed.

When medications are prescribed, whether it is antibiotics or ear drops, it is imperative that they be administered as directed by the doctor. With antibiotics it is exceptionally crucial that they be given on time and that no doses are skipped.

What are some risk factors that may cause children to get ear aches?

Children who are around people who smoke are at a very high risk of getting ear infections. Additionally, if they have had previous ear infections or have a family history of ear infections can increase their risk. It is no big secret that children in day care are exposed to many more germs and viruses so this is a large risk. A child who was premature at birth or had a low birth weight may also be at a higher risk. If a child has frequent colds or other infections, takes a bottle to bed, uses a pacifier or has a nasal speech that is caused by large adenoids blocking the Eustachian tubes he or she may be more at risk of developing an ear ache. Interestingly, males tend to show a higher incidence of ear infections than females. However, knowing the risk factors and knowing if your child fits into any of these categories can be the best defense. Prevention can be the best medicine.

Ear wax exists to protect your ear drums from dust, bacteria, insects, and the tongues of amorous drunks. Normally, there is no need to get rid of it.

Ear wax is produced by glands in the ear canal. So long as the ear canal remains a moist, the wax will remain the consistency of a warm candle. But just as a marching band can have too many tubas, the ear canal can build up too much wax.

Here's how you discover a build-up of excess wax: ear pain, tinnitus (ringing or other phantom sounds), difficulty hearing, balance problems, and/or temporary deafness after you've submerged your head in water.

What Causes Excessive Ear Wax?

The presence of ear wax can be irritating and inconvenient, but the only real danger it poses is that it could shelter and incubate an ear infection. For most people, the wax sheds itself when you sleep and when you move your jaw. Presumably, big eaters and people who talk a lot have fewer problems.

Some people are more prone to yellow waxy buildup. Wax builds up due to overactive glands and aging. People with narrow ear canals, charmingly hairy ear canals, inflammatory skin conditions, or those who work in very dusty environments can also have problem ear wax. Sometimes it can be prevented through diet. Supposedly, a diet rich in omega 3 fatty acids will discourage wax buildup. Omega 3 fatty acids are found in things like avocados, ground flax seed, walnuts, and certain fish, like salmon and albacore tuna. Pasteurized dairy products have been shown to have an irritating effect on some people's ears, and this could produce a waxy reaction.

How to Remove Ear Wax

The more wax you get, the better it is to get rid of the stuff regularly to forestall any infections. When you shower, tilt your head slightly and briefly to let a little hot water run in one ear. Tilt your head to the other side to let the water escape. Do the same with the other ear. This may heat the wax to the point where it melts and runs out of your ears on its own. You may need nothing more.

But the stuff could still continue to build up. Fear not, there's more you can do, assuming you don't have a perforated ear drum, something your doctor would apprise you of after sticking a little scope in your ears.

If you're too much of a cheapskate to go to the pharmacy and purchase some ear drops, you can heat olive oil to body temperature (no hotter!) and put a few drops in each ear. Use a bit of cotton to keep the stuff from running out and staining your collar. Do this for three or four days, then use an ear syringe or a large hypodermic syringe (without the needle, of course) to flush your ears with tepid water. Make sure you don't get the tip of the syringe too close to your eardrum, which could make a blast of water dangerous.

At the drugstore, you can purchase a kit containing ear drops, an ear syringe, and a basin for catching the drainage. If you don't know how to squeeze an ear syringe by yourself or are afraid of damaging your ear drum, go to the doctor's office, where a nurse will clean your ears for you. They love doing things like that. If it's still not budging, they may try to suction out the stubborn wax. Alternatively, the doc may simply go in with a little hook and pull it out. Don't try that at home, people.

Warning!: Do not use Q-tips to clean your ears! In fact, don't so much as stick your finger in there, as good as that may feel, because any of those things could damage your eardrum. At a minimum, they will be counterproductive and only push the wax deeper into the ear canal.

Ear Wax Candles?

Ear candling as a technique for removing ear wax is a practice that has been traced back over 4500 years ago. It is still practiced today, much to the horror of otolaryngology specialists who consider it dangerous. It must be performed by a specialist using special "candles" which are cotton sheets that have been soaked with beeswax in the shape of a cone. The cone is placed in your ear and set afire to burn slowly. After a some time, the specialist extinguishes the fire. Heat convection supposedly wicks out whatever wax, debris, and microorganisms have lodged in your ears, and the flame conveniently turns the exudates into vapor. There is no pain involved. The treatment may be completed by putting drops of hydrogen peroxide in the ears. Proponents claim that a candling every six months can relieve not only ear pain, reduced hearing, and balance difficulties, but also sinus conditions and migraines. Opponents claim that a treatment every six months is merely an effective way of cleaning out your wallet.

Swimmer's ear is an infection of the ear canal. Men and women of all ages are affected equally, but children and teenagers most frequently develop this type of ear infection. It can be associated with a middle ear infection (otitis media) if the eardrum ruptures. Swimmer's ear is also known as Otitis externa. Swimming in polluted water is one way to contract swimmer's ear. The condition also can be caused by scratching (in) the ear or by an object stuck in it. Swimmer's ear infection occurs external to the ear drum in the ear canal. A rare but serious infection called malignant external otitis can develop if bacteria invade the bones inside the ear canal and spread to the base of the skull. Signs and symptoms of swimmer's ear usually appear within a few days of exposure to contaminated water. Ear pain is the most common symptom of Swimmer's Ear. In more serious cases, pain is accompanied by discharge from the ear and even some hearing loss due to swelling of the ear canal.

Swimmer's ear (otitis externa) is fairly common. If you have had swimmer's ear in the past, you have a higher risk of having it again. Moisture predisposes the ear to infection from water-loving bacteria such as Pseudomonas. Other bacteria, or rarely, fungus, can also cause infection. Most of the time, water can run in and out of the ear canal without causing a problem. A lot of swimming can wash away that wax protection and lead to these wet conditions in the ear canal. Bacteria grow and the ear canal gets red and swollen. When the ears are exposed to continual excessive moisture, many of the natural immune defences in the skin which line the ear canal are lost and, the ear becomes more susceptible to infection by bacteria.

Causes of Swimmer's ear

The common causes and risk factor's of Swimmer's ear include the following:

Swimmer's ear occurs when your ears have been in the water for long periods of time.

Bony overgrowths in the ear canal called exostoses.

Persistent moisture in your ear from swimming, bathing or living in a humid environment.

Use of stereo headphones inserted into the ear.

Bacteria growth fostered by hair sprays or hair dyes in your ear.

Frequent diving.

Skin problems, such as eczema, psoriasis, or seborrhea.

Symptoms of Swimmer's ear

Some sign and symptoms related to Swimmer's ear are as follows:

Decreased hearing.

Itching of your outer ear.

Swelling in your ear or lymph nodes in your neck.

Swollen ear canal.

Conductive hearing loss.

Redness of the outer ear.

Pus draining from your ear.

Fever is generally not present. If there is a fever, it is not usually high.

Treatment of Swimmer's ear

Here is list of the methods for treating Swimmer's ear:

Antibiotic ear drops or oral antibiotics.

Treatment for the early stages of swimmer's ear includes careful cleaning of the ear canal and eardrops that inhibit bacterial growth.

Pain medication.

Mild acid solutions such as boric or acetic acid are effective for early infections.

Analgesics may be used if pain is severe. Putting something warm against the ears may reduce pain.

For more severe infections, if you do not have a perforated ear drum, ear cleaning may be helped by antibiotics.

Apply heat to the ear to control the pain at home.

There is much more to the ear than appears on the outside of the head. That part, easily visible, if unusually prominent gives a lot of concern. In addition to the external ear, the apparatus for hearing includes the middle ear and the internal ear.

The external ear includes the portion that is on the outside and the small canal which runs down as far as the eardrum. It is a collection of skin and other tissue such as cartilage and muscle. In most human being the muscles are merely remnants of the large muscles possessed by animals, so that few people are able to move their ears with any degree of celerity or satisfaction.

Plastic Surgery For Lop Ears

There are really few conditions affecting the external ear that are disturbing. Sometimes large portions of the ear may be absent at birth. Occasionally the ears project in an extremely unsightly manner. A these extraordinary appearances are controlled nowadays by the use of plastic surgery. An expert is able to fasten the ear back if it project exceedingly, to rebuild an ear out of other tissue if portions are missing and to modify the shape of the ear if it is of extraordinary shape.

Many mothers feel that the ear became a lop ear because the chill lay on his ear with the ear crumpled when he was small or because he wore his hat pressed down on the ears. There is no evidence that these factors are really of any importance. The fault is one of anatomical development. Manipulation of and bandaging the ears to hold then against the head will not correct the condition.

"Tin Ears"

One of the most common forms of injury to the external ear is the development of what the pugilist calls a "tin ear." Repeated pounding on the ear results in the pouring out of blood into the tissues of the ear and surrounding areas. At first such swellings are bluish-red; they feel to the touch like dough. In the worst cases surgeons open the tissue and remove the clot of blood to prevent permanent thickening and swelling. They also apply special bandages to mold the ear and hold it in shape while repair is taking place.

Infection In Ears

Cases are on record in which living insects have entered the ear. They died and their bodies remained, gradually becoming surrounded by hardened wax, so that eventually the external canal was blocked and hearing lost entirely. Outside of the loss of hearing, no damage is likely to result. More damage comes from attempts to remove material from the ear than ' from the entrance of the material itself. It is not advisable for anyone to try to remove a foreign body from the outer ear if it cannot be washed out, unless he has had special training in this type of work.

Removing Foreign Objects

Several instruments have been developed for removing foreign objects. A bean or piece of chalk has been removed by the use of a probe with some adhesive material on the end. This becomes adherent to the bean or piece of chalk, which is then gradually withdrawn. Such performances are, however, best left to the experts.

A pimple or boil or any other infection in the tissue lining the external ear canal will cause intense pain, inflammation, swelling, and some fever, and should have prompt medical attention.

How To Avoid Ear Injuries

Far better than the attempt to treat such conditions when they develop is the application of simple laws of hygiene that tend to prevent infections in the ear. Increased bathing and swimming have multiplied the number of cases of infection in the ear arising from that source. Children should not be permitted to swim more than fifteen or twenty minute at a time. If they tend to have trouble with the ears they should not be permitted to dive. The child who complains of difficulties in hearing or of fullness in the head after swimming should give up the sport. This is nature's way of warning against trouble.

The vast majority of infections of the ear are secondary to colds in the head and influenza. About 10 per cent of children with scarlet fever and measles develop infections of the ear. About 5 per cent of those with diphtheria develop infections of the ear. Other cases develop after mumps, typhoid fever, whooping cough, and similar infections.

Prompt care of children with various infectious diseases will determine the presence of infection early, and immediate application of proper treatment can prevent extension of the infection into the mastoid or inner ear.

Hygiene Of The Ear

An Irish doctor said that there are two kinds of deafness - one due to wax in the ear, which can be cured by washing it out, and the other not due to wax. Most people nowadays know enough about personal hygiene to keep their ears clean. Boils and pimples still occur, and there are still cases in which the removal of hardened wax is necessary. The cerumen, or wax in the ear, when it becomes hardened is most easily removed by the use of the ear syringe filled with slightly warm water. Harm can be done by needless or too frequent syringing. The syringe should be sterilized by boiling before using, and water should be previously boiled and used warm but not hot.

The person whose ear is to be syringed should sit in a good light, a towel should be put around the neck and tucked inside the clothing so as to prevent soiling it, a pan should be held at the edge of the ear so that the fluid which runs in will run into the basin and not down the patient's neck. The ear is pulled slightly upward and backward to straighten out the passage. With the ear held in this position, the nozzle of the syringe, which has been filled and has all the air expelled, is placed just inside the outer opening of the ear. The water is then permitted to flow along the back wall slowly and without too great pressure, so as to permit return of the excess flow of water as the water goes in.

Special instruments are usually needed for removing foreign objects. A probe with adhesive at the end may attach itself to a foreign object which can then be pulled out. Usually experts have the instruments and can do this performance easily.

Middle Ear Infection, Or Otitis Media

Infection of the interior of the ear after a sore throat is not nearly so frequent as such infections used to be. The specific action against staphylococci, pneumococci, streptococci, and other germs that infect noses and throats wrought by the antibiotic drugs and sulfonamides has enormously reduced such complications. However, neglect of a sore throat  or a virulent infection may occasionally be followed by spread of the germs to the middle ear. One or both ears may be infected. The condition  usually begins with a pain in the ear and a high fever. The pain is continuous, but may be irregular, and is usually worse at night. When the, doctor looks at the eardrum it is seen to be bulging. If the drum is not opened the pressure may cause it to burst. Then a thin watery discharge will come out, often changing to thick creamy pus. When the eardrum is cut or bursts the pain stops immediately and usually the temperature falls.

Blow The Nose Properly

Often the middle ear is infected because a child has not learned how to blow the nose properly. The worst technique is to hold both nostrils tightly when blowing, since this forces the infected material from back of the nose into the middle ear. The proper technique requires that only one nostril be held and that blowing be gentle. Preferably, the handkerchief or disposable tissue should be held quite loosely over the opening of the nostrils.

Middle-ear infection may lead to some degree of deafness and, rarely, to permanent loss of hearing. Following an infection the child should be taken to a specialist-an otorhinolaryngologist-who will test the loss of hearing and do everything possible to stop the progress of infection and restore action to the damaged tissues of the ear.

Mastoiditis used to be frequent after infection of the ear, but now the total number of cases of mastoiditis has been greatly reduced by the antibiotic drugs. Pain and tenderness in the region behind the ear are the first symptoms of inflammation of the mastoid. The skin may be swollen so that the external ear seems to be pushed away from the head. Early treatment of infected ears will usually prevent this complication. Surgical treatment of mastoiditis involves an operation in which the infected area is opened and the infected material cleaned out. Unless controlled, a secondary inflammation of the coverings of the brain meningitis - is possible.