{"id":3876,"date":"2024-08-08T14:25:24","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T18:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/?p=3876"},"modified":"2024-08-08T14:28:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T18:28:05","slug":"what-is-the-link-between-ear-infections-hearing-loss-in-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/what-is-the-link-between-ear-infections-hearing-loss-in-children\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Link Between Ear Infections &amp; Hearing Loss in Children?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>According to a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamapediatrics\/fullarticle\/2759422\" target=\"_blank\">study<\/a> published in <em>JAMA Pediatrics, <\/em>\u201cAcute otitis media is one of the most common illnesses evaluated by pediatricians. About 50% of all children will have at least one ear infection by the time they reach their second birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another term for acute otitis media is a middle ear infection. The reason these are so common, particularly in children, is because allergies or an illness can cause inflammation of the Eustachian tubes, which connect the middle ear to the back of the throat. When this occurs, fluid cannot drain and therefore becomes trapped in the middle ear. Children\u2019s Eustachian tubes are much shorter and more horizontal than adults\u2019, so they are affected more often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If an ear infection is not treated promptly, it can lead to hearing problems, and even delay speech and language development. We review more about the connection between ear infections and hearing loss below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are the Types of Middle Ear Infection?<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Young-girl-holds-ear-in-pain.jpg\" alt=\"Young girl holds ear in pain\" class=\"wp-image-3879\" width=\"-153\" height=\"-101\" srcset=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Young-girl-holds-ear-in-pain.jpg 1253w, https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Young-girl-holds-ear-in-pain-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1253px) 100vw, 1253px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The two most common middle ear infections are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Acute otitis media. <\/strong>This refers to fluid being trapped in the Eustachian tube and middle ear due to inflammation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Otitis media with effusion.<\/strong> This refers to fluid remaining trapped even after an infection has cleared.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Less commonly, your child may experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Chronic suppurative otitis media. <\/strong>This refers to persistent discharge from the middle ear caused by a rupture in the eardrum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Adhesive otitis media.<\/strong> This involves a collapse of the eardrum, which can occur when the Eustachian tube is dysfunctional for a prolonged amount of time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All these types of middle ear infection are linked to hearing loss due to soundwaves not being able to pass through the ear as usual. This type of hearing loss is called conductive hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Much Can Hearing Be Affected?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most people with one of the ear infections listed above experience about 24 decibels (dB) of hearing loss. This is about the equivalent of wearing disposable earplugs, causing problems hearing soft noises like a whisper. However, severe ear infections can cause loss up to 45 decibels, making it hard to hear conversational speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you or your child has a middle ear infection, it\u2019s important to seek treatment right away to prevent permanent damage. For more information or to schedule an appointment with an ear expert, call <span class=\"company-name \">Ear, Nose &amp; Throat Associates<\/span> today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/ear-and-sinus-pressure-what-to-know\/\" class=\"related-post\">Ear and Sinus Pressure: What To Know<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/why-regular-ent-checkups-matter\/\" class=\"related-post\">Why Regular ENT Checkups Matter<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/what-to-expect-during-an-ent-exam-tests-and-procedures\/\" class=\"related-post\">What to Expect During an ENT Exam: Tests and Procedures<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, \u201cAcute otitis media is one of the most common illnesses evaluated by pediatricians. About 50% of all children will have at least one ear infection by the time they reach their second birthday.\u201d Another term for acute otitis media is a middle ear infection. The reason these&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3879,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ear","category-pediatric"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3876"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3887,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3876\/revisions\/3887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entfortwayne.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}