Why Kids Are More Prone to Ear Infections

Your poor child has had yet another sleepless night thanks to a painful ear infection, and you wonder two things: 1) Should you see a doctor?; and 2) Is there something wrong with your child that they always get ear infections?

Let’s just set the record straight on that second question — 5 out of 6 toddlers have an ear infection by their third birthday. Many kids develop far more than one ear infection as they grow up.

To address the first question about seeking medical help for an ear infection, the Neighborhood Pediatrics team, including Dr. Sharon Lucas and Dr. Rachel McConnell, explores that topic below. We also shed some light on why kids are so susceptible to ear infections.

Kids and ear infections

Most ear infections in kids get classified as acute otitis media, which are infections in the middle ear caused by bacteria that lead to inflammation and fluid buildup.

These infections typically occur as part of a respiratory virus, which introduces the bacteria into the body. From there, the bacteria can get into a child’s middle ear, where they can cause a painful infection.

The reason why kids are more vulnerable to these infections is twofold:

Smaller, more level eustachian tubes

Our ears have eustachian tubes that equalize pressure around the eardrum and drain fluid from the middle ear to maintain this pressure. Kids have much smaller eustachian tubes that are more horizontal, which allows fluids to build up easily.

Kids have weaker immune systems

Another contributor to ear infections is that the immune system is weaker in kids. As they develop immunity, they’re more vulnerable to bacterial infections.

This fact explains why kids can get up to eight colds a year, or more, and these colds are what introduce the bacteria that lead to ear infections.

Kids are more prone to ear infections while their immune systems and eustachian tubes are developing.

Seeking help for ear infections

Next comes the question about whether to visit us each time your child has an ear infection. The reality is that many of the sick visits at our office are for conditions, such as ear infections, and we’re happy to help.

Most ear infections run their course without incident. We don’t want to prescribe antibiotics every time your child has an ear infection and/or cold; we don’t encourage antibiotic resistance. Instead, we want to inspire their immune systems to do the work to build immunity.

There are some cases in which we do prescribe antibiotics, especially with painful ear infections that won’t go away. If your child has recurrent ear infections, we recommend visiting us so that we can get a solution, such as placing drainage tubes in their ears.

You know your child best and we recommend using your judgment. Contact us if their symptoms worsen, and they become uncomfortable, and don't sleep well after 2-3 days. Even if we don’t prescribe antibiotics, there’s much that we can do to make your child more comfortable.

For all of your child’s healthcare needs, we’re only a phone call or click away. To schedule an appointment, call our Shenandoah, Texas, office at 832-843-2049 or use our online booking feature today.