Ear Infections
Ear Infection Treatment
Otitis media, also known as middle ear infection, occurs mostly where the Eustachian tube connects your ear to the back of your throat and drains fluid that the ear produces. If it doesn’t drain properly due to post nasal leakage, a sinus infection, a common cold or allergies, bacteria can build up, causing a non-contagious infection. These infections mostly affect children, though adults can get them as well.
Ear Infections
Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment
Most ear infections can be treated by your primary care physician or your child’s pediatrician. However, if an appointment is not readily available and you would like to be relieved of your pain and get started with treatment, consult the medical professionals with the ease of a walk-in clinic at Midwest Express Clinic.
What are the symptoms of an ear infection?
- Fever
- Ear pain or throbbing
- A feeling as though your ear is clogged or under pressure
- Slight difficulty hearing
- Small amounts of clear or thick, yellow drainage from the ear
- Dizziness
- Nausea and/or vomiting
How is an ear infection diagnosed?
When you walk into a Midwest Express Clinic urgent care, our medical providers will carefully examine both ears, looking for:
- Redness, air bubbles or leaking fluid in the middle ear
- Perforation in the eardrum
- A collapsed eardrum
If the infection is worse than expected or is considered advanced, we also may want to take a scan of your head to ensure it has not spread far past the middle ear. We may also recommend a hearing test to determine whether hearing loss has occurred.
What treatment is available for ear infections?
Our medical providers will determine a treatment plan suited to your infection. Treatments may include warm compresses, ear drops, antibiotics or ibuprofen. You should seek emergency care if you experience bleeding from your ear, severe hearing loss or if you suspect the eardrum may be perforated.
Repeated ear infections may cause eardrum scarring, which, over time, may lead to hearing and speech problems. Tympanostomy tubes may be inserted in the eardrum of a child who has frequent ear infections that will allow proper ventilation and drainage of ear fluid to prevent buildup. These tubes typically fall out on their own, but they can be removed by a provider.
