What Is Chronic Otitis Media
Chronic otitis mediaâ¯may be defined as a middle ear effusion without perforation that is reported to persist for more than one to three months.2â¯Also calledâ¯chronic serous otitis media, it generally occurs gradually over many years inâ¯peopleâ¯with long-standing or frequent ear trouble.â¯â¯
Warning signs of chronic otitis mediaâ¯include:3
- Hearing lossâ¯
- Persistent blockage of fullness of the earâ¯
- Development of balance problemsâ¯
- Persistent deep ear pain or headacheâ¯
- Confusion or sleepinessâ¯
- Drainage or swelling behind the earâ¯
If it is not treated, chronicâ¯otitis media may not only cause severe pain but also result in serious complications, including permanent hearing impairment.4
Are There Conventional Medicines To Help Me
Initially, a doctor or pharmacist is likely to recommend anti-histamines to help to ease all symptoms of seasonal allergies and a nasal decongestant to help clear the Eustachian tubes. However, if your earache persists, they may check for signs of infection. If this is the case, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics or drops.
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Will A Dog Ear Infection Go Away On Its Own
Unfortunately, the odds of a dog ear infection clearing up on its own are not great. And if you put off treating the ear infection, it can become much worse . Left untreated, an ear infection can cause hearing loss and a spread of the infection to the middle and inner parts of the ear, which can lead to nerve damage, eye ulcers, or vestibular disease, a disorder that affects balance, making dogs feel dizzy and unable to walk a straight line.
Untreated dog ear infections can also lead to aural hematomas, where a collection of fresh or clotted blood collects in the dogs ear flap, due to all the excessive ear scratching and head shaking. Ear hematomas will make the ear flap look thick and spongy or lumpy. They can affect just one part of the ear or the entire ear flap. Hematomas will likely require surgery and several follow-ups at the vet.
What happens at the vet:
After a thorough ear examination, your veterinarian will clean your dog’s ear with a medicated ear cleaner. In severe cases or if the wax is deeply impacted, your dog may need to be sedated. Your vet will likely prescribe an ear cleanser and topical treatment for your dog at home. You may also be given oral antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications for your dog. Make sure to follow through on all treatments to make sure the ear infection goes away. When you do, your pup should be back to normal in a week or two.
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How To Prevent Ear Infections
Avoid the common cold: Its easier said than done but its important to avoid being in contact with viruses that can cause flu symptoms.
Avoid being around secondhand smoke: If someone you know is a smoker, let them know to take it outside and away from you and your children.
Try breastfeeding: Breastfeeding may not always be possible but if it can be done, it is highly recommended. When it comes to breastfeeding, the mother has more control over the direction the baby faces when feeding. If you are bottle-feeding keep your baby in an upright position.
Vaccinate: Flu shots can help prevent the flu that can cause ear infections. Shots like the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine helped decrease the number of ear infections seen in children under the age of 3 by 34%.
Further Reading
Symptoms Of Ear Infections
Typical symptoms of ear infections may include the following:
- Loss of appetite or vomiting
- Sensation of fullness or popping in the ears
- Balance difficulties
Since young children often develop ear infections before they become verbal, parents may have to be detectives, alert to symptoms such as ear pulling, frequent crying, irritability and difficulty sleeping, particularly when these symptoms are present during or after a cold.
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How Do Allergies Cause Ear Infections
When your body is allergic to something, one of its ways of protecting you from the potential threat of the allergen is to produce excess mucus as a means of keeping allergen particles from entering the rest of your body. Meanwhile, when the allergen does come into contact with your sinus tissues, those tissues can become enlarged and inflamed.
All of these reactionsthe inflammation, the excess mucus, and the issues with chronic sinus drainagecan lead to ear infections. When excess mucus is unable to exit the body, many patients experience chronic drainage issues, including a buildup of fluid and puss in the middle ear.
And like your sinus tissues, the membrane surrounding the eustachian tube can also become inflamed. When this happens a build-up of fluid and pressure can occur in the middle ear, leading to a painful ear infection.
What Is The Common Treatment For Middle Ear Infections Or Other Types Of Ear Pain
Depending on the symptoms you experience, your doctor may prescribe different treatments to treat middle ear pain. For instance, if you feel sinus pressure or have inflamed Eustachian tubes, they might tell you to apply a cold compress to the outer ear to relieve your earache and also recommend you take antibiotics if there’s an ear infection.
However, if you have ear drainage , hearing loss, or severe pain in your inner ear, you may need a different treatment.
Other than over-the-counter allergy medications, your doctor may suggest:
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Chronic Otitis Media Triggers And Causes
Although most of the problems with chronic otitis media are associated with infections,â¯allergic sensitizations can be a risk factor for recurrent episodes of the illness. It is thought that approximately 20 percent of patients with chronic serous otitis media have a contributing underlying allergy.5 There is also a significant correlation between chronic otitis media and allergic disease.6â¯
Can You Get Ear Infections Due To Allergies
If you experience an allergic reaction that causes earaches, chances are inflammation or an increase in mucus production has blocked your Eustachian tubes.
When this happens, fluid can’t drain from the inner ear. If this fluid can’t escape the ear canal, it’s at risk for bacteria growth, which results in an ear infection, also known as otitis media. If it is an infection of the middle ears, it could lead to conductive hearing loss.
Even though over-the-counter medicines can alleviate some of your allergy symptoms, if you have an ear infection, antihistamines and nasal sprays don’t help.
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Medical Treatment In Children
Doctors often take a wait-and-see approach when treating ear infections in children to avoid over-prescribing antibiotics, which can lead to antibiotic resistance.
A doctor may sometimes write you a prescription for antibiotics if symptoms are severe or dont resolve within 2 to 3 days. Alternatively, they may write you a prescription but recommend waiting first to see if your childs symptoms get better after 2 to 3 days.
Its important to finish your entire prescription. Often, a 7- or 10-day prescription of amoxicillin is prescribed.
You shouldnt give children aspirin without their doctors instruction. Aspirin is a preventable risk factor for developing Reyes syndrome, a rare disorder that causes brain and liver damage.
Care Advice For Ear Congestion
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Can You Help A Dog’s Ear Infection At Home
If you cant get into the vet same-day, you can help give your dog some sweet relief from the itching of an ear infection by using an over-the-counter ear cleaner.
As it soothes, an ear cleaner will clear out excess wax or brown discharge from the dog ear infection, which could keep it from getting worse.
Pointers: Youll want to make sure the dog ear cleaner is alcohol-free so it doesnt sting or burn your pups already-tender ear tissue. Another no-no? Fragranced ear cleaners, as they can also cause sting and irritation, making an ear infection worse.
What Is An Ear Infection
Ear infections can be either bacterial or viral infections. They can occur in your middle ear, the part of your ear just behind your eardrum, as well as the outer and inner ear. They often clear up on their own but can be painful due to inflammation or fluid buildup.
Ear infections can be chronic or acute. Acute ear infections are painful but short in duration. Chronic ear infections either dont clear up or recur many times. They can cause damage to the middle and inner ear, which is infrequently permanent.
Keep reading to learn about ear infections, including causes, symptoms, and treatment options.
Common symptoms of ear infections include:
- mild pain or discomfort inside your ear
- changes in air pressure
Ear infections can also develop from infected adenoids. Your adenoids are glands on the roof of your mouth behind your nose that help protect your body from infections. Infections can spread from these glands to the nearby ends of your Eustachian tubes.
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Ear Infections Caused By Ear Allergies:
If you are having a seasonal allergy, you may become more prone to ear infections. When pollen levels are high, allergic responses are likely to produce inflammation and congestion. This can develop a variety of complications, including:
Ringing in the ears and dizziness are two other symptoms of ear allergy infection. It may also result in loss of equilibrium. In extreme situations, the eardrum may rupture, allowing the pus to drain from the ear.
Histamine release can induce irritation of the mucous membranes lining the nasal canals and ears. This inflammation can cause an obstruction in the ears, restricting fluid or mucus from drainage and causing ear pain due to pressure accumulated inside the ears.
An allergic response that causes inflammation of your Eustachian tubes can also cause short-term hearing problems. When the allergies subside, the conductive hearing loss usually resolves on its own.
How do doctors diagnose ear allergies and associated problems?
Before you receive the adequate and timely therapy for your ear and hearing difficulties, you must first determine whether the problems are related to an allergy or any other disease. If your family physician has previously ruled out an acute illness or injury, then you must consult an allergy expert to determine any allergens that may be affecting your ears.
Treatment of ear allergies and reactive symptoms:
Home management for ear allergic reactive symptoms:
What Causes Ear Infections
Ear infections, which have many causes, are more common during the fall and winter seasons when cold and flu susceptibility is higher. Inflammation and congestion from allergies can also lead to ear infections. For example, people with seasonal allergies, such as pollenâ¯allergies,â¯may have a greater risk of ear infectionsâ¯when pollen counts are high because their allergic reactions mayâ¯cause congestion and inflammation.â¯
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Can Allergies Contribute To Ear Pain
Once your immune system starts releasing histamine, you may experience ear pain. Ear pain caused by allergies typically occurs due to three different issues:
- Inflammation blocks the drainage of your Eustachian tubes
- Fluid build-ups in the middle ear, creating pressure
- Bacteria can grow in this fluid and lead to infection
Ear Infections In Infants And Children
Babies and toddlers are more susceptible to otitis media than older children and adults for several reasons. Part of the structure of the inner ear, the Eustachian tubes, are more level in youngsters, which means that fluids dont drain as easily as in adults. A backup of fluid during a cold or the flu can lead to an infection. Younger children also have weaker immune systems, and so an ear infection can develop more rapidly and is not likely to heal on its own.
A child or infant with an ear infection may show signs of tugging on the ears, crying, not being able to sleep, losing balance and acting irritable. A fever is also possible. Its important to see your pediatrician if you suspect your child has an ear infection. Untreated, persistent ear infections can lead to hearing loss, delays in speech or even a torn eardrum, which requires surgery to repair. For children with severe and chronic ear infections, having tubes surgically implanted in the ear for drainage is sometimes used as treatment.
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How Do Allergies Cause Ear Infections In Dogs
Allergies cause the skin barrier to break down and increase the wax production in the ear canal. This allows the low number of normal yeast and bacteria on the skin and in the ear to overproduce and allow more severe strains of bacteria to thrive. This leads to increased inflammation, pain, and discharge from the ear.
Dogs with seasonal allergies tend to get ear infections around the same season each year. Dogs with food allergies or non-seasonal environmental allergies may have ear infections recurring throughout the year.
Since dogs with allergic otitis will have repeated ear infections, this chronic inflammation can cause the ear canal tissue to scar, become calcified, and reduce the opening of the ear canals. This makes treatment even harder as the medication has a hard time reaching the deeper ear canal regions.
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How Do Allergies Affect Your Ears
Allergies develop whenever your immune system reacts to a typically nontoxic object as though it were a genuine threat to your health. It responds by releasing antibodies that fight the allergen and releasing a chemical known as histamine.
Histamine causes the sinuses to generate excessive mucus, which can subsequently stream down the cavity of the middle ear, causing ear pain as well as throat irritation. Simultaneously, tissue swelling may hinder fluid outflow, resulting in congestion. Because the ear canals link to the Eustachian tubes, you may develop ear pain allergies and other symptoms.
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How Can I Prevent Allergic Otitis
If your dog has allergic otitis as a result of a food allergy, your vet will discuss beginning a novel protein or hypoallergenic prescription diet. The diet needs to be fed for at least 2-3 months to assess the response and a few diets may need to be tried
If your dog has flea allergies that trigger allergic otitis, be sure all pets in the home are on consistent flea control, the home and yard are being treated for fleas, and the home is being vacuumed at least weekly to remove any fleas that may get inside. Oral flea products tend to be the most effective for flea allergic pets.
For dogs with environmental allergies , discuss allergy testing with your vet or referral to a veterinary dermatologist. Dogs can be given Antigen therapy to help reduce their immune system’s overreaction to their allergies. There are also steroids, antihistamines, and newer anti-itch allergy medications like Apoquel and Cytopoint that can help reduce ear and skin issues in allergic dogs.
Regular ear cleaning and even a cleaning product to reduce wax can help reduce ear infections in allergic dogs. Discuss options with your vet, along with a tailored ear cleaning regime for your dog.
Allergies And Ear Infections Are They Connected
Provided by: David Hauswirth, MD
Often we are asked to evaluate someone with ear problems and asked, do allergies cause ear problems? The simple answer is yes. The Eustachian tube drains the middle ear into the back of the nose. In someone suffering from allergies, the Eustachian tube can swell or not work correctly. This lack of function and drainage will cause fluid to build in the middle ear, leading to temporary hearing loss and sometimes ear infections.
Patients with allergies will often have ear symptoms. Sometimes the ears will itch, feel full, pop or have pressure. Manytimes clear fluid is found in the middle ear when someone has allergies. This fluid will often drain as allergies are treated. However, if allergies are not treated, this fluid can stay in the middle ear and become infected. Once someone develops an ear infection, the cause and the infection must both be treated.
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If Youre Experiencing Ear Pain It May Be Allergies
Is there anything more relaxing than a nature hike at Northside Trail? That is, unless youre plagued by allergy symptoms such as itchy eyes, congestion, runny nose, sneezing and even ear pain.
You may be surprised to learn that ear pain can be the result of allergies. We review the connection below.
When Should You See A Doctor
If you have mild allergies and have allergy medications that manage your symptoms, keep doing what you’re doing. But if you are experiencing ear pain that doesn’t go away with medication, involves hearing loss, or inflammation in the ears’ mucous membranes lining, seek professional medical advice.
In cases where you think you may have damaged your eardrum or see blood in the fluid coming out of your ears, immediately contact a doctor.
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Ear Infection From Allergies
Your ears and your nose are actually connected by a tube that comes to the back of the nose called the Eustachian tube. So when your nose is swollen and irritated from allergies, your Eustachian tube can actually swell shut.
What happens then, is there’s not a good ability for your ears to drain into your nose, and fluid and bacteria can back up. So this can cause ear pressure, ear pain, fullness, and that feeling like you’re in the mountains or on an airplane. And it can also cause ear infections.
