How many of you are aware that pain in your ear can be caused due to cold, an ear infection, or both? Learning the cause of your earache will help bring you much-needed relief. According to ENT specialists, an ear infection occurs when a bacterial or viral infection affects the sections of your middle ear just behind the eardrum.
Ear infections can be painful because of inflammation and fluid build-up in the middle ear. The infections can be chronic or acute. Acute ear infections are painful, but short in duration. Chronic ear infections either do not clear up or recur many times. Chronic ear infections can cause permanent damage to the middle and inner ear.
ENT specialist B Shiva Shankar said early detection can prevent half of the hearing loss cases. Most of the cases can be treated through early diagnosis as well as suitable interventions such as surgically implanted hearing devices. “It is important for ear screening of newborns so that problems, if any, can be detected within four-five days,’ said Shankar. Advising parents not to bottle feed babies in a supine position, he said, “The baby should be held upright in the arms. Otherwise, there are chances of the milk collecting in the back of the nose leading to the baby catching a cold.”
Another ENT specialist V Santhan Kumar put the blame on cold weather that has helped the spread of a new strain of viruses. Ear infections are more common in children. In fact, it is the most common infection in infants and toddlers. If your child has an ear infection, it may be difficult to detect. “The rise in infections could be due to new strains of viruses that are predominant in the air. However, one of the main reasons is changing weather which is conducive for bacterial and viral infections. This year, the city saw less sunlight during winters which provided the viruses a congenial condition to grow and cause infections,” added Kumar.