EAR-ritating EAR Conditions in Adults and Children

An overview and simple guide

Your ears have a lifelong career of providing you with proper hearing and balance. Unfortunately, like your other senses, the ears too can get sick and be affected by a variety of conditions. Below is an overview of these common ear conditions.

Note: Brushing up on basic ear anatomy and physiology before reading this article is highly recommended. Click here.

Swimmer’s Ear (Ear Canal Infection, Acute External Otitis)

Bacteria and occasionally fungi can cause inflammation of the skin in your ear canal, causing swimmer’s ear. The usual symptoms are earache and sometimes discharge from the affected ear. Your doctor will prescribe you antibiotic ear drops, pain relievers, and remove debris from your inflamed ear canal. Anybody who gets water in the ear especially during swimming is vulnerable. Other risk factors include injury to your ear canal while cleaning it and frequent use of dirty earphones, hearing aids and earplugs. Start cleaning those AirPods then.
Earwax Blockage (Impacted Cerumen)

When earwax builds up in your ear and becomes too difficult to remove, an earwax blockage happens. Don’t hate earwax. It’s a part of your body’s natural way to lubricate, clean, and protect your ear canal to prevent bacterial growth and capture dirt. Symptoms of earwax blockage include ear pain, tinnitus, decreased hearing, and a feeling of fullness in your affected ear. Earwax blockage can also manifest as a clogged ear. Too much wax can damage your eardrum. Leave it to your doctor to safely remove earwax blockage.
Tinnitus

Tinnitus is more of a symptom rather than a disease in itself. It’s usually described as a ringing or roaring in your ears. Some describe it as buzzing, clicking, humming, or hissing sound. One or both of your ears may be affected. Tinnitus can make it very difficult for you to work, sleep, and hear. The treatment for tinnitus will depend on the underlying cause. Causes of tinnitus are:
- Common causes: middle ear infections, sinusitis, exposure to loud noise, Meniere’s disease, hearing loss among older people, and medicines like erythromycin and water pills (diuretics).
- Less common causes: brain tumours, thyroid diseases, hormones (women), and blood vessel problems.
Vertigo

Vertigo, like tinnitus, is more of a symptom rather than a disease. Vertigo is the sensation that your environment or you is spinning or moving. It’s a bit different from dizziness. Dizziness is the sensation that you’re about to pass out or it may be described as a feeling of light-headedness. The treatment for vertigo will depend on the underlying cause. Causes of vertigo include:
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo – most common and is related to sudden head movements.
- Vestibular neuritis – when there’s inflammation in your inner ear.
- Meniere’s Disease – see below.
- Stroke
- Complications from diabetes
- Hormonal changes during pregnancy
- Trauma to your head and neck
Meniere’s Disease

Meniere’s disease affects your inner ear. It can manifest as tinnitus, severe vertigo, on and off hearing loss, and ear pain on the affected side. It commonly affects only one ear. Vertigo usually attacks after the tinnitus. It may be so severe that the person suffering from it loses his or her balance and falls.

The exact cause of Meniere’s disease is unknown. Some experts theorised that it has something to do with an imbalance of the fluids in the canals found in your inner ear. You can lose your sense of hearing. Up to the time of this writing, there is no cure yet. Treatment is aimed at controlling vertigo, taking water pills, and reducing salt intake. The water pills (diuretics) decrease fluid accumulation in your inner ear. This reduces the severity and frequency of vertigo. Surgery may be required for severe cases. Meniere’s disease can happen at any age, but it is more common among young and middle-aged adults.

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Ear Infections

An ear infection, or more specifically, a middle ear infection is inflammation of the middle ear. It’s most commonly caused by bacteria. It happens when fluid accumulates behind your eardrum. Anybody can get an ear infection, but children ages three months to three years get them more often than grownups do. The peak incidence occurs from six to eleven months. Middle ear infections are among the most frequent reasons parents bring their children to the doctor. Otitis media is the medical term for a middle ear infection. There are three main kinds of otitis media: acute otitis media, chronic otitis media with effusion, and otitis media with effusion (also known as glue ear).

Most middle ear infections occur while your baby can’t talk yet, so watch out for the following clues:
- Difficulty sleeping
- Your baby gets easily upset (fussiness) and cries a lot.
- Fever (an important clue)
- Your baby has trouble balancing his or her head when crawling/walking.
- Your baby doesn’t turn and pay attention (decreased hearing) to you when you make a sound, especially quiet sounds.
- Your baby keeps on pulling or tugging on the affected ears.
Why are young children more likely than grownups to develop middle ear infections?

Children are more susceptible to acquire ear infections because their immune system is still developing. It’s not as effective as a grown-up’s immune system in fighting infections. Also, your child’s eustachian tubes are shorter in length, smaller in diameter, and more horizontally positioned making fluid drainage difficult. Middle ear infections usually follow an upper respiratory tract infection.

Treatment for otitis media

Treatment for acute otitis media consists of observation, prescription of an oral antibiotic, giving of over-the-counter pain relievers (ibuprofen or acetaminophen), and ear drops for pain. Don’t give aspirin especially if your child has a fever.

Treatment for otitis media with effusion and chronic otitis media is a bit more complicated. This involves the use of antihistamines, decongestants, and insertion of tympanostomy tubes.

Ear infections among adults are not that common, but they still happen. Unlike ear infections in children, ear infections among adults are usually signs of an underlying and more serious health condition. See your doctor.
Cauliflower Ear

Cauliflower ear results from repeated blows or hits to the ear. Boxers and wrestlers are vulnerable to this type of injury to the ear. The affected ear looks lumpy and shrivelled life a cauliflower (duh) because the cartilage which upholds the shape of your ear has been damaged. This may become permanent.
Ear Emergencies
- Ear emergencies include ruptured eardrums, severe ear infections, objects in the ear canal, and trauma to the ear.
- Most ear emergencies occur in children when they put something in their ear (next to mouth and nose). Don’t attempt to remove them, take your child to the emergency room of the nearest hospital.
- Ruptured eardrums can result from inserting an object into your ear. It can also result from a blow to the head, changes in pressure, or from an explosion.
- If an insect accidentally gets in your ear, turn your head so that the ear with the insect side is up. See if the insect crawls or flies out. Use baby oil, olive oil, or mineral oil if changing the position of your head doesn’t work. The oil can drown the insect and can float out of your ear. Don’t use the oil on your ear for any other purpose.

Practical and Natural Remedies for Ear Related Problems

Naturopathic ear drops. A study in 2003 found that naturopathic ear drops were as effective as anaesthetic ear drops for symptomatic relief of ear pain secondary to acute otitis media. The naturopathic ear drops consisted of extracts from Allium sativum (garlic), Verbascum thapsus (common mullein), Calendula officinalis (common marigold), Hypericum perforatum (St John’s wort), lavender, and vitamin E in olive oil.
Chiropractic care. Ear pain from an ear infection may be relieved through chiropractic treatment according to a research study published in the Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics.
Other remedies like:
1. Warm or cold compresses
2. Don’t put pressure on the affected ear when you sleep. Use extra pillows to allow better drainage of accumulated fluid in your ear.
3. Chew some gum to help equalise pressure in your middle ear, especially if the pain happens during or after a flight or ascent to higher grounds.

Note: Ask your doctor first before you try chiropractic care or naturopathic ear drops for ear pain.

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Your ears are marvellous structures that perform vital functions. They’re one of the five senses that keep you connected with the outside world and inside of your body. They’re also vulnerable to diseases specific to them, and conditions that affect your entire body if you don’t take care of them. Schedule a consultation with your doctor if you suspect that there’s something wrong with your ear/s. We have other articles on the ear you may want to read: (Please attach the links to the article topics below. Thank you.)