How to know if you have an ear infection?

If you’re currently experiencing the most excruciating pain in your ear, congratulations! You might have an ear infection. Hooray? Jokes aside, an ear infection is no laughing matter, but that doesn’t mean we can’t approach this topic with a bit of humor. So let’s dive in and try to identify some common signs and symptoms of this pesky ailment.

What exactly is an ear infection?

Before we start diagnosing ourselves based on any discomfort in our ears, let’s get familiar with what an ear infection actually is. An ear infection happens when bacteria infects the middle or inner part of one or both ears. There are three main types:

  1. Outer Ear Infections: Also known as Swimmer’s Ear, this type of bacterial/fungal/itchy-filled inflammation takes place around the outside part of your eardrum (the canal).
  2. Middle Ear Infections: Commonly caused by colds, infections like these happen behind your eardrum.
  3. Inner Ear Infections: This type affects sensitive nerves causing problems with hearing balance among other things.

Now that we have a baseline understanding let’s take note on how to spot them out for each kind.

1- Outer Ear Infections

Outer ear infections are widely known as swimmer’s ear since they are often related to damp environments such as swimming pools and beaches among others especially while Q-tipping after exposure… Oops did I mention anything about q-tips? moving along…

Signs / Symptoms

  • Painful redness /swelling
  • Itching/warmth sensation inside outer portion
  • excessive drainage including pus etc…

2-Middle-Ear-Infection (aka Otitis Media)

Did someone tell you it was safe not wrapping up during winter season coming? and then get attacked with the sniffles right after. Well congrats you might also develop an inner/outer ear infection in addition to that unfortunate runny nose given they are often caused by colds.

Signs / Symptoms

  • Earache (gain electrifying metaphor inspired from your childhood)
  • Pressure and/or fullness inside your ears as if it’s been filled up with more than just wax.
  • Mild hearing loss or partial deafness
  • Ringing buzzing sound due to inflammation around nerves.

3-Inner Ear Infections vs Labyrinthitis

The inner ear is responsible for transmitting signals related to balance & hearing , so unlike the other two types, any type of bacterial/fungal attack can cause a bigger problem like symptoms similar to vertigo

Signs / Symptoms

Labyrinithis:
– Dizziness/Staggered walking
– Nausea/Vomiting without prior “college flashback memories”
– Tinnitus/Ringing/Buzzing sound inside head but slightly more severe compared to middle ear infections

Inner Ear Infection Otits Interna :
If left untreated labyrinthitis could turn into this which typically includes additional elements like :

  • Sudden Hearing Loss
    Tinnitus
    Abnormal eye movements

Getting down into less serious cases

At times these ailments might not end up being too serious however it doesn’t hurt knowing their signs either…

Eustachian Tube Dysfunction aka Barotrauma

Pressure put too much pressure on those tubes? popping sounds, inflating balloon through nostrils…Whatever cause ultimately one ends up hurting where went air should escape…
That is usually when eustachian tube dysfunction may occur, though most of us already know how annoying it can be while flying as well which technically falls under barotrauma category among others.

Signs / Symptoms

Ears Popping Sensation,
Hearing loss temporarily follows repressed noises.

Misdiagnosing / Over diagnosing

Now I’ll be honest, going through this list so far has probably made even the most healthy person on earth question a thing or two whether or not they might have some type of ear infection. What’s more is sometimes certain illnesses may show symptoms that falsely resemble an ear infection but don’t panic! Here are common signs you may be confusing with an Ear Infection:

  • Tooth Pain
  • Sore Throat
  • TMJ/Jaw Ache

These are just three among many other symptoms to take into account, if in doubt consult your doctor over any pain-related discomfort as it never hurts to get checked.

Do I Need Medical Attention?

So now that we’ve understood what potentially might go wrong once bacteria and/or fungi decide to sit inside our ears uninvited, let’s examine when should one seek medical help

Take Action First

Before having someone poke around within their middle/inner ear which can often do more harm than good at least try these simple tips first…this will act as a precursor for emergency attention.

Drink More Water

It sounds remarkably simplistic – though ingesting enough water helps flush out potential toxins plus reduces chances of unplanned wax build up thanks to increased salivation.

Exercise

Yes although seemingly unrelated exercising produces endorphins those happy hormones which also reduce swelling/inflammation including pre-existing bacterial/fungal infections.

At the same time don’t exercise yourself too hard either since intense workouts can cause adverse effects raising blood pressure inversely increasing inflammation all depending on severity. Just make sure its low impact exercises like Yoga etc.

Seek Emergency Care ASAP If :

Although home remedies oftentimes alleviate any little hiccups here & there however if experiencing following set of scenarios , It’s best not risking waiting for this type of situation:

  • Symptoms lasting longer than 72 hours.
  • ADulti + fever above/post 101 degrees , Fever along with other symptoms like chest pains? then it’s urgent as well.
  • Blood begins flowing out of ears
  • Sudden loss of hearing ability without preceding any sound-causing incident,
  • Immune system compromised from pre-existing surgery.

Final thoughts

So in the end, when it comes to determining if you have an ear infection – a reliable way is not googling medically oriented platforms but instead speaking with your doctor professionally. When detected/implemented earlier treatments are more responsive saving one from permanent damage which even painful ongoing symptoms indicate potential long-term adverse effects toward our health.

It’s always better being safe than sorry!

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