How to Tell If Your Child Has an Ear Infection — Signs and Symptoms | Doctor Dylan Levy, ENT Surgeon

Añadido: 2026-06-10

[00:00:00]It's the middle of the night and your child is waking up screaming in pain and tugging at the ears and you want to know is this an ear infection? This is how you can actually tell. My name is Dr. Dylan Levy, I'm an ENT surgeon and I see and treat ear infections every week in my clinic and there's some very clear signs according to the clinical practice guidelines. Tugging on the ear and fussiness, especially when laying down, that increases the pressure in the middle ear and in an ear infection that can be particularly uncomfortable.

[00:00:25]That's why a lot of children are screaming at night time. Now, especially if this is a couple days after a cold or an upper respiratory infections, most ear infections in toddlers happen a couple days after a cold. If there's a fever above 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit, that's a severe red flag for an ear infection. Now, the other thing to look out for is if there's drainage from the ears. That could suggest that there is a perforation in the eardrum and that things are getting worse, even though the child may feel some relief after that perforation.

[00:00:57]Ear tugging on its own, however, is an unreliable symptom. Kids tug on their ears or play with their ears for many different reasons. Ultimately, a physical exam is needed to confirm the diagnosis. I'm Dr. Dylan Levy, teaching you about ear infections with the guidelines actually say. I've got a free ear infection guide on my website, it's all yours.