4 Causes of otalgia in children

Otalgia means ear pain; it's very common in infants and children. So we will highlight the most important causes of otalgia in children.

1. Otitis externa: it develops due to excessive cleaning of the external auditory meatus by sharp objects, leading to formation of scratches and crusts inside the external ear canal which predispose to microbial infection, otitis externa and otalgia.
2. Entry of foreign body into the external auditory meatus: some children tend to pick up small objects and try to push it inside the external auditory meatus. This issue may be discovered accidentally or after developing symptoms such as; continuous crying with ear touching, fever and offensive ear discharge. It's recommended to get medical help for extraction of the foreign body; any attempts by the parents could lead to serious complications such as middle ear trauma or rupture of the tympanic membrane.
3. Otitis media: it's very common in children because middle ear has a direct contact to the throat through the Eustachian tube. So we can say that any throat infection may extend to the middle ear leading to otitis media. Also breastfeeding while the baby lies flat or in a sleep position could lead to leak of some milk drops through the Eustachian tube to the middle ear leading to otitis media. Baby with otitis media usually manifested with fever, continuous crying and otalgia.
4. Otitis interna: it develops due to spread of infection from blood stream or as extended infection from otitis media. Children with otitis interna usually manifested with dizziness, vertigo, hearing affection and otalgia.