Most people take their ears and hearing for granted, but when an ear develops a problem, it can be hard to ignore. Ear problems can affect people of all ages. When you get ear infections, earaches, foreign body removal, it often becomes necessary to go to a doctor for help.

Many things can cause an ear infection or an earache. These can become severe quickly and need medical attention. Some causes of an ear infection or an earache include:

• Sinusitis
• Inflammation of the throat
• Dental problems
• TMJ pain
• Mastoiditis

Symptoms

There are many possible symptoms of an earache. They may include:

• A fever
• Ear pain
• Redness and swelling
• Pain in the jaw
• A sore throat
• Ringing in the ears
• Vertigo
• Children may also cry, be irritable, and vomit.

If an individual develops an earache, and also has a fever, stiffness in the neck, a headache, and lethargy, they need medical care immediately. These could be symptoms of meningitis or encephalitis.

Complications

Ear infections, if not treated, are capable of producing some long-term complications. A temporary loss of hearing is possible, but if allowed to persist, it could result in becoming hard of hearing or even deaf. Another complication is that an infection in the ear can spread to neighboring tissue. If the hearing is lost in a child or an infant, there is likely going to be some developmental delays in their speech and social skills.

Risk Factors

The ones who are most at risk are children. The risk is increased if they are placed in childcare and if they are fed from a bottle, rather than being breastfed. Repeatedly breathing tobacco smoke and air pollution will also raise the risk.

Children can put a number of foreign objects in their ears, including food, candy, pieces of crayon, and other small objects. An insect may also get into the ear. As long as it remains, it can produce problems with hearing until it is removed. There is also a risk of it causing inflammation.

Doctors can treat ear infections, earaches, foreign body removal, and more. When an object is in the ear, doctors can usually easily remove the object with a simple procedure – depending on what the object is. Only a few objects may need to be removed surgically.

After an ear exam or removal of the foreign object, the doctor may prescribe one or two medications, depending on the problem. If needed, there may be a prescription for antibiotics to reduce inflammation, and an antihistamine may be prescribed if there are some allergies. A prescription may also be given to reduce pain from an earache.

Other tests may also be given. This may include a hearing test, and a test to measure the air pressure in the middle ear.

The Silver Star Urgent Care clinic helps patients with ear infections, earaches, foreign body removal, and other problems. All of the doctors at the clinic are Board-certified. There is very little waiting time for patients – even for walk-ins. We can treat patients of all ages. In order to make getting medical treatment more convenient, we are open later than most other doctors’ offices. Our hours are from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm seven days a week.