Earaches

Symptoms

The most prominent symptoms of a eustachian tube blockage are ear pressure, altered hearing and varying amounts of pain. A young child may not be able to communicate what he or she is feeling, so keep an eye out for these symptoms:

• Infants or toddlers may bang their heads or cry, or rub or tug their ears (however, this may also be a sign of teething in babies).
• Fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea may accompany an ear infection.
• A clear discharge, pus or blood coming from the affected ear(s). Do NOT attempt to clean out an ear canal that is leaking fluid because you may cause more irritation or accidentally damage the eardrum.
• Extra irritability or fussiness.
• Deafness - hearing loss that could be due to a blocked eustachian tube and fluid collected in the middle ear chamber.
• Lack of appetite or disturbed sleep.