{"id":1449,"date":"2022-06-30T12:51:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T18:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/?p=1449"},"modified":"2022-07-01T12:52:06","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T18:52:06","slug":"what-is-a-double-ear-infection-how-is-it-treated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/what-is-a-double-ear-infection-how-is-it-treated\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Double Ear Infection &amp; How Is It Treated?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What\u2019s worse than when your child has an ear infection? How about when they have a double ear infection? Double ear infections, also known as bilateral otitis media, mean you have an infection in both of your ears simultaneously. Below we review how ear infections occur, what the symptoms are, the difference between bilateral and unilateral (one-sided) ear infections and what treatments are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Do Ear Infections Occur?<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pediatric-hearing-ent-01-1536x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Doctor examines ear drum of little girl. Hearing impairment in children concept\" class=\"wp-image-1451\" width=\"305\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pediatric-hearing-ent-01-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pediatric-hearing-ent-01-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pediatric-hearing-ent-01-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pediatric-hearing-ent-01-256x171.jpg 256w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 305px) 100vw, 305px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/ent\/ear-infections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ear infections<\/a> occur when fluid becomes trapped in the middle ear behind the eardrum. They are usually the result of inflammation of the Eustachian tubes \u2013 which connect the middle ear to the back of the throat to allow fluid to drain and air pressure to equalize \u2013 usually due to allergies or an upper respiratory infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are the Symptoms of an Ear Infection?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Symptoms of an ear infection, whether unilateral or bilateral, include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Drainage from the ears<\/li><li>Difficulty sleeping<\/li><li>Hearing loss<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/ent\/earache\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Earache<\/a><\/li><li>Fever<\/li><li>Nasal congestion<\/li><li>Hoarse voice or cough<\/li><li>Rhinitis<\/li><li>Poor appetite<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Young children cannot vocalize whether they\u2019re experiencing these symptoms, but a sign that they are is that they\u2019re tugging on their earlobes and\/or they have a fever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is the Difference Between a Bilateral &amp; Unilateral Ear Infection?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/17596799\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">clinical picture of a double ear infection is frequently more severe<\/a> than that of an infection in only one ear, the overlap of clinical symptoms is common. In other words, the main difference between the two is symptoms are more severe and affect both ears with a bilateral infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Are Ear Infections Treated?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The treatment your doctor or your child\u2019s pediatrician recommends is based on the severity and duration of symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Home Remedies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your or your child\u2019s symptoms are mild, the physician may recommend home remedies. You can place a warm compress \u2013 a washcloth soaked in warm water and wrung out \u2013 over the ears to relieve pain and pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Medications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To ease ear pain, you can take over-the-counter acetaminophen or ibuprofen from <a href=\"http:\/\/wardroadrx.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ward Road Pharmacy<\/a>. Your doctor may also prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection if it doesn\u2019t clear up within a few days. These can be in the form of oral medication or eardrops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ear Tubes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your child is suffering from chronic, recurring ear infections, they may need ear tubes surgically placed. These tubes allow fluid to drain from the middle ear and help treat and prevent future infections. For more information or to schedule an appointment with an ear expert, call Advantage ENT &#038; Audiology today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/can-allergies-impact-tinnitus\/\" class=\"related-post\">Can Allergies Impact Tinnitus?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/what-to-know-about-tympanosclerosis\/\" class=\"related-post\">What To Know About Tympanosclerosis<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/how-are-stress-and-hearing-loss-connected\/\" class=\"related-post\">How Are Stress and Hearing Loss Connected?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What\u2019s worse than when your child has an ear infection? How about when they have a double ear infection? Double ear infections, also known as bilateral otitis media, mean you have an infection in both of your ears simultaneously. Below we review how ear infections occur, what the symptoms are, the difference between bilateral and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"What\u2019s worse than when your child has an ear infection? How about when they have a double ear infection?","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advantageent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}