Many young children develop ear infections but they become less common around the age of two to three years old. They can be extremely painful and sometimes the ear drum bursts to allow the infection to leak out of the ear. Usually the ear drum heals with very little scarring and so it is unusual to see any long term damage from ear infections. Sometimes glue ear (see hearing loss and glue ear) can contribute to ear infections and so this may require further treatment.
In most cases the accepted treatment of ear infections is to control the pain and the body will fight off the infection. Occasionally antibiotics are necessary for severe infections but the benefit of them for mild infections is uncertain.
Very rarely there can be other reasons for the infections to recur and so a specialist opinion is often necessary to rule these out.
