80-90% af alle danske børn får mellemøreproblemer én eller flere gange, inden de er fyldt 6 år. Mellemørebetændelse medfører ofte en midlertidig hørenedsættelse. Denne type hørenedsættelse kan være svær at opdage – med mindre man får hjælp af en ørenæsehalslæge – så hvilke tegn er der på, at barnet har fået sig en mellemørebetændelse?

The ASHA leader blog har lige udgivet denne liste over tegn, der er ret nemme at opdage:

• Ear tugging: I find this to be one of the most common sign of a “silent” ear infection. Many times, I notice children swat, pull or tug at their ears. Children will also place toys up by their ear. Typically, if you ask the parents, they’ve noticed frequent ear tugging over the past week or two, which often signifies irritation within the ear.
• Sleepless nights: If parents report their child’s sleep schedule is off, and/or you notice an increase in crying, this could also signal an ear infection.
• Bedtime blues: If you or the parents note the child gets upset when they lie down, this might mean they feel pressure or fluid build-up within the middle ear and Eustachian tube.
• Tummy troubles: Vomiting, diarrhea or diminished appetite may point toward ear infection.
• “Huh? What?”: If you or parents notice the client repeatedly asking “huh?” or “what?”, ignoring you, or not responding to sounds they typically attend to, the child could have hearing loss.
• Drainage: If you see fluid or pus exiting the ear canal, the child might have a perforated eardrum. In this case, the pressure build-up was so great that it burst through the eardrum.
• Decreased clarity: For children with recurring ear infections, you often notice more “mumbled” speech during an ear infection episode. Their speech intelligibility often decreases during episodes.

Så et barn, der tar sig til øret/ørerne; ikke er så glad for at blive lagt til at sove; der siger “hva’?”; der begynder at mumle, er således en fremragende kandidat til et snarligt besøg hos ørenæsehalslægen! Og helst inden trommehinden brister …

Jody Vaynshtok (2017): Watching for signs of ear infections in young clients