Fluid may remain in the middle ear (serous otitis, or middle ear effusion) after an ear infection. This may not cause symptoms, or it may cause a muffling of sound, decreased hearing, and mild discomfort. The body usually reabsorbs fluid behind the eardrum within 2 to 4 months, and hearing returns to normal.
Hearing problems can be difficult to assess in children, especially in children age 3 and younger. The following may help you evaluate your child's hearing at age:
- Birth to 3 months.
- 4 to 6 months.
- 7 months to 1 year.
- 1 to 2 years.
- 2 to 4 years.
- 4 years and older.
After other symptoms of a cold or ear infection have cleared and your child is not responding to voices or sounds as he or she has in the past, consider the possibility of a hearing problem.
Credits
| Author | Jan Nissl, RN, BS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Michael J. Sexton, MD - Pediatrics |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Donald R. Mintz, MD - Otolaryngology |
| Last Updated | February 13, 2008 |
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