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.