Almost every parent has been through a middle of the night episode when their child has a high fever and cries with ear pain.
Ear infection is the most common childhood problem seen during pediatric office visits.
There are several types of ear infection, involving different parts of the ear. The ear canal swells, looks red, usually itches, and is painful when touched. The middle ear is a space behind the ear drum filled with air and connected to the back of the nose and throat by a small tube. In children this tube is small and straight which allows infection to pass through easier. Inside this space are three small bones that pick up sound vibrations from the ear drum and move them to the inner ear where the brain reads nerve impulses as sound.