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Ear injuries can affect hearing and balance. That's because our ears not only help us hear, but also keep us steady on our feet.
Kids need to hear well to develop and use their speech, social, and listening skills. Even mild or partial hearing loss can affect how well they speak and understand language. Problems with balance can affect how they move and how they feel.
Falls, blows to the head, sports injuries, and even listening to loud music can hurt the ears. Damage to key parts of the ear, like the eardrum, ear canal, ossicles, cochlea, or the vestibular nerve can lead to hearing loss and balance problems.
Here are some common causes of ear injuries and how they can affect kids:
Cuts, scrapes, burns, or frostbite. Even minor injuries to the outer ear or ear canal can lead to bleeding and infection that can affect other parts of the ear.
Inserting something into the ear. Things like a cotton swab, fingernail, or pencil can scratch the ear canal or cause a tear or hole in the eardrum (called a ruptured eardrum).
Direct blows to the ear or head.Falls, car accidents, sports injuries, or fights may tear the eardrum, dislocate the ossicles (tiny ear bones), or damage the inner ear. Wrestlers, boxers, and other athletes often get repeated forceful hits to the outer ear. Severe bruising or blood clots then can block blood flow to the cartilage of the outer ear. This damages its shape and structure (known as cauliflower ear).
Loud noise. Kids and teens can have serious or permanent hearing loss (called acoustic trauma or noise-induced hearing loss) if they:
Sudden air pressure changes. Usually, the air pressure in the middle ear and the pressure in the environment are in balance. But things like flying or scuba diving can cause a sudden change in pressure. If it's not equalized, the higher air pressure pushes on one side of the eardrum. This leads to pain and sometimes partial hearing loss, called barotrauma. It usually goes away quickly. In some cases, a child can have pain for several hours if the ears don't "pop." Occasionally, extreme pressure changes can fill the middle ear with fluid or blood or cause the eardrum to burst.
Ear injuries can affect kids in different ways. Signs of hearing loss can include:
Depending on whether they hurt one or both ears, kids with ear injuries that affect balance may have symptoms like:
How long hearing or balance problems last and how they're treated will depend on:
Minor injuries usually cause temporary problems. But serious injuries may cause permanent hearing loss or balance problems.
Kids who have trauma to the outside of the ear with swelling and bruising need to see a doctor right away. If blood collects and blocks flow to the cartilage, doctors must do surgery to drain it to prevent scarring (cauliflower ear).
Most traumatic eardrum injuries eventually heal on their own. But all should be checked by an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist, or ENT). Sometimes, eardrum injuries don't heal with time and need to be patched surgically (tympanoplasty).
Vestibular therapy can help kids who have balance problems. This special type of physical therapy uses exercises to help kids with balance skills and coordination.
Kids with significant hearing loss may need:
Call your doctor if your child has:
If there's a concern, your doctor might refer you to an ENT or an audiologist to figure out what's going on.
Not every ear injury is avoidable. But you can keep prevent some by encouraging kids to:
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
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