Middle ear infection is an annoying infectious disease. A child with a middle ear infection often has severe pain in this ear. Is this infectious disease contagious? And what are the symptoms and complications?

Middle ear infection

A middle ear infection is an infection of the middle ear. This is the part inside the ear, behind the eardrum. The inflammation is caused by various bacteria and viruses that also cause colds and other respiratory infections.

Symptoms and complications

Common symptoms of a middle ear infection are;

• Grasping the ear, because of severe pain,
• Crying when touching the ear,
• Fever (this occurs mainly in infants),
• droopiness,
• Often have a cold,
• Sometimes spitting up and/or diarrhea.

Common complications with Mumps;

• Running ear ; the eardrum has ruptured and pus is coming out of the ear,
• Chronic middle ear infection resulting in hearing loss
• Infection of the bone behind the ear,
• Meningitis.

Contamination and consequences

A middle ear infection usually occurs as a complication of a cold or due to an enlarged tonsil. Some children are extra sensitive to it in their first years of life. The inflammatory fluid from a runny ear contains bacteria and viruses and is therefore contagious. However, the chance is small that someone will become infected and develop a middle ear infection themselves. Usually it remains a cold or severe coughing.

Exclusion from daycare, playgroup or school

With some infectious diseases, a child is not welcome at a daycare center, playgroup or school for a while because of the high risk of infection. The GGD (Municipal Health Care) has drawn up rules for this. Children with a middle ear infection or runny ear do not need to be excluded, just like children with a common cold.

Report to the GGD

For some infectious diseases, a treating physician is obliged to report to the GGD that a child has this infectious disease. Middle ear infection and runny ear do not have to be reported to the GGD.