Ear - Pulling At or Itchy

Symptoms

DEFINITION

• A child repeatedly pulls, tugs, pokes or itches the outer ear or ear canal
• No crying or report of earache

Causes

• Main cause (infants): normal touching and pulling with discovery of ears. This behavior is usually not seen before 4 months of age
• Main cause (older children): mild swimmer's ear from: (1) water accumulation during swimming or showers, (2) soap or shampoo retention, or (3) canal irritation from cotton-tipped swabs. Some children are reacting to a piece of earwax in the ear canal.
• Not an ear infection: Most younger children (under age 2 or 3) who pull or poke at the ear are unable to confirm or deny the presence of an earache. Dr. Ray Baker examined 100 children with ear-pulling as the chief complaint. The main conclusion was that simple ear-pulling without other symptoms of an illness or infection was never associated with ear infections.

See More Appropriate Topic (instead of this one) If

• Child is mainly crying and not pulling at ears, see CRYING CHILD OVER 3 MONTHS OF AGE.
• child reports earache, see EARACHE

Should I Call?

WHEN TO CALL YOUR DOCTOR

Care at Home

HOME CARE ADVICE FOR EAR PULLING HABIT OR ITCHY EAR CANAL

1. Reassurance:
   • Most of these children have discovered their ears and are playing with them.
   • Some have an itchy ear canal.
   • Ear pulling that is a new symptom and begins when a child has a cold usually is caused by fluid in the middle ear. Less often it's caused by an ear infection.
   • Ear pulling without other symptoms is not a sign of an ear infection.
2. Habit: If touching the ear is a new habit, ignore it (prevent doing it for attention).
3. White Vinegar Eardrops: For itchy ear canal, use ½ strength white vinegar by diluting it with equal parts water. Place 2 drops in each ear canal daily for three days (Reason: restore the normal acid pH). (EXCEPTION: ear drainage, ear tubes or hole in eardrum)
4. Avoid Soap: Keep soap and shampoo out of the ear canal.
5. Avoid Cotton Swabs: Cotton swabs remove the earwax that normally protects the lining of the ear canal, and this leads to itching and irritation.
6. Expected Course: With this treatment, most itching is gone in 2 or 3 days.
7. Call Your Doctor If:
   • Pulling at the ear continues for over 3 days
   • Itching of ear continues for over 1 week
   • Your child becomes worse

And remember, contact your doctor if your child develops any of the "Call Your Doctor" symptoms.