Children & Family 05 August 2026 · 5 min read · By Dr. Sofia Bennett
Three out of four children have at least one ear infection by age three. Most clear quickly — but repeated infections with lingering fluid can muffle hearing during the exact years speech and language develop. Here's what parents should know.
Spotting an infection
Tugging at the ear, fever, irritability, trouble sleeping, and fluid draining from the ear are classic signs. In older children, complaints of muffled hearing or needing things repeated after a cold often mean fluid remains behind the eardrum even once pain has passed.
When antibiotics help — and when they don't
Many mild infections clear on their own with pain relief and observation over two to three days. Antibiotics are recommended for severe pain, high fever, infants under six months, or infections that don't improve. Persistent fluid without infection — glue ear — doesn't respond to antibiotics at all, which is why follow-up hearing checks matter after every infection.
When ear tubes enter the picture
If fluid persists beyond three months with hearing loss, or infections recur four or more times in a year, tiny ventilation tubes placed in a ten-minute day procedure can transform things: hearing restores immediately, infections drop sharply, and speech development gets back on track. Tubes typically fall out on their own within a year.
Worried about repeat infections? Book a pediatric ENT consultation — every visit includes a gentle hearing check.