Can Teething Cause Ear Infections?

I hear ya! My daughter did not start teething until she was 11 mo. That is the same time that she got sick for the first time. She is now 14 mo and we are working on her third ear infection. She is also working on more teeth. I don't have any suggestions for the pain, but I have found that when she starts drooling a lot I keep an eye out for the infection. If you catch it early enough there is not as much pain and her ears will clear up after a few doses of antibiotics. My pediatrician said there is not much you can do to prevent the ear infections besides keeping her away from others that are sick. Hope this helps.
M. B

There are a lot of different things I've heard can be attributed to teething. One of them is ear infections. Something about the teething can affect a lot of different things and affects all kids differently. One child of my cut teeth and never knew til she bit your finger. Another ran fevers and was sick to her stomache a lot. While my oldest had ear infections constantly. So bad so they thought she'd need tubes put in. But after she was 18mos-2yrs she has never had one since. Pretty much after she cut her two year molars in it was the end of the ear infections. But yeah, it's weird that one thing can cause a lot of other problems.

Hi W.,Teething is very hard on babies. Yes it can cause ear infections. If you think your baby has an ear infection you need to call her pediatrician. If ear infections are left untreated they can cause permanenet hearing problems.

Hello W....
I know you've heard this plenty of times. I have an almost 2 year old at the end of the March... This last December she had to have tubes due to every time she had a new tooth coming in she would get an ear infection. It seemed as though every time she was not on the medicine for ear infections she would have one... it also induced diarrhea, fevers... Since the tubes in the ears... I would have to say that that was the best thing ever that we could have done to her. It has helped her tremendously w/ her speech. We havent had another ear infection since. So, yes to your answer and that is a possibile outcome if your child was to continue w/ the ear infections.

It could be possible that the swelling from her teething is causing some pressure on the eustachian tubes (from the ears) and not allowing them to drain properly to prevent the ear infections. I would try giving her Ibuprofen to ease the pain and swelling (Tylenol will not affect the swelling). Unfortunately, with children the sinuses, ears, and teeth are all in such close proximetry that one thing affects the other. Best of luck, J.

They dont say teething is the cause of but can mask if that makes sence.. My son is getting his back teeth in and just got over a True ear infection and it is just reallly bugging his ears....

He is always cupping his ear... but His ear is ok....

Your child will also get a temp while teething... but has no illness.... Teething is sooo much fun!!!!!!!

Just give tylenol... some teething tablets .. origel... pop a wash cloth with some water in the frrezer and something will help.....

My son loves his sassy bumble bee teeether.. Right now.. SO DO IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

In my experience we treated the teething and the drainage. This ussually kept my son from progressing into an ear infection. I think it all has to do with how your sinuses drain. If his get backed up too much they will start drainnig out his eyes. I'm sure you are doing this too but make sure her head is elevated at night. this seems to be when they drain the most. We ended up having to get a prescription to help Connor's drainage, none of the over the counter stuff worked for him. Hope this helps.

I don't know about teething causing ear infection but I noticed that you use the numbing ear drops. My son has a lot of ear infections and was given them also. Not lonh ago I woke up with an ear infection and thought I would try the drops till morning when I could go to the doctor. I am not sure if they feel different for adults but I will never put them in his ears again it hurt worse than the ear infection did.

Teething can cause colds and stuffiness which can lead to an ear infection. I have heard of putting a drop of hydrogen peroxide in your ear and letting it set for a minute can help decrease the growth of bacteria that causes an ear infection. Also my first son was getting ear infection due to water getting in his ear from bathes, we started giving him swimmers ear drops after every bath or swimming, we have not had an ear infection since, it has been over 2 yrs.

From my experience, it is just the drainage that causes the ear infection. You can get an oil that is all natural to put on her gums and also, behind her ears that will help with the teething and also cut down on the infection. I used to have horrible ear infections, but I changed the shampoo I use (some shampoos have chemicals in them that will promote ear infections) and use the oil whenever my ears feel funny and I haven't been on antibiotic in 2 years. I get the oil from a mail order company and I think that is the only place you can get it.

I went through ear infections with 2 of my children and one had to have tubes. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't do that now. I would try for a more natural way and try to find out if there was an alternative.

Hi W., I have come to the conclusion that it is probably a couple of things combined. One-probably there is some sort of extra drainage problem from all the extra slobber they produce when teething and Two-they put so many things in their mouths to relieve discomfort and because that's what babies do and they probably pick up a virus. Not much you can do about it except make sure they get enough to drink and sleep till the teething stops and their immune system matures. Children's Motrin works great for pain and fever, check with the Dr. about dosage and if it's ok for your daughter to take. I feel for you, a sick baby is tough, I know I've been through it myself many times. Good Luck and take care of yourself too!
M. (mom for 18 years)

Hello,
From my experience teething doesn't actually cause ear infections, but there is alot of drainage that irritates the ear canal. I use the Simialson (sp?) ear relief drops from walmart or most pharmacy sections over the counter. These really help eleviate the pain. Personally before I had my widsom teeth removed about 7 years ago my ears would hurt everytime my teeth hurt so I can only imagine what little ones go through and don't know why their mouth hurts.
Good luck.
Michelle

My son has a lot of problems with ear infections because when they are little their eustation tubes are more horizontal than adults and in some children this will cause a lot of problems. For whatever reason, teething does not seem to help anything at all. I take my son to a Chiropractor who specializes in SOT (Sacro Occipital Technique). We have been going to her for 4 months now and have not had any more ear infections (we've had a lot, so 4 months is really good for us). This is only what seemed to help us, remember that every child is different! I really hope you find something that helps, there is nothing more miserable than to watch your child be in pain.