Earache

What causes earache?

Your baby’s earache can be caused by different things. Causes can range from wax in the ear, or glue ear, but most often, ear ache is caused by ear infections. Most of the time, you’ll find that your if your baby has an ear infection, for instance, it will just get better by itself.

However, if they have earaches with other symptoms such as severe headache or swelling around the ear, dizziness, fever (temperature above 38 ºC), and the ear ache has not improved within 24-48 hours, you should call your GP.

How to spot an ear infection

Earache is very common in babies and young toddlers, but it can be hard to work out that it’s an earache that is upsetting them, especially if they are too small to tell you where the pain is coming from.

So here are some things to look out if you think your little one might have an ear infection:

• They’re rubbing their ear
• They’re pulling at their ear
• They don’t react to quiet sounds
• They feel hot (high temperature of 38°C or above)
• They seem irritable

Please note that these are common symptoms of an ear infection but this list is not exhaustive.

How can I help my child feel better?

Usually you’ll just have to wait for an ear infection to clear up by itself, but in the meantime you can use pain relief medicine to help relieve the pain of earache. And that’s where we can help.

CALPOL^® Infant Suspension is a paracetamol-based medicine suitable for babies over 2 months, weighing over 4kg and not premature. If your child is 6 or older, you can use CALPOL^® SIXPLUS^™ Suspension.

You could also try ibuprofen. CALPROFEN^® Ibuprofen Suspension helps to relieve pain and fever and starts work on a fever in just 15 minutes and lasts up to 8 hours. It’s suitable for children over 3 months and weighing over 5kg.

For help deciding whether to choose paracetamol or ibuprofen, you should read our quick guide.

Read our guide on whether to choose paracetamol or ibuprofen

Do not put oil, eardrops or cotton buds into your child’s ear unless you’re recommended to do this by your GP.