Speech Rescue

Ear Infections and Speech Development

Posted by mcrabb | Filed under Uncategorized

This past summer I had a nasty case of “swimmer’s ear” otherwise known as otitis externa. It was the worst pain I’ve had in years. It got so bad,  I ended up in the emergency room and stayed the night in the hospital. The reason was that the infection had begun creeping into my cranial nerves, which caused temporary facial paralysis; in fact, I could barely speak. The doctors ordered a CT scan because they feared the infection was spreading to the mastoid bone behind my ear. Luckily, it hadn’t reached there, but the doctor said he was thankful I came to the hospital when I did. Apparently the infection can travel to the brain from the mastoid bone and then things can get very ugly.

 

Needless to say, it was not fun! I was released from the hospital within 24 hours. However, I couldn’t eat for nearly five days and I had trouble chewing for a few days afterward–which was great for dropping a few pounds, but not so great on my overall health!

 

Swimmer’s ear can be common in the summer, while inner ear infections (or otitis media) are very common in the winter. With winter upon us, I thought it was a good time to post about ear infections. So, what do ear infections have to do with speech development?

 

Ear infections are the number one reason for speech delays in children! Speech development is at its peak from 12 months to four years of age, also the time ear infections are most common in children.

 

The symptoms of otitis media often appear during or after a cold or a respiratory infection. Since fluid can collect in the middle ear with or without causing pain (unlike otitis externa which is very painful)- parents often notice symptoms of an ear infection before the child does.

 

Here are some of the common symptoms of ear infections:

-fever

-irritability

-rubbing or pulling on the ears

-having difficulty keeping balance, running or jumping

-earaches or drainage of the ear

-partial loss of hearing

-talking less than usual or having unclear speech

-using gestures rather than talking

-turning up the TV or radio louder than normal

-frequent need to have information repeated

-changes in sleeping or eating habits

 

When a child gets ear infections several times a year, it’s called “recurrent otitis media”. The child can experience temporary loss of hearing or distortions of the sounds they hear. The loss or distortions can last for up to six weeks after an ear infection has healed. This loss can be described as mild or fluctuating, but can also be a major cause for speech and language delays later. Children who are not hearing properly may “tune out” everyday sounds or even a parent’s voice. The fluid in the middle ear can cause similar words to sound the same. In short, since these kids don’t hear the sound properly, they don’t learn how to say them properly.

 

Parents can help by seeking prompt medical attention if your child has frequent ear infections. Your doctor can prescribe antibiotics, but also may need to refer your child to an ENT (otolaryngologist) for treatment or the placement of tubes to facilitate drainage and relieve pressure on the inner ear. An audiologist may also be needed to test your child’s hearing and a speech-language pathologist can help with the treatment of speech delays.

 

I’ve seen many children over the years that had speech delays from recurrent otitis media. With a combination of tube placement and speech therapy, the child’s speech delays can quickly be normalized. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have.

 

Please watch out for your child’s little ears–and your own!

Comments (0) | January 17th, 2012