Buddy (4) and Mikey (2 1/2) rarely, if ever, get ear infections, and neither had one until they were well over a year old. So, when Matthew had his first ear infection at exactly a year old with no symptoms whatsoever, it was new to me as a mother. Although I know about the ear, how we hear, and how detrimental it can be for speech and language development, it still shook me up a bit. Sure it can be as simple as getting your little one on an antibiotic and being done with it but it doesn't always work that way - and it didn't for Matthew. One Saturday afternoon, we noticed some crud on the side of Matthew's face. We figured out that it was coming from his ear. I immediately called the pediatrician and brought Matthew over there. Low and behold, without a fever, no signs of irritability or discomfort, and only a day of a clear runny nose, Matthew not only had a double ear infection, but the crud that was outside his ear? It was due to his ear drum rupturing. It's actually not a scary as it sounds, but it shouldn't be taken lightly either. My pediatrician put him on an antibiotic and I went home and made an appointment to see the ENT. So how do ear infections occur? How do they affect your little one's ability to hear speech sounds? And what exactly does it mean that his ear drum ruptured? Finally, what do we as parents need to know to ensure that our little ones are ear infection free and hearing normally? I'll be answering these questions and more in a 3 part series. So, here's part I....
To fully understand how ear infections can impact your
little one’s speech and language development, you first have to know “how we
hear.” So here’s a quick lesson…
Before your little one even entered the world, he/she could
hear sounds from outside of your growing belly.
He/She even responded to those sounds.
Hearing is a complex process that requires the many tiny parts of your
ear to function appropriately and then your brain to apply meaning to these
sounds.
The ear can be divided into three parts:
1.
The outer ear:
This consists of the pinna (the part that you can see) and the ear canal
(which is where wax is produced). The
outer ear doesn’t do much more than “collect” sounds from the environment.
2.
The middle ear:
This very important part of the ear is comprised of three of the
smallest bones in your body, called ossicles, and the Eustachian tube. The three ossicles named the malleus, incus, and stapes form a chain
connecting the eardrum to the inner ear.
Sounds create vibrations that are carried from the eardrum and cause the
ossicles to vibrate. This middle ear
vibration causes movement of the fluid in the inner ear. The Eustachian tube connects the middle ear
with the nose. The Eustachian tube is
generally closed but can open slightly to let a msall amount of air through to
equalize pressure between the middle ear and the environment. (Think about the feeling you get when taking
off in an airplane which is a time that environmental pressure is
changing.) The Eustachian tube also serves
as a drain for the middle ear, getting rid of any mucus that may accumulate due
to a cold or allergies.
3.
The inner ear:
The sound travels as vibrations into the inner ear and enters the
cochlea. The cochlea is a small, curled
tube that is filled with liquid. This is
the liquid that is set into motion by the vibrations of the ossicles. The cochlea is lined with tiny hair cells
which play a crucial role in our hearing.
The vibrations (sound) sent from the ossicles causes the hairs to move,
which creates electrical signals that travel up the auditory nerve to your
brain. Your brain then interprets these
electrical signals as sound.
Now that you have an understanding of how the ear works, we'll be digging a little deeper in Part II. Stay tuned!
~Marisa
