The chief symptoms of an ear infection are pain and pressure in one ear. Sometimes it becomes difficult to hear out of the affected ear because fluid build-up there makes it harder for sound to reach the inner ear, where the sound sensing apparatus is.

Since ear infections occur most often in children, it is important to be able to recognize the signs of an ear infection in an infant or young child. Especially if the child has not developed verbal communication skills yet, it can be difficult to know when a child has an ear infection. Some of the signs that a child may have an ear infection include:

• tugging or pulling at one or both ears fever
• fluid draining from the ears
• headaches
• unusual irritability
• crying more than usual
• difficulty sleeping
• unresponsiveness to quiet sounds