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Child Sensitive to Loud Noises? Causes & ENT Advice | Mr Gaurav Kumar

  Why Is My Child So Sensitive to Loud Sounds? A Paediatric ENT Guide for Parents As a parent, watching your child experience physical distress from sounds that others barely notice can be deeply unsettling. You might notice your child covering their ears, crying, or experiencing a flash of panic when the vacuum cleaner starts, when a public hand dryer activates, or when a dog barks nearby. When a child exhibits an intolerance to everyday noises, parents often wonder whether it is a behavioural phase, a sign of sensory processing differences, or a physical issue within the ears. In the medical community, this heightened, excessive sensitivity to everyday environmental sounds is known as hyperacusis . As a Consultant ENT Surgeon practising across London and Essex, I frequently meet families at my Brentwood and Ilford clinics who are seeking clarity on this exact issue. This comprehensive guide will help you understand how a child’s ears process sound, the structural and medi...

Ear infection in children


How can I tell my toddler or child has an ear infection?
Ear infections are prevalent from the age of 3 months until the age of 5 years. Toddlers may become irritable, start pulling their ear, excessive crying, running a temperature, follow cold or flu, in some cases may be associated with flu, cold and cough. In some cases, they can also present with ear discharge.

Why do toddlers and children suffer from ear infections?
The ear is connected to the back of the nose with a tube called the eustachian tube. The eustachian tube is responsible for maintaining equal pressure on both sides of the eardrum. In toddlers and children, this tube is shorter and straiter. When a child gets flu or cold, the virus can lead to inflammation of eustachian tube and middle ear.  On average, a child suffers from 6-8 flu or cold per year in the early years of their life as they develop their immunity. 

When should I contact my doctor?
Most of the ear infections may settle down with self-help medication and may not need antibiotics. If a child has a persistent high temperature which is not getting better or fluctuant temperature lasting more than three days may need antibiotics. Once you start antibiotic always finish the treatment.

How can I prevent ear infections in children?
Vaccination has played an essential role in decreasing the incidence of ear infections in children. Keeping your child up to date with immunisation is vital. Make sure you were maintaining personal hygiene by regularly washing your hands, keeping the child away from smoke or anyone with flu-like symptoms. Breastfeeding helps with eustachian tube function and immunity and helps child against ear infection in the early years of life.




When should I take my child to an ENT surgeon for ear infections?

If your child keeps getting ear infections regularly, ear infections are affecting child's hearing, speech or balance, then you should make an appointment with ENT doctor. ENT doctor will examine the child's ear with a special camera called an otoscope. ENT doctor may offer surgically placing a  ventilation tube called grommet in the eardrum. Grommets they stay on eardrum for 6-12 months and fall out on their own. The child will not feel grommet in the ear. In some children, the ENT surgeon may recommend treating adenoids in the same sitting.

Helping Patients with Specialist Expertise and Kindness

Mr Gaurav Kumar

Consultant Ear Nose Throat Surgeon

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Book online

entsurgeonclinic@gmail.com

07494914140


Disclaimer: For general information only, always seek medical advice from treating consultant




 

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