The difference between chronic and recurring ear infections

Pediatric Otolaryngologist, Nina Shapiro, MD, shares advice for parents on how to tell the difference between a chronic and a recurring ear infection in your child
The Difference Between Chronic And Recurring Ear Infections In Kids
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The difference between chronic and recurring ear infections

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Ear infections are so common and can occur quite frequently. There are two things that we look at, as doctors. A chronic ear infection is an ear infection that does not clear. By not clearing, I mean that the child has fluid behind his ear for more than three months. This becomes a chronic problem. Your child had an ear infection, the acute part of it is gone, but the fluid is not clearing. This becomes kids who have hearing loss from all the fluid. The other problem that we see are kids who have recurrent ear infections. Those are the kids who have ear infections, the infections get better, but they keep coming back. You feel that as soon as your child is clearing up an ear infection, your child is getting another one. Chronic ear infections mean that they are lasting for a long time. Recurrent ear infections mean that they come back to back, every month, for six to eight times per year.


Pediatric Otolaryngologist, Nina Shapiro, MD, shares advice for parents on how to tell the difference between a chronic and a recurring ear infection in your child

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Nina Shapiro, MD

Pediatric Otolaryngologist

Dr. Nina Shapiro is the Director of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) and an Associate Professor of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.  As the first fellowship-trained pediatric otolaryngologist at the medical center since it was founded in 1955, her presence has put UCLA 'on the map' in her field.  

A graduate of Harvard Medical School and Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences, she also completed her residency training at Harvard.  She then went on to complete additional subspecialty training in pediatric otolaryngology at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, and The Children's Hospital of San Diego.

A native of New York, Shapiro has been honored with several prestigious awards, including the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology Award for Clinical Research, the UCLA Division of Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Teaching Award, and the American Academy of Pediatrics Young Investigators Award.  She has also been named "Super Doctor" by Los Angeles Magazine, and has been listed in "Who's Who in America".  

She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, has edited a pediatric otolaryngology textbook, and is the author of the parenting book Take a Deep Breath: Clear the Air for the Health of Your Child, releaseded in January 2012. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children, and enjoys spending time with them more than anything else in the world.

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Transcription: 

Ear infections are so common and can occur quite frequently. There are two things that we look at, as doctors. A chronic ear infection is an ear infection that does not clear. By not clearing, I mean that the child has fluid behind his ear for more than three months. This becomes a chronic problem. Your child had an ear infection, the acute part of it is gone, but the fluid is not clearing. This becomes kids who have hearing loss from all the fluid. The other problem that we see are kids who have recurrent ear infections. Those are the kids who have ear infections, the infections get better, but they keep coming back. You feel that as soon as your child is clearing up an ear infection, your child is getting another one. Chronic ear infections mean that they are lasting for a long time. Recurrent ear infections mean that they come back to back, every month, for six to eight times per year.