{"id":2057,"date":"2020-11-11T11:58:18","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T16:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/?p=2057"},"modified":"2020-11-11T11:58:20","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T16:58:20","slug":"how-do-antibiotics-work-to-treat-ear-infections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/how-do-antibiotics-work-to-treat-ear-infections\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do Antibiotics Work to Treat Ear Infections?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Ear infections occur when fluid becomes trapped behind the eardrum, causing pain and inflammation. When this fluid becomes infected with bacteria, the best course of treatment is typically antibiotics. However, it\u2019s worth noting that antibiotics aren\u2019t the appropriate treatment for every type of ear infection. Below is an overview of common types of ear infections, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/ear-infection-antibiotics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">when antibiotics are used<\/a> and what type may be prescribed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Ear Infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/hayes-potter-qyvCR94SUOo-unsplash-1280x853.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up of a woman's ear\" class=\"wp-image-2058\" width=\"328\" height=\"218\" title=\"How Do Antibiotics Work to Treat Ear Infections?\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/hayes-potter-qyvCR94SUOo-unsplash-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/hayes-potter-qyvCR94SUOo-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/hayes-potter-qyvCR94SUOo-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/hayes-potter-qyvCR94SUOo-unsplash-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 328px) 100vw, 328px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The most common <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/ear\/ear-infection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">type of ear infection<\/a> is called acute otitis media (AOM). Symptoms include earache, drainage and fever. AOM is especially common in children because their Eustachian tubes, which equalize pressure and allow fluid to drain, are much shorter and more horizontal than adults\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other common types of ear infection include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Otitis media with effusion (OME), which means the infection has passed but fluid remains in the middle ear.<\/li><li>Chronic otitis media with effusion (COME), which entails fluid becoming built-up on a recurring basis but without bacteria; this long-term condition can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/ear\/hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lead to hearing loss<\/a>, especially in children.<\/li><li>Swimmer\u2019s ear (otitis externa), which happens when water becomes trapped in the ear canal (outer ear) and becomes infected.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Are Antibiotics Prescribed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Antibiotics are typically only prescribed to treat AOM and swimmer\u2019s ear. This is because OME and COME occur after the bacterial infection has passed; antibiotics are not effective against the fluid buildup alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your doctor will examine your ear with an otoscope and evaluate your symptoms to determine what type of infection you have and whether antibiotics will be effective. If your symptoms are mild, they may recommend taking a wait-and-see approach. (This is because antibiotic resistance is possible if taken too often.) If symptoms don\u2019t resolve on their own or if they\u2019re severe, then antibiotics will likely be prescribed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Antibiotics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your doctor will prescribe either an antibiotic ear drop or an oral antibiotic. Ear drops are typically used to treat swimmer\u2019s ear. Oral antibiotics are for AOM in most cases and are prescribed for about seven to 10 days. Be sure to finish your prescription, even if you feel better, or else your infection may return. For more information about treating ear infections or to schedule an appointment, call ENT of Georgia today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More About Hearing Health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/meet-the-mds-who-treat-hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Meet the MDs Who Treat Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/how-to-choose-a-hearing-aid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Choose a Hearing Aid<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/how-does-loud-noise-cause-ear-damage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How Does Loud Noise Cause Ear Damage?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ear infections occur when fluid becomes trapped behind the eardrum, causing pain and inflammation. When this fluid becomes infected with bacteria, the best course of treatment is typically antibiotics. However, it\u2019s worth noting that antibiotics aren\u2019t the appropriate treatment for every type of ear infection. Below is an overview of common types of ear infections,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"16","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"ENT of Georgia North | Ear infections occur when fluid becomes trapped behind the eardrum, causing pain and inflammation.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","locid":"","rating":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entofga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}