Help! 5 month old with smelly ears! Is it infection?

[gerbo]

I'm beginning to worry about my 5.5 month old dd. She is a happy baby and sleeps OK, etc. However she does have rather smelly ears! It's a kind of cheesy smell, similar (and ready - this is a bit gross) to that which my toe had once when infected!! (Sorry....)

I've taken her to 2 GPs who just say it's wax and nothing to worry about and shoo me out of the surgery.

I've read about hearing loss etc. from untreated infections - am I right to be concerned?

Should I get a 3rd opinion? All they seem to do is shove a light briefly in there and say she's fine.Hmmm.........advice??

[MyTwopenceworth]

Is there any runny discharge, swelling, heat, for example.(Although I know you don't get this with all ear infections)

Ear infections are bloody painful. tbh, if she's happy and sleeping well, I'd bet my last rolo she's not got an ear infection. But if you are worried, make another appt - maybe with nurse? and say that you are sorry but you really want them to take a good long look to put your mind at rest.

[Mercy]

Have you looked behind her ears?

dd used to dribble her milk and a couple of times I found slightly crusty bits behind her ears where I obviously hadn't washed her properly

[gerbo]

Mercy - I have noticed a bit of crusty skin behind the ears actually - don't know what to do to remove it - aqueous cream and then see if it brushes away?? Worth a try actually......and Twopenceworth - I'm going to book her an appt with a nurse - good idea - and I'm sure they'll think I'm a bit OTT but hey. I don't care! There's no redness, swelling etc. I'm just sure the smell's from inside the ear. But will try more thorough washing and drying this weekend and see- thanks mums!!

[friendly]

My ds, now 14 months had a smelly ear when he was little. It went on for months and I never got to the bottom of it. He did have antibiotics once and it went so I can only think it was an infection. It was only in one ear and was quite whiffy. Family members commented on it! It was a cheesy smell. I had it checked by at least 3 doctors all of them said it looked fine or was a bit pink.

I posted here actually and people asked if there was anything stuck in it or whether the smell came from the crease behind the ears which can get a bit smelly and is easily missed when cleaning but neither was the case with ours.

Interestingly my mothers dog had a smelly ear when she was a puppy and the vet thought it was probably because her tubes were rather small and water could have been collecting behind some wax and getting trapped and becomming a bit stagnant. I don't know. I tried to keep ds's ears dry in the bath and jiggled his head from side to side when I was drying him to get any water out. I don't know when my ds's ears stopped smelling I just noticed one day that they didn't any more. I would say it started when he was a couple of months old and went when he was 8 or 10 months old. Thinking about it as the youngest of five he pretty much had a cold during that time so it must have been connected.

I was concerned about it and worried about hearing loss and damage to his drums. Like you I didn't seem to get anywhere with my doctor. If you are worried I would ask to be referred to an ear nose and throat specialist. I definitely meant to do that. In fact I can't believe I didn't. I think it must have gone away a bit during that period because I certainly meant to! Oh dear, poor ds...