5 month old ds grabbing ear and head

[BalaRua]

Ds 5mo keeps grabbing at or putting his hand over his right ear and his other hand on the top of his head, starting in the last couple of days. He's not crying doing this, has no temp and there's no discharge from the ear. He is his normal self. I'm worried that it could be an ear infection and unsure what to do. Or is this just a developmentally normal thing as he learns to use his body? I'm a ftm so feel rather anxious about this. Thank you.

Could be teething.
The gums and nerve endings there are so close to the throat and ear nerves that it often interferes.

My da continually rubs his ear when he is teething. So did dd.

I didn't even consider teething. He's been chewing his fingers a lot which I've assumed is teething but didn't know that rubbing the ears would be part of it. Thanks for the reply :)

Chewing, dribbling, off feeding/eating.
Can present a slight temperature but not a fever. All signs of teething.
Can affect their bowels as well unfortunately. Either blocked up or explosive!

Lots of remedies, if you like the natural type stuff then 'Teetha' is a good brand. Homeopathic so no chemical/medicine stuff so no limits on use.
Or chewy stuff.

My ds (14 months now) goes nuts. Shoving metal cars in his mouth. Doesn't eat. Gets constipated. Cries and wants to be held. Can fit all 4 knuckles in his mouth!! Rubs which ever ear is on the teething side relentlessly.

Poor little buggers. Teething sucks!
((Dd however was quite quiet and chewed stuff and wanted lots of attention and cuddles but no screaming crying!)

Thank you MrsDeathOfRats. You've pretty much just described my ds, even the four knuckles. You've set my mind at ease.

Id get ears checked, when dd was six months old she did this for days and I was constantly giving bonjela etc for teething until one day her ear had ruptured in her sleep :( iit had been her ear all along, I still feel guilty about it. Pulling on ear is a classic sign of ear infection too.

Was it obvious her ear had ruptured? Was she crying etc? He's not really pulling it, just putting his hand over it.

Don't assume the worst.
But I would definitely get him checked.

I must look a bit embarrassed at my gp's when I take them in for what turns out to be nothing but my GP ALWAYS says to bring them if they are under 2, as you simply can't tell if ta nothing or if it's serious. And it's not a chance anyone wants to take. Even the GP.
So take him to be looked at for sure.

Both my LOs did this. It was a comfort thing.

He seems to have stopped it today so far but I'll keep an eye on him and ring the gp if he carries on doing it. thanks for the advice.

I didn't notice anything on her ear until it had actually ruptured.....I knew because when she got up in the morning there was gunk coming out of her ear were the ear drum had burst. There was loads of it :(

I honestly had no idea and it took weeks to heal. I'm sure if there's no discomfort it's probably teeth but having had further kids, my initial thought for pulling on ear will always be ear.

My baby does this, it was all part of him discovering his body....ooh I've got ears!! Same with hands, toes, etc etc!

Check for cradle cap.

It's not really pulling just touching the ear and putting his little hand over it. And at the same time his other little hand on his head. There seems to be no associated discomfort, he's never crying whilst doing it or anything. definitely not cradle cap, he's bald as a coot bless him so I can see his scalp and it looks completely healthy. I think maybe he is just discovering his little body as kt says. He barely did it today so I don't feel as concerned as I did.