Burst eardrum - would you know?

[Cicatrice]

Got a callfrom nursery yesterday that DS wasn't too well could not be comforted etc. So I left work to pick him up (3pm ish) he was pale and very droopy and extremely glad to seee me.) Went home and he slept on me for a couple of hours then bath and bed.

Much brighter this morning but had gunk in his ear so I took him to GP fully expecting to get the neurotic mum treatment. He has a burst ear drum - which the GP describes as excrutiatingly painful - shoudl I have known?

It is usually extremely painful before it pops, but the eardrum bursting releases all the gunk and relieves the pain, so it may have been worse in nursery? Some children have a high pain threshold and can have nasty ears and just be a bit cranky! His eardrum should heal nicely and not affect his hearing, but just observe this when all discharge over and abx worked.

Thank you. Feeling like a crap mum all the same.

But, yes he is a little Spartan. Don't know where he gets it from - not me.

In April my 10 yr old DS2 had a burst ear drum. He had mentioned slight pain in his ear in the evening then woke to gungy ear during the night.
His hearing was reduced for a few days after it cleared up.

This happened with my DS.

It was only the gunk which alerted me.

My DS is ridiculously stoical too.

Exact same thing happened to someone I know recently - nursery mentioned that ear was gunky but her DD hadn't complained about it; when her SIL saw the ear later she said 'take her to doctor' which they did next day and at that point they learned drum had burst. It might depend on how good at communicating your DS is - mine's not great at language still, but the little girl in question is quite good and still her mum didn't know. So I wouldn't beat yourself up about it.

DD3 had a burst eardrum when she was about 18 months. My (more sympathetic than yours!) GP said there is really no way for a parent to tell when a non-verbal child has an ear infection until it bursts and you see the gunk. DD3 had been miserable the night before; she had a cold and I put it down to that. She'd settled quite suddenly and, with hindsight, that was probably when the eardrum burst and the pain went.

Thanks. He is fine now. Especially with judicious applcation of Calpol and Nutella. But I really actually think that I should know when he is ill - even when I am not with him.