DD pulling at her ears...is this a problem or not?

[Karmamother]

My DD is 21 weeks & has recently started pulling at her ears. It's mainly when she's tired & it's usually accompanied by lots of eye rubbing.

Does this necessarily mean she has pain in her ears or could it just be a sign of tiredness? She's is well in all other respects. May be teething, though.

DS used to do it about that age when he was tired.

is always teething or tiredness with DD - pulling at her ears is a dead giveaway for both.

From what I've heard, if they do have an ear infection, you should know about it!

Thanks ladies. Didn't really want to haul her off to the GPs for somethong as flimsy as "pulling her ears".

Oh, BTW, when they're teething, what do you think makes them pull at their ears?

I think it's just that they feel the pain in their jaws and it passes along to near their ears, and ears are easier to grab at

Doh! Makes sense when you explain it like that. Actually, while I'm on, why do they get a rash then? My friend's DS has what her HV has called a teething rash all over his torso.

the rash thing I'm not sure on, because many doctors/medics swear blind that teething doesn't cause high temps/rashes/diarrohea, whereas many people are sure that it does cause these and other problems!

Mine you, when DS had an ear infection we didn't know about it until his eardrum burst (which is very gunky but otherwise not as bad as it sounds, and is actually more comfortable for them as it relieves the pressure). With the benefit of hindsight he'd been very slightly off his food and very slightly more grouchy for a week or so beforehand, but it was a very subtle difference. From talking to other mothers I think some children are more prone to "symptomless" ear infections than others who leave you in no doubt.

This sounds very much like tiredness or teething, though, so I don't think you have any cause for concern.

My DS also pulled and tugged on his ears - his paedie said that at that age they have just discovered these "things" attached to the side of their heads and it's all just novel entertainment - I wouldn't panic unless there are more obvious symptoms of other stuff.

Thanks for your messages. I think teething is causing it. Await teeth with baited breath.