Smelly ear in baby...worried

[friendly]

My ds 8 months has had a smelly left ear for as long as I can remember. He's never had any discharge from it just a wet dog, smelly sock smell! All the time. I have mentioned it to various gp's I've seen and they've checked his ears and said they were a bit pink. Basically none of them have been that interested. I don't want to take him back and be fobbed off once again. I wondered if anyone else has experience of this. He does tug his ear and also shakes his head especially when he's tired. Thank you.

Are you thoroughly drying behind his ears? I seem to remember DD having a whiffy ear and I traced the source to a neglected patch of undried skin. Wasn't sore or anything...just smelt of damp.

DS also has smelly ears, but it's just wax. He also tugs his ear and shakes his head when tired, but he's doing it because he is tired not cos he's in pain.

He has had his ears looked at a couple of times for various reasons, and nothing has ever been wrong with them.

And if you've been to the docs I assume they've looked inside to check for errant peas etc? (Although I would think he'd be more bothered by it if that were the case).

Thanks both of you.
Spawnchorus I do dry him really thoroughly and lie him on his side and jiggle to try and get any water out of his ears. I do try really hard not to get them wet but he loves his bath. It's definitely in his ear and only the one.

Coleyboy that's interesting. DS doesn't seem in pain either. He doesn't have particularly waxy ears and it is only smelly in one. Really pongy - people comment on it if they get too close. Poor little love!

I go through phases of thinking I must take him back to the gp but then think what's the point. I feel something can't be quite right down there.

Lol at peas although you never know. Big brother a bit of a monkey. They have been looked at and always told they look a little red thats all.

I don't have an answer, but I know what you mean about going to the GP. Maybe seeing a homeopath, if that's you thing?

Not sure if this is helpful, but both of mine have always tugged at ears when tired - think that sympton at least is pretty normal - know lots of friends whose dcs do it too.

Neither of my dcs have ever had smelly ears when they've had ear infections - and they've had quite a few - the GP would have spotted that anyway wouldn't he? My DD1 once had a very smelly nose - sort of a cheesy/parmesan smell - it turned out that she had poked a bit of plastic up there and it had become infected - but again, wouldn't they have spotted something like that?

With regards to the tugging - we get that a lot too and it seems unrelated to ear problems.