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Symptoms of an Ear Infection

Ear infection symptoms usually involve discomfort inside the ear or ear canal or on the skin of the ear. Someone with an ear infection may also have a fever or feel dizzy.

Symptoms of an ear infection include:

  • Ear pain.
  • Swelling, heat, or tenderness around or behind the ear.
  • Redness of the ear, ear canal, or skin around or behind the ear.
  • Itching and a feeling of fullness in the ear.
  • Drainage from the ear that does not look like earwax. The drainage may have bad smell.
  • Fever.
  • Severe dizziness (vertigo).
  • New hearing loss.

Last Revised: January 13, 2011

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: Susan C. Kim, MD - Pediatrics & Charles M. Myer, III, MD - Otolaryngology

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