Blood from the Ears

Blood coming out of our children’s ears is always quite a shocking sight. The most common reason for blood in the ears is due to a kiddo scratching the ear canal. If this is due to their finger, the scratch is usually pretty close to the exit point of the canal and will heal well on its own. If the kiddo scratched their ear canal with an object, though, we should probably check this out in the office to make sure they did not poke the eardrum as well.  

Different types of ear infections can also cause bleeding from the ear. Infection of the canal due to otitis externa is often due to swimming or keeping the ear wet for long periods. We often call this entity swimmer’s ear because of the usual culprit for this painful infection. The pediatrician should prescribe ear drops to take care of the combo fungal and bacterial infections that can cause this ear pain and discharge. Sometimes ear infections take place behind the eardrum (the classic ear infection after cold-like illnesses). This type of ear infection is called otitis media. Sometimes there is so much bacterial fluid that builds up that it will actually cause a hole in the eardrum to form to release some of the built-up pressure. This usually happens when a kiddo has a bad ear infection, and they go up in an airplane, or they try to “pop” their ears, or they cough and sneeze at the same time. It will be painful before and when it happens, but afterward, the kiddos usually say their ears feel so much better because all that built-up pressure is gone. Their ears will look super weird with a mixture of blood and snotty-looking stuff coming out. If this happens, the pediatrician should take a look and most likely offer antibiotics to help clear the infection quickly so the eardrum can heal up nicely, which it almost always does beautifully within a couple of weeks. Until it is healed, we ask families to try to keep the ear canal dry and out of possible not-as-clean water situations like swimming in oceans, rivers, and lakes.  

Another culprit that can cause bleeding from the ears is if you have kids that like to stick random things in random places like their noses and ears. If you start smelling weird smells from a kiddo’s ear and maybe even see some bloody discharge from the ear, there may be a Lego or an arts-and-crafts piece stuck in the ear. The pediatrician will take a look and see if there is anything to be removed, whether by grabbing it with specialized tweezer-like instruments or using water irrigation to move that object out of the ear.

Trauma to the ear can also cause bleeding from the ear. If a child has fallen or been struck in the head with an object like a basketball or soccer ball, and then there is bleeding from the ear, they should be seen by the pediatrician to investigate where the source of bleeding is coming from and if there is a traumatic injury to the eardrum or bones of the ear.