Some parents find that their babies are particularly fussy during this period of time and like to pull their ears with their hands. At first, parents think that something has entered their baby’s ears and take a flashlight to shine, but they do not find anything foreign, but the baby still likes to pull their ears, pulling the ears red and swollen, and even start to cry. Some parents take their babies to the hospital for examination. The doctor said that the baby’s ears are completely normal, but the gums are a little red and swollen because the baby’s teeth are starting to erupt. The baby’s tendency to pull his ears with his hands may be related to the swelling and pain of the gums when the baby’s teeth are erupting, which makes the baby feel uncomfortable, so he will pull his ears with his hands. Is teething also related to ear tugging? What is this? There are several possible reasons why babies love to pull their own ears: 1. Curiosity about the body During the development process, babies will slowly become curious about various parts of their bodies, for example, they will stare at their small hands when they find them. When they are awake, they often go to get their own little ears, especially when they are having fun, they will also go to pull their own little ears. Parents can not be too nervous about this phenomenon of little babies pulling their ears in a healthy state, as it is not a sign of discomfort. 2. Teething When babies are teething, as the milk teeth erupt, they will stimulate the gum nerves and surrounding tissues and feel uncomfortable with their gums, and a lot of saliva will flow out. If your baby’s ear pulling is caused by discomfort during teething at this time, there is no need to worry too much. You can give your baby some clean teething gel to relieve the discomfort of their gums during teething. 3. Eczema of the external ear canal Eczema of the external ear is an allergic superficial inflammatory reaction of the skin in the auricle, external ear canal and surrounding skin. Therefore, if you find that your baby has had eczema on his or her face or elsewhere and is shaking his or her head and pulling on his or her ears, you should take him or her to the hospital for an examination and apply anti-allergy medication locally under the guidance of a doctor. 4. Foreign objects in the ears Young children are very active by nature, so when they play, they sometimes insert some small objects into their ears, and sometimes when they play outdoors, small bugs can get into their ears. Therefore, if a foreign body enters the ear, parents should promptly send the baby to the ENT department of the hospital to deal with it, and do not pull it out on your own, so that the foreign body does not get more and more inside. 5. Earwax Normally, the ear canal of babies has a self-cleaning function, but some babies may scratch their own ears due to excessive secretions (cerumen). In this case it is usually not recommended that parents go and pull out their little one’s ears to avoid damaging the baby’s tender skin. If your baby has excessive ear discharge, you can use a soft cotton swab to clean the outside of the ear canal or rub the ear to help the cerumen drain. If you find that your baby has a lot of secretions or liquid secretions, or if the secretions have a foul smell, you need to take your baby to the doctor. 6. Ear infections Among the causes of ear pulling in children, parents should be most alert to ear infections, such as otitis media. For children, because the eustachian tube is wide, short and flat, the physiological stenosis has not yet formed, the tube is close to the horizontal position, and the nasopharyngeal opening of the eustachian tube is almost level with the bottom of the nose, when the upper whistle tract is infected, the bacteria in the nasopharynx are more likely to enter the middle ear along this pathway and cause otitis media, in addition, when the upper whistle tract is infected, the nasal mucosa and nasopharyngeal mucosa become swollen and congested, even causing the eustachian tube to narrow or In addition, when the upper whistle tract is infected, the nasal mucosa and nasopharyngeal mucosa become swollen, congested, or even cause narrowing or blockage of the eustachian tube, and inflammation invades the middle ear along the eustachian tube, which may also lead to otitis media. However, for small babies, they are unable to express “ear pain” clearly to their parents, so it is often easier for them to ignore it. If your baby is suffering from a stuffy nose, sore throat, crying at night, scratching the ears, rubbing the head against the pillow, unexplained fever, or a stuffy nose and snoring at night, you must be careful if your baby has otitis media.