Earache is a very common cause of crying in infancy and childhood. Screaming from earache may be distinguished from that due to pain in the bowels, another fruitful source of crying, by the former being more continuous, and by the child frequently carrying his hand to his head; again, in earache the passages from the bowels are natural, while in bowelache they are usually altered in character and offensive.

Douche the ear gently with hot boiled water or normal saline solution and put into the ear, for a short distance, a small piece of absorbent cotton saturated with a four per cent, solution of cocaine. At the same time dry or moist heat may be applied to the external ear.