Earache symptoms observable in youngest

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Doctors need to focus on observable earache symptoms in children who don't yet speak, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh note there are several observable symptoms of earaches -- including fussiness, ear tugging, eating less, fever, sleeping difficulty and playing less.

The researchers studied 69 parents of preverbal children to determine the information parents use to gauge ear pain severity. The participants were asked to comment on hypothetical cases in which various symptoms were present.

The study, published in The Journal of Pain, found doctors deciding whether to prescribe antibiotics for earache can be influenced as much by socioeconomic status and other non-clinical factors as symptoms when they rely on parental assessment of pain.

"Most notably, maternal education and insurance status, which indicate higher socioeconomic status, appear to influence pain assessments. Because pain ultimately is a subjective determination, it is likely to be influenced by biological, psychological and social factors," the study authors say in a statement. "In the study, observable behaviors accounted for only 50 percent of the pain levels."