Chronic Ear Infections

Ear infections are no fun for anyone. The child suffering from them is in pain and mommy gets no sleep taking care of them. Frustration sets in as round after round of antibiotics fail to get rid of the problem. Most think, “What is a parent left to do but have tubes put in their child’s ears?”.

To understand what is left to do we first need to understand the mechanism of ear infections in children. The reason children often “grow out of” chronic ear infections is because the problem is a structural problem. As an adult your eustachian tubes are positioned in a vertical manner that allows them to drain easily and their size allows for proper equalization of air pressure in the middle ear. A child’s head is not fully grown causing the eustachian tube to be smaller and positioned in a way that makes it harder for the ear to drain and the air to equalize in the middle ear. Therefore any upper respiratory infections or allergies that cause the eustachian tube to swell slightly can cause problems with air pressure in the ear. When the middle ear does not have the proper air supply a vacuum develops which allows fluid to be sucked into the middle ear. The fluid build up itself does not mean that the child has an ear infection, but the longer the fluid stays in the ear the more likely bacteria will grow and an infection will develop. The inflammation of the eustachian tube and fluid drainage can take several weeks to clear when left alone.

A safe alternative to deal with ear infections which has no harmful side effects is a chiropractic adjustment, which allows the ears to drain and the air pressure to equalize in the middle ear. As drainage of the ear is allowed and air pressure is normalized the ear will heal quickly. Chiropractic care also aids the immune system which naturally speeds the child’s healing. So stop the frustration of pain, sleepless nights, rounds of unsuccessful antibiotics and unneeded ear surgeries on children by calling today to schedule your child’s free ear exam.