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What is the Cause?

What causes ear infections in childhood?
Infection of the middle ear, or acute otitis media, is a common symptom in childhood. In fact, it is the most common cause of fever in the early years of life. This condition may be very painful, and after several recurring infections, may result in permanent damage. What can you do to help your child?

Review of Traditional Treatment
Research shows that upper respiratory infections including otitis media, may be caused by improper drainage of the deep neck lymphatics¹ along with improper nerve supply.² In these cases, a doctor looking in your child's ear will see a buildup of fluid behind the tympanic membrane (ear drum), with the inside of the ear appearing inflamed and the ear drum bulging.

A popular medical method of medical treatment of otitis media is prescription of oral antibiotics, usually amoxicillin. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association however, amoxicillin is not an effective treatment for otitis media.³ In fact, after administration of amoxicillin occurrence of fluid in the ear was two to six times greater. A second study revealed that the use of antibiotics in the prevention of recurrent acute otitis media (AOM) and in the treatment of otitis media with effusion or fluid (OME) was limited, however, requiring the treatment of nine children to show an improved outcome in one.⁴ In 1997, the British Medical Journal reviewed the use of antimicrobials for AOM and published, "We conclude that existing research offers no compelling evidence that children with AOM routinely given antimicrobials have a shorter duration of symptoms, fewer recurrences, or better long term outcomes than those who do not receive them. The authors went on to warn that, "Antimicrobial use in children with otitis media results in the emergence of resistant organisms in those children and in the community. Development and spread of multiple resistant pneumococci after treatment for otitis media have been documented in day care centers and surrounding communities, including instances that have led to deaths from meningitis in children treated previously for uncomplicated AOM."⁵

A Different Approach to Childhood Ear Infections
The most recent model suggests that reduced drainage or blockage in the drainage system of the cervical (neck) lymphatic chains causes a reduction in the lymphatic outflow from the eustachian tube. This allows fluid to build up in the middle ear, making it an inviting environment for bacteria and viruses. Improper drainage of this fluid is caused by a combination of events. Increased muscle tone or muscle spasms, coupled with a child's already small drainage system, appear to be the major factors. Instead of treatment that tries to kill the bacteria or virus, a more natural approach would be to restore normal drainage of the ears and neck lymphatics by storing homeostasis. This is the chiropractic approach.

The Chiropractic Approach
A retrospective study examining improvement from chiropractic care of children with otitis media concluded that 93% of all episodes improved, 75% in 10 days or fewer and 43% with only one or two spinal adjustments.⁶ Another study reported that with chiropractic adjustments it took 6.67 days to normalize the otoscopic examination in AOM and 8.57 days to normalize chronic/serious otitis media. The results indicated that there was a strong correlation between the chiropractic adjustment and the resolution of otitis media for children in the study.⁷ The chiropractic approach has gained support from several similar studies.^{8,9,10,11,12,}