Pacifier Use May Increase Risk of
Ear Infections
September 5, 2000 MSNBC reports that, "Infants
who use pacifiers continuously after six months of age are at higher risk
of ear infections, according to researchers." These finding
come from the results of a study done on more than 400 Finnish children at
the University of Oulu. The researchers estimate that between
75 percent and 85 percent of children in Western countries habitually use
pacifiers.
One possible reason given by the researchers for the link
between pacifiers and ear infections was that the sucking on a pacifier
may upset the air pressure in the ear therefore blocking proper drainage. “It
is reasonable to assume that the effect may lie in an alteration in the
pressure equilibrium between the middle ear cavity and the nasopharynx,
which apparently impairs the functioning of the Eustachian tube,”
The Eustachian tube is the passage that connects the back
of the nose and the middle ear. It assists hearing and acts as a drain for
the middle ear by opening when needed to regulate air pressure. If the
Eustachian tube gets blocked it may prevent proper drainage and result in
infections. The only recommendations given to the parents in the
article by the researchers were to restrict pacifier use to the moments
when older babies are falling asleep.
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