An ear infection develops when there the blocked up fluid in the middle ear becomes inflamed and infected. Stagnation of the fluid occurs when there is inadequate drainage of the ear canal. The common explanation for ear infections in kids is usually something like this: Kid’s Eustachian tubes are more horizontal than adults, thus more vulnerable to blockages and more likely to clog. This, on surface, may seem reasonable, but when you study the physiology, it becomes weak and inadequate. Gravity is not a major contributor to ear drainage, which means the orientation of the canal is practically irrelevant. There are actually tiny muscles in your ear canal that push the fluid through. These muscles listen to the main computer system in the body, the nerve system, to know when to contract. The second most contributing factor is something most people don’t think about: your spine. The bones in the very top of your neck are vital in promoting proper ear drainage. If they are not aligned properly, they cannot move properly, thus the ear cannot drain properly.
The common medical treatment for the ear infection (otitis media, OM), according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, should be to observe the patient over a few days without prescribing antibiotics. If the infection gets worse or persists, the next step, antibiotics, is then recommended. A recent survey, however, found that very few medical doctors actually stick to this guideline, with 76% of every OM patient receiving a prescription for antibiotics. While drugs can help people escape life threatening conditions, OM is hardly that. If we refer back to the origin of the infection, bacteria are only allowed to proliferate if there is a lack of drainage. While antibiotics will kill the bacteria (if it is a bacterial, and not viral infection), it won’t fix the reason why the bacteria show up in the first place, right? I assume you are thinking now, “I want to fix the drainage problem, because that will take care of the ear infection once and for all.” Some of you might now be thinking about the “tubes” surgery your EENT might want to perform. While this will promote drainage, it still only temporarily covers up the problem. If our ears were supposed to drain through our ear drum, wouldn’t you think we would have been created with holes in the membrane? When those expensive tubes are surgically inserted in the membrane, all that infected, bacteria ridden, stagnant fluid gets directed down the throat to our tonsils, adenoids, and eventually our lungs. While the ear infection may go away (for about 6 months), multiple bouts of strep throat and swollen tonsils usually ensues. After multiple infections to the tonsils, common practice is to remove them. Now that the body has a limited immune response to things entering the body from the throat, chronic bronchitis, asthma, allergies, and bouts of pneumonia ensue. We have now stepped off of what I call a slippery slope of medical dependence. Inhalers are prescribed. Anti-allergy medications are “needed” (and advertised every third commercial). Multiple rounds of antibiotics, pain relievers, and fever reducers become mainstay, but they are just all covering up the cause.
What we want to do is simply restore nerve communication to the muscles of the ear canal and movement in the upper neck. This will allow the ear to naturally drain, thus preventing infection. Yup, no drugs, no surgery. No side effects. No slippery slope. You might be surprised to find out that a pediatric chiropractor may be your answer. You may have never heard of us, but every day in our office we help kids of all ages overcome, once and for all, those nasty ear infections because we adjust the cause of the dysfunction. Through affordable, safe, gentle, and effective chiropractic care, your child’s drainage system will be reset and restored to proper function. As a bonus, because tubes will be avoided, the tonsils won’t get infected as much. When the tonsils are kept intact, they help prevent harmful agents from reaching the lungs and potentially reducing the onset of pediatric asthma and allergies. So if you are looking for a natural option to get rid of ear infections for good, pediatric chiropractic may be your answer.