Fluid In The Ear Does Not Impair Development

Early insertion of ear tubes in otherwise healthy infants and young children with persistent fluid in the middle ear does not improve developmental outcomes up to 9 to 11 years of age, according to results of an important study at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC led by otitis media researcher Jack Paradise, MD.
These findings [...]

Link Between Middle Ear Infection And Air Pollution

For the first time a systematic study which has just been published by epidemiologists of the GSF – Research Center for Environment and Health together with Dutch scientists finds associations between the onset of middle ear infections during the first two years of life and traffic-related air pollutants to which they are exposed.
In view of [...]

Antibiotic Ear Drops Favored For Ear Infections

A multicenter study on treating common ear infections in children with ear tubes adds to a growing body of evidence that favors antibiotic ear drops over antibiotics swallowed in pill or liquid form in such cases, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher reports.
The latest study, involving 80 children, showed that antibiotic ear drops performed better [...]

Viral Protein Is An Effective Preventative Against Ear Infection

For parents, 8 million cases of acute middle ear infections every year add up to a lot of sleepless nights and trips to the pediatrician. But new research from a collaboration between Rockefeller University and St. Jude Children’s Hospital could change all that.
In PLoS Pathogens, Rockefeller’s Vincent A. Fischetti and colleagues at St. Jude show [...]

Resistant Biofilm Bacteria, Chronic Middle Ear Infections And Antibiotics Linked

A groundbreaking study makes a definitive statement against the use of antibiotics to treat children with Chronic Otitis Media.
Direct evidence of bacterial biofilms has been found on the middle ear tissue of children who suffer from chronic ear infections, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by [...]

Research To Speed Up Cure For Ear Infections

Fast tracking the healing process for common ear infections will be the focus of ground-breaking research by WA’s Lions Ear and Hearing Institute (LEHI).
The research will aim to understand why some eardrums heal by themselves (and why some do not heal at all) by identifying which genes are responsible for the wound-healing process of an [...]

Most Ear Infections Host Both Bacteria And Viruses

Ear infections are among the most common diseases seen in pediatric practice. They have generally been considered bacterial diseases and are therefore usually treated with antibiotics. New research, published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and currently available online, provides evidence that viruses are found in a great many ear infection cases [...]

Earache should not be treated with antibiotics

Soon some expects will be telling doctors not to treat ear infections with antibiotics.
This goes against years of medical practice. 50% of antibiotic prescriptions for pre-school kids are for ear infections.
Officials say that reducing the number of antibiotics in these cases will stop the increase in antibiotic-resistant germs.
Dr. Richard Besser, of the meningitis and special [...]

Breast-Feeding Overcomes A Genetic Tendency Toward Ear Infections

Breast-feeding protects children otherwise made susceptible to ear infections by abnormalities in specific human genes, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered.
About 19 percent of children are prone to chronic and recurrent ear infections (known to physicians as “otitis media”). These infections can interfere with language development and lead to [...]

Pneumococcal vaccine reduces ear infections

The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which has been routinely given to young children since 2000, reduces the incidence of middle ear infection and pneumonia, a new study shows. “This highlights that the vaccine significantly decreases illnesses in children and reinforces its importance in our public health efforts,” said Dr. Kathy Poehling, assistant professor of Pediatrics at [...]