Ear infections are incredibly common in kids from infancy to grade school. Ear infections in baby are the most common reasons parents bring their child to the doctor. I want to share my experience and that of my daughter to provide additional information to this common issue.
How Common Is It?
A whopping 83% of children will have at least one ear infection by their third birthday. As a result, kids are receiving multiple rounds of antibiotics in their early life for these infections though they will not help infections caused by bacteria. Many pediatricians and urgent care doctors are now saying to not jump to antibiotics immediately and see if the infections clears on its own, which it can 80% of the time. This is possible, especially if you can introduce other interventions like homeopathy.
For those who have reoccurring infections (multiple in a year), doctors place tubes in their ear. I was one of them. Tubes can improve the situation in the short term. The challenge is that the tubes don’t prevent ear infections from occurring and, in some cases, such as mine, when the tubes come out, they cause a hole in the ear drum. In fact, I had to have surgery, known as tympanoplasty, to repair the hole when I was in my early 30’s. It was a surgery that required them to saw, yes saw my ear off the top to get to the ear drum since my ear canal was too small. Don’t get me wrong, the surgeon did a brilliant job (according to himself) and while recovery from surgery is always harder than they tell you, the perforation was fixed and my ear was put back together.
Our Experience
My older daughter has had two ear infections in her 8 years. Both times, she was taking antibiotics, which I wish could’ve been avoided as her gut microbiome is still in a tenuous place. However, when we see them in pain and fear the worst case scenario, we jump to the only solution we know and are given. Ear infections in baby can be painful.
Over the years, her pediatrician and allergist have observed large tonsils. When she gets congested, she is unable to remove the mucus so she sucks it into her ears. This impairs her hearing, which is frustrating though not a threat for permanent hearing loss according to the ENT. It happens periodically and the ears would pop open spontaneously.
Last year, we saw an ENT (she was seven) after the last round of congested ears and he confirmed the large tonsils and shared his suspicion of enlarged adenoids. He suggested removing both in a month if the situation hadn’t improved on its own. When it was time for the appointment, there was a slight improvement but not enough to avoid surgery. While we wanted to avoid surgery, we also wanted to not neglect her quality of life significantly. So, we went home with the intention of scheduling it.
An Unconventional Approach
The next day, she had previously scheduled appointments with our chiropractor and acupuncturist. Immediately after these appointments, her hearing was restored fully. “Why is everything so loud, mom?” She asked. So, we decided to hold off on surgery. The ENT had said the adenoids melt away in the early teens so maybe we could make it until then since most kids are younger when they have these surgeries.
My daughter’s large tonsils could also prevent pathogens from entering the body and causing infections. Meaning, they could be a gift as well. Her pediatrician recently confirmed that if she wasn’t mouth breathing and having many infections a year, we could avoid surgery. We should continue what we had been doing, including massaging below her ear to release fluid.
As we talk to other parents, who had the surgery, some reported no regrets and some reported that it didn’t resolve the problem. The ear infections in baby and toddler returned, the scar tissue and recovery were significant and you risk what I faced with a perforated ear drum, which affects about 11% of people. Behavior changes like acting out, nightmares, change in sleep patterns, and bed wetting were also reported after ear surgery.
The Long term Plan
We will continue having her receive chiropractic care, acupuncture, and craniosacral support to support the anatomy and draining of her ear. We also work with a licensed homeopath to help reduce the size of her adenoids and hence help with the congestion and ear blockages. To the degree we can avoid surgery, we will, as long as it is not harmful to her. Instead, we will try to get to the cause of the enlargement.
If your baby has an ear infection and you want to avoid antibiotics and surgery, consider exploring modalities such as craniosacral therapy, homeopathy, acupuncture, and chiropractic, which can help get to the root of the problem and not just the symptoms. If not, surgery is always available.
Please consult a doctor and other professionals when making your decision on what is best for your family and if you suspect an ear infection in baby, which can look like tugging at the ear or unexplained crying, for example, especially when laying down.
