Ear Infections are Not Caused by a "Short, flat Eustachian tube"

But let's start with the end result of that fairy tale. Kids who have had even one course of antibiotics are at increased risk of allergies, obesity, diabetes and asthma. Worse, the antibiotic administered damages the immune system immediately and the child is now 4-6 times more likely to have ANOTHER ear infection. That starts the merry go round of trips to the pediatrician.

It's difficult when your child is crying because their ear hurts. You need to do something. Nobody sleeps and everyone's cranky. These are difficult parenting days.

What do you do? First, recognize that the ear infection pain is due to pressure and fluid within the former airspace in the middle ear. It can be pus or simply clear fluid. But, the loss of the air retracts the ear drum and that's what hurts. After many rounds of the antibiotic merry go round, a pediatrician would simply recommend the surgical procedure to cut a hole in the ear drum. It immediately relieves the pressure, but that doesn't correct the cause of the problem. Worse, the child who has had multiple courses of antibiotics is almost certainly going to be having one or more of these problems in the coming years: allergies, asthma, sinus problems, stomach problems, diabetes, obesity, depression or anxiety. This is a direct result of the medical management of ear infections. It's not bad luck. It's not your child's genes. It's your pediatrician's limited training by the pharmaceutical industry which pushes the child into more disease than health.

In the process, the industry has developed a script they teach new parents. "Your child's eustacian tube is short and flat. It doesn't angle down like an adults, and THAT's why their ear is infected. There's nothing to do but use antibiotics until your child grows larger." They aren't suggesting your child has a birth defect. They are suggesting that the normal anatomy is wrong and inadequate. That's quite an accusation I think of creation and the Creator. But, parents have no other resources and are left to just accept that explanation.

It seems unlikely that all the people on earth have this short and flat tube when their babies and THAT is an incorrect design. There's no research to support such an explanation. But, it prevents parents from seeking out the actual cause and just going along with the prescription pad. And why not, it's all covered by insurance too! That gives it even MORE credibility.

You don't have to imagine there's a conspiracy, but just ask the adults you know with allergies, asthma, diabetes etc... whether they were treated for ear infections as a child. It's been going on since the 1970s.

OK. What's really going on?

The real problem and the actual CAUSE of the ear infection is one or multiple of these:

1. Congestion in and around the lymphatic system in the area of the ear due to spinal subluxation in the neck. That increases muscle tension and prevents lymph drainage and the oropharynx area doesn't fend off pathogens very well because of it. So, sore throats and ear infections in the child are common.

2. The microbiome was already bad because mom had antibiotics prior to delivery or the baby was c-section.

Pediatricians are not trained to identify or solve these problems. They know how to manage the symptoms but that's just inadequate. Here's what to do:

Step one is make sure the child is not in pain. People think chiropractic means anti drug. I'm a chiropractor and I'm telling you it's not OK to let your child suffer in pain when there are drugs that control pain. Very simple over the counter measures that manage the pain. They don't solve the problem either, but they don't cause damage to the immune system long term like antibiotics do.

A word on fevers: Understand however that the antipyretic (lowering fever) aspect of OTC pain relievers DO hamper the immune system. OTC analgesics relieve the pain but it allows the infection to grow because it interferes with the immune system. So, if you are using a thermometer to determine whether to administer tylenol or Ibuprofen, understand, the current research shows it makes no difference in preventing febrile seizures at all. In other words, monitoring the temperature and medicating your child for a fever does nothing useful and again, it hampers the immune response. So, your child will be sick longer and maybe even get worse because of it. Throw the thermometer away. Keep your child out of pain, but you don't care about the temperature. If it's high it means the immune system is working on it. Don't interfere.

Step two is identify the cause. That's a nervous system check up to make sure the nerves in the neck are not firing too much causing tension in the upper neck and jaw area preventing the middle ear from draining like it's designed to. (Yes, the tube is flat, the tube is short.... I've heard all that and don't buy in. That's pharm-speak for 'there's nothing you can do Ms. Olson, your baby just wasn't designed right. We've got these medications right over here though.....') So, yes... it's essential that any child going to the doctor for an ear infection be assessed for the cause of the ear infection in a chiropractic office.

Next, evaluate the microbiome and nutritional situation.

Factors to consider:

Mom's exposure to antibiotics and thus, her microbiome, whether vaginal or C-section delivery. If there's any history, you've got microbiome problems too.

Baby exposure to antibiotics. Kills of the immune system.

C-section delivery. The baby skips inoculation passing through the birth canal. And microbiome is messed up from day 1.

bottle feeding. No microbiome exposure from mom's skin and no antibodies from breast milk.

Dairy in diet. For older kids, dairy makes the mucus more "sticky".

If any of these are true, the microbiome needs to be restored ASAP. That means probiotic supplementation. Likely for a year or two.

Please forward this to families struggling. They need your help.

Dr. Barrett

Vibrant Life Center

651-777-3611