Why do some young children get a lot of ear infections (a dozen or more per year), and some get none at all?

Answer 1

It has a lot to do with the shape of their inner ear. My daughter had 7 ear infections within 3 months. I took very good care of her and didn't understand where they were coming from. I didn't prop her up in bed with a bottle, I didn't let her lay down and drink (which can help fluid build up in the ear), etc. I took MANY precautions to prevent ear infections. I even took care to prevent water from getting into her ears during baths. Turned out the shape of her ear was different. Some babies ear canals are vertically shaped which prevents fluid from draining. That was the problem with my daughter. Most childrens ear canals are horizontal and most children's ear canals straighten out on their own. However, when they are prone to many ear infections (typically 5 or more per 12 month period) doctors consider putting tubes in the ear. It's simply an incision in the lining of the ear canal where a tube is placed to allow the fluid to flow freely out of the ear. The body eventually pushes the tubes out (between 6-18 months) and by this time, children usually have "grown out" of ear infections. That is a commonly used term b/c as they grow older, the canals straighten to horizontal.

Now, if children are in daycare or in unhealthy environments where they can catch germs from other children, etc, they are more prone to ear infections. Ear infections are not contagious, but colds are. Colds will cause fluid to build up and that can cause a breeding ground for bacteria to cause an ear infection.

It really depends on the individual child.

Answer 2

Some children are more prone to ear infections, for instance if they have a hole in their ear. Other causes are because the parents smoke around them, or perhaps the kids are enrolled in daycare and come in contact with a lot of colds which are also causes of ear infections. I have a 17 month old and a 6 month old and neither of them have ever had an ear infection.

Answer 3

I'm not too sure, but, by the time my son turned 1, he had at least 7 ear infections.... maybe more. He ended up getting tubes in his ears. They fall out between 8 - 12 months and now my son is 7 and his ears are perfectly fine.

Answer 4

Some kids are just more susceptible to them. In young children the tubes do not drain properly when they are laying down...this is one reason you are not supposed to give them a bottle or sippy cup when they are in bed (Also really bad for their teeth) My step-daughter until age 5 only had 5% hearing due to a defect in her tubes, but when she had tubes put in she could hear fine (It did affect her speech and at age 21 still has balance problems)

Answer 5

Because some babies are bottle fed instead of breastfed, and ear infections is a listed side effect of immunizations.

Answer 6

not a doctor but have raised kids, check for the cutting of new teeth. our kids all went through the infections while cutting teeth and they subsided after they were done cutting teeth.

Answer 7

you should wash the babies ears with Alcohol after bathing, use a q tip and just swab out the ear and you should do this with baby oil also.