Ear Infections in Children and Chiropractic

Ear problems can be very painful, especially in young children. With 10 million new cases every year, ear infections (otitis media) are the most common illness affecting babies and young children and the number one reason for visits to the pediatrician—accounting for more than 35 percent of all pediatric visits.

The symptoms of an ear infection can include ear pain, fever, and irritability. It can be either bacterial or viral in origin, and a lot of the time it comes about from another illness such as a cold. For many children it is chronic, which means that it requires treatment year after year.  This can put the child at risk of permanent hearing damage and associated speech and developmental problems.

Standard treatment for most ear infections is with antibiotics, which can be effective if  it is caused by bacteria as antibiotics do nothing to fight off viruses. But antibiotics are often not much more effective than the body's own immune system. And repeated use of antibiotics can lead to drug-resistant bacteria.

Frequent ear infections are also the second most common reason for surgery in children under 2 (with circumcision being the first). In severe cases, specialists sometimes prescribe myringotomy and tympanostomy, more commonly known as "ear tubes." During the surgical procedure, a small opening is made in the eardrum to place a tube inside. The tube relieves pressure in the ear and prevents repeated fluid buildup with the continuous venting of fresh air. In most cases, the membrane pushes the tube out after a couple of months and the hole in the eardrum closes. Although the treatment is effective, it has to be repeated in some 20 to 30 percent of cases. 

Before yet another round of "maybe-they'll-work-and-maybe-they-won't" antibiotics or the drastic step of surgery, more parents are considering chiropractic to help children with chronic ear infections. Research shows that after receiving a series of chiropractic adjustments, nearly 80 percent of the children treated were free of ear infections for at least the six-month period following their initial visits (a period that also included maintenance treatments every four to six weeks).

"Chiropractic mobilizes drainage of the ear in children, and if they can continue to drain without a buildup of fluid and subsequent infection, they build up their own antibodies and recover more quickly," explains Dr. Fallon.

"focusing particularly on the occiput, or back of the skull, and atlas, or the first vertebra in the neck... will get the middle ear to drain." 

Dr. Fallon also states, 

"Once they fight it themselves, my kids tend to do very well and stay away from ear infections completely. Unless there are environmental factors like smoking in the house, an abnormally shaped Eustachian tube, or something like that, they do very well,"

Chiropractic treatment for ear infections is safe and effective.  Parents should definitely try it before inserting tubes in the children's ears.  Doctors of chiropractic are licensed and trained to diagnose and treat patients of all ages and will use a gentler type of treatment for children.


- information provided by American Chiropractic Association