1 Out of 5 Kids With Viral URI Develop Ear Infections

According to a new study published this month, more than 20 percent of young children with colds or other respiratory viral infections will develop middle ear infections of varying severity-including some mild infections.

This finding is not really that surprising. Even adults have ear symptoms with a viral URI including ear fullness and difficulty popping the ear. Though adults do what they can to keep the ears clear by valsalva, swallowing, chewing gum, yawning, or proactive ear popping, kids may not even know what to do when their ear feels full or otherwise abnormal let alone blow their nose.

When the ears are not ventilating properly whether in adults or kids, it leads to ear problems including fluid buildup and even infections.

Why does this occur?

With a viral URI, the mucosal lining of the nose gets swollen leading to symptoms of runny nose, nasal congestion, and even nasal obstruction. However, this mucosal swelling does not just occur in the nose, but the eustachian tube as well which connects the back of the nose to the middle ear space. When the ear "pops", what one is doing is opening up the eustachian tube to allow pressure and fluid to drain from the ear into the back of the nose. That's why yawning, swallowing, or nose-blowing causes an ear pop normally.

When the eustachian tube mucosal lining swells up, it utterly blocks the tube preventing ear popping leading to symptoms of persistent ear pressure, clogging, fullness, fluid buildup and eventually even ear infections.

Read more about eustachian tube dysfunction here.

Reference:
Clinical Spectrum of Acute Otitis Media Complicating Upper Respiratory Tract Viral Infection. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal: February 2011 - Volume 30 - Issue 2 - pp 95-99 doi: 10.1097/INF.0b013e3181f253d5

Does the EARDOC Work?

So I've seen a whole lot of hub-bub regarding a medical device called EARDOC.

The way EARDOC is explained to work is through vibrations conducted via the mastoid bone into the middle ear and eustachian tube by placing the device behind the ear and activating it.



The main question on my mind is whether it actually works... And on that point, it's less clear. There certainly is a lot of patient testimonials as well as marketing spots in support of its effectiveness. However, it would be nice to see independent testimonials as well as promotions NOT by professional bloggers. I find the negative reviews on Amazon.com to be most enlightening.

AND while it may work, it would be nice to have actual research done on this device to prove it.

According to their website, "The Eardoc was tested in the Top Medical University in Europe. The Eardoc test was performed with a Tympanometer on 40 Patients over 6 weeks, it shows with no doubt that the EARDOC opens the Eustachian tube and relieves the pain."

So where is the paper showing this? I did a pubmed search and nothing came up.

If it is a "Top Medical University in Europe", what is the name of it? If this product is so great, why is the university itself not promoting it and associating its name to a medical device that works so amazingly well on a problem that is so common?

I can say for one thing... they have a pretty aggressive marketing campaign going on via twitter and facebook.

In any case, what I CAN say is that it probably can't hurt to try it out (beyond losing $55 and extending your ear infection/pain which may get worse while waiting for it to work). For those curious, it is sold on Amazon as well as directly from the company.

Without further independent research evidence by a reputable institution (research that is published and listed in PubMed), it is not possible to say whether it truly works beyond placebo or if it is just a gimmick.

NYT: Zinc Does NOT Help Fight Off Ear Infections

The New York Times on March 12, 2010 published a story discussing whether zinc can help fight ear infections. The story titled "The Claim: Zinc Can Help Fight Off Ear Infections" states in the end that the mineral zinc does not. A research study on the subject revealed its lack of efficacy.

Read the NYT story here.