Why ear tubes for children with chronic middle ear infections is one of the biggest scams pediatricians have perpetrated on their patients in recent decades.
Tonsillectomies used to take the prize as the most unnecessary surgical intervention children endured at the hands of the medical establishment.
For example, my husband had his tonsils removed in the 1970s to relieve ear issues as was commonly done at the time. Tonsils are an important lymphoid organ of the immune system! Why would you EVER do such a thing which could handicap a child’s immune system for life?
The easy money-maker of removing tonsils was quickly replaced with tympanostomies (ear tubes) when parents started to get educated about just how useless (and damaging) tonsillectomies actually were.
See how this works?
Scam the public with a procedure not backed by any scientific evidence for as long as you can, and when it isn’t working anymore, simply replace it with something else that is similarly useless but continues the gravy train in the doctor’s direction.
Am I cynical about modern medicine?
You bet I am, which is why after one single “well baby” visit with my first child, I never went back…ever.
I took my children to alternative, functionally minded physicians for all their healthcare needs from that point forward.
I was D-O-N-E with the medical propaganda very quickly as a new Mom in the late 1990s and never looked back once I made my escape from the medical matrix.
The Non-Science of Ear Tubes
Why do pediatricians and clueless ENT physicians push so hard for ear tubes?
It’s because they don’t have any other tools in the toolbox to treat chronic recurrent middle ear infections, that’s why!
Suggesting ear tubes is a sign that said physician doesn’t know anything about the very effective approach of using dietary modifications in conjunction with noninvasive, nontoxic alternative therapies.
Homeopathic remedies specifically for ear infections can be especially helpful in this regard.
Hint: Avoid doctors who work exclusively within the drugs or surgery bubble like the plague.
They are brainwashed robots, only able to (arrogantly) regurgitate the medical propaganda they were taught in medical school, and are clearly completely oblivious to the fact that their careers are nothing more than a tool to line Big Pharma pockets.
In other words, they don’t read both sides of the medical research to confirm whether or not what they were taught is actually true.
Most worrisomely, they don’t think for themselves.
RUN!
Tympanostomy Rarely Justified
Here’s the truth about ear tubes.
Controlled studies have shown that when both middle ears are infected, and a tube is inserted in only one of them, the outcome for BOTH ears is virtually identical. (1)
If that wasn’t enough to convince you that ear tubes are worthless, consider what the peer-reviewed International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology reports:
Between two and five children have to be treated with tympanostomy tubes to prevent one child from attacks of acute otitis media (AOM) in six months. (2)
So…..up to FIVE children need to have ear tubes inserted surgically for only ONE of these children to be prevented from having a single episode of otitis media over a six month period?
No thanks!
Long-Term Risks of Ear Tubes
Not only are ear tubes virtually worthless and nothing but an easy moneymaker for the physician, but there are serious long-term risks to the procedure!
The biggest risk is scarring and hardening of the eardrum, which is forcibly punctured during the procedure to facilitate drainage.
If this occurs, there can be permanent hearing loss.
This is more than a little ironic, given that ear tubes are justified as a way to “protect” hearing from chronic middle ear infections.
Is the epidemic of speech impediments today at least in part due to ear tube-happy pediatricians and ENT physicians?
I, for one, think this is highly likely.
Resolve Chronic Otitis Media Without Tubes
One of the best pieces of advice on how to deal with a middle ear infection is provided by Dr. Robert Mendelsohn MD.
He recommends waiting 48 hours before calling the doctor if your child has an ear infection. His reason for this is because:
there is no worthwhile immediate treatment your doctor can provide that you can’t provide yourself. (3)
During that 48-hour waiting period, relieve pain and pressure by doing the following.
Apply Heat
Warm heat applied to the affected ear will provide quick relief.
Use a heating pad or a reusable wheat bag (fabric filled and sealed with plain unground wheat kernels) to accomplish this.
I prefer wheat bags because heating pads introduce EMFs to the head area.
To use a wheat bag, place in the microwave with 1/2 cup of water for 1-2 minutes until medium-hot to the touch.
Ear Drops
A few drops of warm olive oil with garlic in the affected ear provide additional relief. They can be used alone or in conjunction with heat as described above.
Here’s how to make garlic ear oil drops yourself for maximum potency and effectiveness. You can make it quickly as needed too!
Avoid Aspirin, Tylenol and Ibuprofen
Pain relievers have long term health effects particularly for children where the blood-brain barrier is not yet developed.
For example, using acetaminophen raises a child’s risk of asthma by 40% even if used only once per year! If used once a month, the risk rises to 540%.
Resist the urge to reach for a bottle of over-the-counter pills!
Try Homeopathy
Homeopathy is particularly effective for acute conditions like an ear infection, in my experience.
If your child is prone to otitis media, it is best to have these 4 homeopathic remedies for ear infections on hand:
Make Dietary Changes
After the immediate crisis is past, consider making dietary changes to prevent future ear infections.
The most common culprit is pasteurized milk…both in the child and/or a breastfeeding mother. (4)
Simply eliminating this one processed food from the child’s diet can make for huge improvements in this regard!
Check here for sources of local dairy in your area as a healthy alternative for ear infection-inducing, processed versions from the store.
Transitioning the family to a traditional diet as followed by healthy ancestral cultures is sure to make further improvements with many children never experiencing another ear infection ever again!
(1, 3) How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor
(2) A systematic review of the effect of tympanostomy tubes in children with recurrent acute otitis media
(4) Traditional Remedies for Childhood Illnesses
This is a good article and it seems to cover all the bases. My son has never had any ear infections and he is now an adult. Maybe due to not being vaccinated? I don’t know. Being mostly vegetarian might have helped, too; animal foods are quite a bit higher in certain nutrients than non-animal foods, but they are also higher in the toxic load the body has to deal with. At some point, that waste may be discharged through the ears, skin and other places. I’m not here to debate diets; let everyone do as he or she sees fit, both for themselves and their children. One size does not fir all when it comes to eating.
One thing, though, when you are referring to numbers of unnecessary surgeries on children: infant circumcision has always been the winner in this category to the best of my knowledge. In recent years the rate of tonsil removal has fortunately gone down, but infant foreskin removal still wins the prize for #1. In some states the rate approaches 90%. Non-Hispanic White Americans have a circumcision rate of 91%, higher than non-Hispanic Black Americans (76%) and Mexican Americans (44%). Since there is a high population of Mexicans in certain areas of the US, the overall (national) rate appears to be going down but really, it has not done so. Thanks.
Thank you Sarah for this article, I completely agree I would not trust any doctor when it comes to ear infections. My 4th baby at 7 months had an ear infection,( I have not vaccinated any of my children and feed them a nourishing traditions diet.) his teeth came through 1 week later but he had a big size bump behind the ear and it presented like mastioditis, other than that he was well. I never went to the doctor but I thought for other peoples sake I better go and get it checked out. As soon as I saw the doctor I had no control over my baby, the doctor sent him straight to a children’s ear specialist where they pumped him full of IV antibiotics and anti inflammatories and did minor surgery and a put a grommet in his ear, I cried during the whole time. When they sent him home they said it was just a swollen lymph node ( not mastioditis what they treated him for)and I never heard from them again. My baby was constantly sick after this, up several times a night in discomfort from the grommet, then 6 months later his eyes run muck for weeks and then he had one more ear infection and then that bastard grommet finally came out. I let all his colds he had run there own course as I knew this was the body detoxing, cleaning itself and supported with nutrient dense foods, broths, raw yogurts, eggs, cod liver oil butter organic foods etc. Always listen to your inner self. Thank you Sarah Pope for the work you do, you are an amazing person! From Natalie
Vaccinations also result in middle ear infections, as shown in Masson’s 2017 study, comparing the vaccinated with the unvaccinated:
info.cmsri.org/the-driven-researcher-blog/vaccinated-vs.-unvaccinated-guess-who-is-sicker
I included the results of this study in my 2018 vaccine-related presentation. For those who want to learn more about the dangers, failures, and lack of need for vaccines, and about the corruption that underlies them from manufacture to mandate, and beyond, here is a link for you:
“Why Is This Legal?”
ageofautism.com/2018/11/why-is-this-legal-presentation-on-vaccines-by-laura-hayes.html
Thank you for your work, Sarah…you are such an excellent resource for non-harmful healthcare!
Yes, the childhood CDC injection schedule is a major culprit as well! Uninjected children rarely get ear infections at all. I had ONE ear infection in THREE children (all are adults now).
I certainly never would have consented to ear tubes if they had had issues with them. I would have walked out of the office immediately (as I did on many other occasions with other types of practitioners! LOL)
I’m sorry but I have to disagree with the ear tube issue. There may be a way to treat ear infections better that I had no way of knowing about when my boys were little. But they started having ear infections while totally breast fed and quit once they got tubes in their ears at 2 1/2. I am also a nurse and do preadmission testing in a women and children’s hospital. I also have learned to distrust modern medicine to a degree. But I have seen a lot of good come from ear tubes. You can teach ways to prevent or cure ear infections and if they work then they won’t need ear tubes but they can make a huge difference in those who do get persistent ear infections. Both of my boys also immediately started talking a blue streak after getting ear tubes. When they put in the tubes they also remove the built up congealed goop behind the ear drum that is hindering their ability to hear well.
I disagree wholeheartedly. My boys simultaneously had ear infections 6 months in a row at ages 5 & 3. I refused ear tubes because of my own experience with tubes causing hearing loss accompanied with horrible LIFE-LONG tinnitus! I simply took them off ALL dairy products for a few months & my chiropractor treated them for about a month. They are 19 & 17 and never had an ear infection again. The reason the drainage problem exists is because when your neck is out of alignment, it can’t drain properly. We had monthly chiropractic treatments for maintenance. Problem solved!