Post-Traumatic Ear Infection Syndrome

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Post-Traumatic Ear Infection Syndrome

By Dorfman, M.S., L.N.D.

Eleven years ago a group of parents and professional discussed

concerns about the emergence of a regressive autistic like syndrome,

later named Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). All knew children

whose development regressed following frequent otitis media (inner ear

infections.) Could ear infections be causing PDD? Developmental Delay

Resources (DDR) was founded, in part, to answer this question and to

determine efficacious treatments.

The autism epidemic now claims an estimate one in 160 children.

Experts currently suspect vaccinations and the mercury-based

preservative thimerosal as major culprits. Ear infections, although

not causative, remain shadowy contributors. Both are part of the

“total load†in susceptible children.

A subgroup of children with attention problems or autistic spectrum

characteristics, have a condition I have named Post-Traumatic Ear

Infection Syndrome (PTEIS). These kids, apparently normal at birth,

develop subsequent auditory processing issues, distractibility and

developmental delays as a result of complications from sustained

damage to the inner ear from both otitis media and its treatment.

Why Ear Infections Are Such a Problem

Frequent ear infections are a sign of weak immune function

Most children on the autistic spectrum have underlying immune

problems. Either they are born with weak immunity, and are thus more

reactive to foods or they react to foods, thus weakening their immune

systems. Resultant ear infections are the symptom of a deeper

underlying problem.

A classic study one by Tala Nsouli, an allergist in the Washington,

D.C. area that about 90% of children with ear infections or fluid have

food allergies. When the offenders are eliminated, ear infections

subside. Kids with food allergies get sick more often because their

immune systems focus on reacting to foods, rather than on fighting germs.

The antibiotics used to treat ear infections may make children more

susceptible to mercury damage.

Preliminary studies by Dr. Boyd Haley, a world authority on mercury at

the University of Kentucky, found that ampicillin and tetracycline

increase thimerosal-induced neuronal death. In other words, less

mercury does more damage in the presence of these antibiotics.

Furthermore, all antibiotics kill good gut bacteria, essential to

resist mercury uptake.

Allergies, ear infections, thimerosal and antibiotics are a toxic

cocktail for the nervous system. A child eats an allergic food and

develops an ear infection. The doctor prescribes an antibiotic,

killing both good and bad bacteria, leaving the gut lining irritated,

and further stimulating an allergic response. Now the child is more

reactive to foods, and develops additional ear infections, thus

perpetuating an illness cycle.

Introduce into this disturbing spiral a thimerosal-containing vaccine

or one that acts on the gut lining, like measles. Who will be more

likely to sustain vaccine damage: the toddler with an already

irritated gut lining and reactive immune system, or a healthy child?

Dr. recently found that children with autism had ten times

more ear infections during their first three years than typical kids.

Almost 20 % also experienced a severe vaccine reaction. Another recent

study linked Augmentin (a broad based antibiotic) to the development

of autism.

Ear infections are associated with auditory processing problems.

Children are born with hearing but they must learn how to listen. Ear

infections that occur during critical developmental periods negatively

affect auditory processing. Youngsters whose ears are clogged up with

fluid cannot interact appropriately with their environments.

Between birth and three, children learn to distinguish sounds and

interpret them in context. They must filter out unimportant sounds

such as the air conditions, and focus on important ones, such as a

mother’s voice. Distracted an inattentive behavior is the result of

the inability to sort significant auditory input from the extraneous.

Studies have found that middle and high school students who are more

distracted than their peers experienced early ear infections.

What to Do about Ear Infections

Remove problematic foods. The four problem foods most associated with

ear infections are dairy products, wheat, soy and eggs. Before trying

an extreme elimination diet, consider taking foods made from cow’s

milk out of the diet first. This change alone is often sufficient to

reduce or stop infections.

Use good bacteria. Probiotics, available in the refrigerator section

of health food stores, balance the digestive tract and reduce allergic

tendencies. It may take some trial and error to find the right product

for your individual situation. Some are too strong and will increase

gas and irritability; others are not potent enough. If symptoms do not

alleviate in a few days, reduce the dose or change brands.

PTEIS is very common and mostly preventable. If you have a child who

has had three or more ear infections and you need more information,

check out Dr. Schmidt’s “Healing Childhood Ear Infectionsâ€. An

ounce of prevention is worth years of distraction.

This article was originally published in New Developments, Vol 9 (3).