Melissa V Kirsch posted "the psychologist told her that they are seeing
a lot of kids, like hers,  who had numerous ear infections,  who later
have trouble with phonics and they think there is a connection.  Her son
was only breastfed for about 8
weeks, but was *not* in daycare (cared for by an au pair).  Ear
infections didn't start until he was weaned.

Lactnuts who are interested in this might want to look at Luotonen M et
al. "Recurrent otitis media during infancy and linguistic skills at the
age of nine years" Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1996;15:854-8.

The authors found that children with more than 4 otitis (AOM) episodes
before the age of 3 years performed less well in reading comprehension
than children with fewer episodes.  Early AOM was associated with
impaired reading comprehension test scores.

Other studies had found that AOM and ROM impacted speech comprehension
and vocabulary at age 3 years, and that otitis-prone children seem to
need more speech therapy and remedial teaching than other children.

See also:
Teele DW et al "Otitis media in infance and intellectual ability, school
achievement, speech and language at age 7 years.  J Infect Dis 1990;
162:685-94.

Brandes PJ Ehinger DM.  The effects of early middle ear pathology on
auditory perception and academic achievement.  J Speech Hear Dis
1981;46:301-7.

Schilder AGM et al.  Long-term effects of otitis media with effusion on
language, reading and spelling.  Clin Otolaryngol 1993;18:234-41.

If you're working on info for World Breastfeeding Week, and examining
long-term costs of not breastfeeding, here is a great issue to focus on
-- AOM is the number one reason for a pediatric sick office visit in the
U.S..

Best Wishes!
Doraine Bailey
ILCA WBW Coordinator


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