i have often wondered about the rate of ear infections that occurred in earlier times, i.e., when breastfeeding was the norm (and before antibiotics). so perhaps if breastfeeding for a year reduces the incidence of later infections,that explains a lower rate. i think of this because i have an aunt, about eighty, who had mastoid surgery in childhood (surgery to remove part of the mastoid bone behind the ear because of infection), and of course has always been deaf in that ear. however, i do know she was breastfed as a baby, but probably only for a year. another female relative the same age as my grandmother told me that they "all" weaned their babies at age one unless it was summer (they kept bf in order to protect the babies against "summer complaint," contaminated water diseases). this is one of those semi-coherent posts, but i am wondering why there aren't deaf people everywhere, if ear infections were as common eighty years or more ago as they are now. carol b.