The Air Force Safety Center is a Field Operating Agency with headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
The Finnish researchers are unsure why the use of a pacifier might lead to an ear infection, but theorized it may have something to do with the change in pressure equilibrium inside the ear caused by the sucking.
The study found that those children who cut back on the use of pacifiers had 33 percent fewer cases of ear infections than those children who didnât. The researchers donât advise banning pacifiers altogether, but say parents should limit pacifier use once the child is past the age of 6 months.