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.
Babies are particularly susceptible to ear infections because they have short (about 1/2 inch), horizontal eustachian tubes. As children grow to adulthood, their tubes triple in length and become more vertical, so fluid can drain more easily.