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.
An ear infection can be caused by bacteria or a virus. It happens when fluid builds up in the area behind your baby's eardrum and then becomes infected. Normally any fluid that enters this area leaves pretty quickly through the eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and throat.