Where there is a definite link between glue ear, slow learning and bad behaviour (especially in kids) it’s usually not a clear cut one. Not all those who have glue ear are badly behaved or slow in learning and not all slow learners have glue ear—some are just bored witless with their studies and don’t absorb them for that reason. Bad behaviour is, of course, a grey area. What is considered bad behaviour by one person is not necessarily considered bad by another. And what is considered bad behaviour one clay is not necessarily considered bad the next, such are the vicissitudes of human perception. However there arc certain parameters by which most people would measure bad behaviour and it is in this context that bad behaviour will be described in this text. It must be remembered that tiredness due to overdoing it, dehydration, insufficient, rest and sleep can make kids so tired as to be very antisocial. Before looking for any other reasons for bad behaviour consider the possibility your child may simply be over-tired. A good way to determine this is to compare behaviour after a day at school to a day on the weekend when a drink and a rest were taken in the middle of the day.
Glue ear is becoming increasingly more common. So common that it has given rise to a slang name for novice surfers on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They are known as ‘grommets’, after the little plastic tubes so often inserted through the eardrums of sufferers to restore hearing. Dr George Shambough, Professor Emeritus of Otolaryngology at North Western University in the USA, claims the insertion of plastic ventilation tubes is the most frequent surgical procedure undertaken with anaesthesia today.
Glue ear results from a build-up of mucus and other fluid behind the eardrum. This warm, stagnant pool is a breeding ground for bugs and the ear infection otitis media often results. The effect of antibiotics on such infection is limited, with recurring infection being the big problem. As any parent knows the pain and tinnitus (constant ringing) of ear infections can contribute to irritability, headaches and fatigue from sleepless nights in both children and parents.
Whereas there’s no denying that plastic tubes ease the discomfort by balancing the air pressure on either side of the eardrum there is a better way: a change of diet. My treatment of glue ear has been overwhelmingly successful—dietary treatment addresses the cause of the problem rather than the effect.
Glue ear results from a build-up of mucus in the nose and throat clue to colds, ‘flu, allergies and Candida infections. Slowly the mucus drains from these areas clown the eustacian tube to the inside of the ear where it dams up against the eardrum, reducing the ability to hear. Most of this draining takes place during sleep where the combined effects of prolonged mouth breathing (which tends to dilate the oral opening of the eustacian tube) and the side lying position favour the drainage of mucus to the eardrum.
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