Chronic ear infections can sometimes lead to permanent hearing loss. Many treatments of generations past are what have resulted in today’s seniors with scarring and hearing impairments from childhood ailments and resulting remedies. Until recently, doctors aggressively treated ear infections with antibiotics, hoping to lessen the impact of repeat infections or resulting hearing loss. But no longer.

Today, doctors are cautious about giving antibiotics. Often, a doctor will try and first determine whether an infection is viral or bacterial before deciding a course of treatment, as antibiotics are ineffective against most viral infections. But, according to a recent study, bacterial infections should only be cautiously treated with antibiotics as wellóat least in children. A study involving 168 children with ear infections randomly provided patients with either antibiotics or a placebo as treatment. Three years later, researchers asked parents how many more ear infections the children had suffered. If children had taken antibiotics, there was 63 percent chance they’d had at least one subsequent infection vs. 43 percent of children who had been given a placebo.

Why? Researchers theorize that antibiotics might kill off some of the weaker bacteria that cause the infection, leaving more space for tougher and antibiotic-resistant bacteria to grow. Another possibility is that killing bacteria means less work for a childís immune system, leading to a weaker protection from infections in the future.

The study doesn’t ask parents to not seek treatment for ear infections or for doctors to not provide antibiotics when warranted. However, since most ear infections go away without treatment, consideration should be given whether treating ear infections with over-the-counter painkillers, such as acetaminophen, is a preferred option for children over age 2. For children under age 2 or for ones with more serious infections, antibiotics are typically still recommended.

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Some studies are showing that hearing loss begins with infants. The majority of infants are born with hearing that is unaffected by sound levels and other issues that can cause hearing loss. In other words, they start life with a “perfect 10″ in terms of hearing. Then, the world around them can quickly begin to affect their hearing. Why?

Because so many adults have some level of hearing loss, they already have the volume cranked up at a level that accommodates their affected hearing. Once a baby arrives, parents may unwittingly expose their infant to higher sound decibels than their sensitive ears should be exposed to. Common culprits where the volume is set too high for a child’s hearing include the radio in the car and the television in the home.

Toy manufacturers have literally tuned-in to infant toys that produce sounds, and increasingly are created a maximum volume level so that they can’t be turned up too high and potentially harm an infant’s hearing. That’s because many products with sounds are cradled by children, and are often snuggled right up next to the ear. Keeping the volume low achieves the desired comforting sound without hurting the ears.

But when you see infants and small children brought to loud-noise events such as concerts and professional sport events, complete with blaring music, extended crowd cheers, and even horns and similar sound machines, it should come as no surprise that their hearing can be adversely affected. After all, if your ears are ringing after such an event, just imagine the affect on a child and their hearing health. A safer alternative is for both adults and children to wearing hearing protection, such as ear plugs, when at events that could damage hearing either temporarily or permanently.

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