What Is Otitis Media?
6. Risk Factors
Children are most at risk of ear infections for several reasons. One of these is that children tend to stay close to each other, meaning that diseases are more likely to spread from one to another. What’s more is that children’s immune systems are weaker, and the size and shape of their eustachian tubes also make infections more likely.
Poor air quality is another potential underlying cause of ear infections, while seasonal allergies are another potential cause. People born with cleft palates are at a greater risk if they cause an abnormal structure of the eustachian tubes. There is also a genetic connection, and natives of Alaska are more likely to get ear infections than other people are.
Advertisement
