A while back, I remember reading something about a correlation between people who have ADHD and having ear infections in childhood.

I know that when I was a child, I was tortured by ear aches. I remember being 5 years old and having my parents try to coax me to open Christmas presents on Christmas day because I was in too much pain to want to do anything. I'm talking evil, evil ear aches!

I was wondering, how many other people out there have ADHD and suffered with ear aches?

I had tons of ear infections when I was a kid. My hearing is really poor in my right ear and I have ringing in my left ear but I would have never made the connection to my attention problems.

My mother used to blow cigarette smoke in my ear when I had these ear aches. She would probably have had me taken away if I had been born twenty years later. lol It really seemed to help though.

I know I did get earaches but I don't think I had an extraordinary number of them. No hearing problems now. I can still hear those teenager-repellent tones. I did have allergic earaches this past summer though. Owww!

Never mind being a kid, I suffer from them now.

They are horrible and in my left tinnitus ridden ear.

I think I've heard more about the association of ear infections with other sorts of developmental problems -- like specific learning disabilities and speech disorders -- because of the way the brain is calibrated and learns to distinguish and interpret sounds early in life.

I don't know if people who have frequent ear infections are more likely to have ADHD. If there is a relationship, I'd be curious to know what it is.



For the record, I had tubes put in my ears due to frequent ear infections when I was 3 or 4. I remember getting my hearing tested a lot at the pediatrician's office -- they would put these giant headphones on you and show you a picture book, and you had to point to the correct picture.

I can hear the annoying teenager tone, too. :eek:

I remember that study as well, but it concluded with a 'we don't know' or a 'there's no real cnnection'. I forgot, though. Been a while. When I'm home, I'll try to find it.

Either how, as a kid, I had ear infection upon ear infection. From 9 months till 4 years I was more ill than not. I do not have any problems with my ears nowadays (except for the pain that actually is caused by my jaw). I did have those things removed, whatever their English name is. Those two lil things in your throat. Not a single ear infection since. Just a lot of throat infections (no idea if there's a connection).

I remember my mom saying that I got that from her. She was also the first to mention ADHD-like struggles that had lead her to believe she was dumb after I told her about my diagnoses. Now my mom is the last to mirror symptoms to someone else or anything alike and yes, I do believe her when she mentions her problems with focusing.

But yeah, perhaps a poll would've been good... :)

Chronic recurrent otitis media can cause ADHD-like symptoms (ie. pain and deafness makes it hard to focus, socialise, and develop) but that's about it.

Interesting. I had to get tunnel in my ear as a child as my ear was closing.

I always get ear aches, especially when its windy outside. Or when I have a bit of a cold.