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.
There are two major germ classes that cause infections: viruses and bacteria. Bacteria are responsible for about 70 percent of ear infections, viruses cause about 8 to 25 percent of ear infections, and bacteria and viruses working in concert are found in the remaining cases.