Ear issues and autism

Post Reply New Topic

Does anyone know of any research on autism and ear issues? I don't just mean sound sensitivities and tinnitus but issues with earwax and balance related stuff?

For some reason I still keep getting ear infections and I'm 22 I just had one a month and a half ago! It was extremely painful and I screamed and cried!! If Autism has anything to do with this then someone please let me know because I'm sick of these ear infections!! I still can't get water in my ears even though I do anyway.

I have constant trouble with wax, so far only had one infection and I'm 19.
Luckily I didn't "feel" the infection at all, no pain, at all.
The doctor even asked me why I waited this long until get it examined, no pain or other signs so I didn't even know I had one.
The only "sign" was that at one point I couldn't hear anything anymore with that one ear, it was fully blocked with wax or infection blocked my hearing, don't know which one, didn't ask.

Maybe just try cleaning your ears more often?

I have ear infections too and I am 24... I have been prescribed antibiotics.. but it keeps coming back

Before this last one I haven't had one in 3 years but the weird thing is that the last one in May was in my right ear which I haven't had one in that ear since I was about 11. The ear infections in my left ear kept continuing because I had a huge hole in my left eardrum so 2 years ago I got a skin graft on my left eardrum and haven't had an infection in that ear since, but it did cause the sensitivity of noise to be much worse and now I have to wear an earplug in that ear 24/7! After not suffering from an infection for 3 years in my left ear and 11 years in my right, my right ear decides to get an infection again!!

I've got swimmer's ear.. gets angry if I put water in there

I think my ear gets angry at me too lol!!

My doctor once told me I had the ears of a baby and I got ear infections so bad they were going to put tubes in my ears-but luckily I didn't.

I've had tubes in my ears twice! I might need it again and I don't want it again!

haven't had problems to speak of...I've been called 'hard of listening', but that's just my 'y' chromosome at work...

When I was a kid (probably up to sometime in.... middle school?) I used to get tons and tons and tons and tons of ear infections. I have had four sets of tubes put in my ears and my parents finally decided enough was enough when they wanted to do it for a 5th time. Whenever a doctor looks in my ears they always comment about all the scar tissue on my ear drums. I really don't get ear infections anymore though, not sure why (I swim less maybe?).

Now my ears just pop.... constantly! If I yawn, my ears pop... everytime. I can voluntarily make my ears pop just stretching my jaw a bit. Now that I think about it, it is probably a form of stimming, I can't even count how many times a day I just shift my jaw to make my ears pop.... easily hundreds.

I don't know that there is actually a link between autism and ear problems though... nothing really comes to mind. I have some sound sensitivities but I don't think that really has anything to do with my ears.

So the popping is bad?

Because I can do that with moving jaw and so on very easily, if its bad thing I think I should stop doing it for fun..

Actually my ear doctor told me that popping your ear isn't bad it's good and relieves pressure and opens up the eustachian tube. But my mom just read today that people on the autism spectrum have constiant ear infections because we have too much yeast in our bodies! There's a natural pill for it that she's gonna get me and if it works i'lll let u all know what it's called!

That'll make the yeast more resistant to the pill and it'll just make it worse I am guessing... that is why I gave up antibiotic tablets and use anti biotic ear drops.

Yeah, I don't think ear popping is a bad thing. I just kind of find it strange I can do it by just moving my jaw a bit.

As for the original question posed by Peko here are two journal articles I found which link ear infections and autism spectrum disorders:

1. "Ear infections in autistic and normal children". Konstantareas MM, Homatidis S. 1987 Dec.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3680158
2. "Early Medical History of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders". NIEHUS, REBECCA M.A.; LORD, CATHERINE Ph.D. 2006 Apr. http://journals.lww.com/jrnldbp/Abstract/2006/04002/Early_Medical_History_of_Children_with_Autism.10.aspx

Of course correlation does not imply causation!

Never thought of that. For some reason eardrops bother my ears! They hurt but I think it's because I have another perforated eardrum!