The Connection Between Reading, Spelling and Ear Infection

While most people shrug and say, “runny noses and stuffy ears are just part of childhood,” I believe there are long-term effects to consider.

Research indicates a correlation between ear infections in children before the age of 3 and literacy development in early elementary school.

Heather Winkel’s research article “The effects of an early history of otitis media on children’s language and literacy skill development,” published in the British Journal of Educational Psychology (2006). 76, 727-744, 2006, The British Psychological Society, looked closely at the relationship between literacy development and otitis media in young children.  The study examined the correlation between incidents of otitis media before age 3.

Therefore, the sounds that the brain ‘hears’ are not the same as would be heard if the middle ear were healthy.

Consequently, the question arises: Can a child with otitis media hear the difference between  similar speech and letter sounds? Between short /i/ and short /e/? Can they distinguish differences between high-frequency phonemes [/s/ /f/ /sh/ /ch/ /t/]?  

When their ears and noses do not drain phlegm and they cannot hear clearly, how can we expect a kindergarten or preschool student to distinguish among letter sounds and match letters to sounds correctly?

Which brings me to a simple solution:  Teach them to blow their nose! This is where one of my favorite books for nose blowing comes into the picture.  “How to Blow Your Nose by Little Tiny Elephant.” Check it out on Amazon. A delightful tale about a little elephant who teaches other snotty animals how to find relief by blowing their noses.

[Sorry, I do not have this publication available to sell on this website at this time.]