Ventilated Pacifier
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Secondary School
Major
-
Minor
-
Institution
Project Lead The Way - Kentucky
KY House District #
52
KY Senate District #
20
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Ashley Fishback
Abstract
Pacifiers are considered a necessity in modern parenting. All babies are born knowing how to suck. This action soothes them, making a pacifier an ideal choice to calm an agitated child. Recently however, research has pointed to a correlation between pacifier usage and ear infections. This problem is also found in non‐ventilated bottles. Sucking on a pacifier or non‐ventilated bottle leads to an increase of pressure in the middle ear, which often leads to an ear infection. The current solutions to this problem are stopping the use of a pacifier, having tubes put into a child’s ear, and using a ventilated bottle. Many parents are reluctant to take away their child’s pacifier, so a new solution needs to be found. A ventilated pacifier would offer many benefits, the biggest of which would be the reduction of pressure in the middle ear.
Ventilated Pacifier
Pacifiers are considered a necessity in modern parenting. All babies are born knowing how to suck. This action soothes them, making a pacifier an ideal choice to calm an agitated child. Recently however, research has pointed to a correlation between pacifier usage and ear infections. This problem is also found in non‐ventilated bottles. Sucking on a pacifier or non‐ventilated bottle leads to an increase of pressure in the middle ear, which often leads to an ear infection. The current solutions to this problem are stopping the use of a pacifier, having tubes put into a child’s ear, and using a ventilated bottle. Many parents are reluctant to take away their child’s pacifier, so a new solution needs to be found. A ventilated pacifier would offer many benefits, the biggest of which would be the reduction of pressure in the middle ear.