BIDEME}Hjea lth Your Child’s Hearing (NAPSA)—Middle ear infections (otitis media) are the most common cause of temporary hearing loss, affecting 70 percentof all infants and young children. Some children get recurring otitis media with effusion (OME), a buildup of fluid in the middle ear cavity, pelo. . Y ID oN “e x J — Y oe Tr which can cause permanent damage. If this occurs during the school year, it can temporarily delay learning. Because current antibiotics are not always useful for treating OME, biologists at the House EarInstitute are determin- ing the role of the body’s innate immune system in protecting the middle ear from bacterial infections. Their research has demonstrated that proteins produced by cells of the middle ear can kill otitis media pathogens. Their work promises to open up new avenues for more effective antibiotics and therapeutic targets to fight OM. For more information, visit www.hei.org, call (213) 483-4431, or write HEI, 2100 West Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90057.
