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.
All of the women were told how to soothe a crying or fussy child, but one group of women was told to avoid giving their baby a pacifier. Advising women not to give their baby a pacifier had no effect. The rate of early weaning was the same in both groups. The use of a pacifier does not cause early weaning.