Can Mold Cause Ear Infection?
originally posted November 6, 2013
Conventional wisdom says mold is everywhere, there’s nothing you can do about it, and it’s not harmful. Yes, it is true that mold is everywhere since it is nature’s way of breaking down dead matter. However, contrary to common belief mold is in fact harmful in multiple ways. It has been linked to sinus problems, allergies, food allergy, gluten sensitivities, ear infections and even autoimmune diseases. The good news is that you can do something about it.
First, let’s look at how mold impacts the body. There are two types of problem that mold presents. The first impacts people with a predisposition to be mold allergic or sensitive. These are folks whose body reacts to the mold by producing IgG antibodies that tells their white blood cells to attack the mold by producing cytokines. The second problem is that of Mycotoxins, a poisonous substance produced by molds commonly known as Black Mold or Toxic Mold. Mycotoxins are dangerous to everyone as they can damage your body’s vital organs. We will only focus on the first problem in this article.
Mold Symptoms and Ear Infection
Here is an example of how the first problem occurs. When mold enters the body, typically by inhalation, it is attacked by white blood cells (eosinophils) via a specific cytokine (the substance produced by white blood cells to attack mold) called interleukin. The interleukin kills the mold (good) but the white blood cells engaged in the immune response often burst and release caustic, major basic proteins (bad). This acid-like protein burns pits into the sinus lining. The pits become a trap for bacteria which causes infection, pain, and swelling in the sinuses. The pitting keeps the conditions ripe for the immediate return of the infection. Antibiotics that prevent fluid build-up do not treat the condition that causes the pitting; they merely provide a temporary relief. The pits will not begin to heal until your body stops having to fight against mold.
Another way cytokines are a problem is that they circulate throughout the body causing a systemic immune reaction creating symptoms such as: muscle and joint pain, fibromyalgia, fatigue, bloating, gas, diarrhea, memory and concentration problems, vessel inflammation, dizziness, headaches, ear infections, and many others problems.
Ear Infection Causes
Let’s look at the case of ear infections caused by cytokine response problems. Ear infections can be triggered by allergic swelling of the Eustachian tube due to immediate IgG antibody mold reaction. Negative pressure builds up in the middle ear, sucking serum and mucous from the middle ear lining so that fluid builds up in the middle ear and infection begins. If the fluid cannot drain out of the Eustachian tube, the eardrum ruptures in order to equalize the pressure in the middle ear.
Ear infections can also be caused by Acid Reflux being forced from the stomach into the nose and then seeping into the Eustachian tube. Reflux can be caused by a Candida overgrowth. The overgrowth results from cytokines suppressing the immune system. This reaction causes gut inflammation, and since the gut represents 70% of the immune system, the immune system cannot mount an effective response to infection and other symptoms begins to occur.
These problems are progressive. You may start with a reaction to a small number of the 4,000 types of mold. But because all fungi have the same basic cell wall structure, called a 1,3 Beta Glucan, you can quickly become allergic to multiple molds. That means your body will produce more cytokines and therefore more and worse reactions occur.
Remember, mold is the trigger for cytokine release and controlling mold is the key to getting well.
Here are a few steps you can take to get started.
- Get tested for IgG allergies, Candida, and other fungi
- Get on the Candida diet by staying away from sugar and gluten
- Take a good Probiotic and Candida Rid
- Test your air and belongings
- Lower the mold counts in your environmental air to safe levels
- And if you have sinusitis remove the mold from your sinuses
If you would like to learn more about fungal sinusitis or any of these steps, please see all the other great posts on this site. Also visit Micro Balance Health Products for mold solutions and remedies.
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I’ve had ear problems my whole life I wear hearing aids I moved to Missouri I’ve had nothing but problems with my ears especially when I’m working at I was told there’s a lot of mold in the walls and a lot of buckets in the ceiling to catch the rain they are not fixing anything my ears drained really bad and my right ear has a bad smell I’ve been off work 3 days and my ears quit draining what should I do.
We would always recommend seeing an ENT in your area. Bring the mold in your workplace to the doctor’s attention as well as a probable cause to your ear issues. It may be a good idea to consider working somewhere else if the environment is not going to change and if it is making you sick to spend time there.
Both my daughter and I have autoimmune problems, gluten sensitivities, all of the symptoms you named, and extreme mold allergies. Our allergist wants to treat us by giving us mold injections twice weekly for 6-9 months and believes that will not only relieve the mold allergies, but also the autoimmune symptoms, including my daughter’s eosinophilia gastrointestinal issues, mastocytosis, and histamine intolerance. Does mold injections sound like the right course of action to you? It’s scary to inject ourselves with the one thing that triggers so many symptoms we have to begin with.
It sounds like Low Dose Immunotherapy–which is a good course of action if the issue is mold allergy. LDI does not work for mold toxicity, though. Have you tried Sinus Defense? It is the same principal as LDI, but less potential side effects and reactions. For many patients it is more effective than LDI. It is also safe for children to use.
If you have a specific immune antigen(G) you’re more predisposed to having more related illness?
Yes. Mold-and biotoxin-triggered illness is not an allergy, but an immune response that is triggered by the innate immune system. IgG antibodies show which antigens have triggered this sort of response in the body. Mold patients have elevated IgG antibodies to mold.