How Ear Infections Can Affect Body Awareness

A Parent Guide

Many parents are surprised to learn that a history of ear infections can influence how a child experiences their own body in space. This handout explains why ear infections impact body awareness, how they can contribute to noise sensitivity, and how nature-based play can support healing.

Why Ear Infections Affect More Than Hearing

Inside the ear, right next to where ear infections occur, lives the vestibular system, which helps with:

• balance

• spatial orientation

• coordination

• knowing where the body is in space

Repeated ear infections can disrupt these systems, leading to changes in movement, posture, and sensory processing.

Ear infections can also affect the middle-ear muscles, the tensor tympani and stapedius, which help dampen loud or sudden sounds. When these muscles aren’t working well, everyday noises may feel too loud or startling.

How Ear Infections Impact Body Awareness

1. Changes in Balance Input

Fluid or pressure from infections can interfere with the vestibular system, making movement and balance feel less stable.

2. Extra Work for the Brain

When balance signals are inconsistent, a child may rely more on vision or touch. This makes movement feel effortful and affects body awareness.

3. Posture and Muscle Tension

Children sometimes adjust their head position to relieve ear pressure. Over time, this can change muscle patterns in the neck and shoulders, impacting posture and proprioception.

4. Stress Response to Sound

If middle-ear muscles aren’t dampening sound well, the nervous system may go into “protection mode” with loud or sudden noises. This can make it harder for a child to feel calm, grounded, and aware of their body.

5. Impact on Early Motor Development

Frequent infections during key developmental periods can interrupt the experiences that build strong body awareness—crawling, climbing, balancing, and exploring their environment.

How Nature Supports the Middle-Ear Muscles and Sound Regulation

Nature offers something especially powerful for children recovering from the effects of ear infections:

1. Gentle, natural soundscapes

Birdsong, wind, water, rustling leaves, and distant animal calls offer predictable, soft, rhythmic sounds.
These patterns:

• encourage the middle-ear muscles to engage without overwhelming them

• help the nervous system shift out of “sound defense mode”

• support calmer, more regulated listening

2. Distance-based listening

Nature naturally provides sounds at varying distances—nearby bird chirps, far-away footsteps, water flowing.
This helps train the ear muscles to:

• modulate sound

• locate sounds

• shift between soft and moderate noise levels

These are exercises for the middle-ear muscles—much like gentle physical therapy for the auditory system.

3. Reduced auditory clutter

Unlike indoor environments filled with echoes, electronics, HVAC noise, and sudden loud bursts, outdoor spaces tend to have:

• fewer sharp, competing sounds

• more gradual sound changes

• less background “noise pollution”

This gives sensitive ears a chance to practice listening without being overwhelmed.

4. Natural vestibular + auditory integration

Climbing, swinging on branches, walking on uneven ground, rolling down hills, and balancing on logs all activate the vestibular system.
Because the vestibular and auditory systems are closely intertwined, this movement:

• supports head–ear coordination

• improves sound tolerance

• strengthens body awareness alongside listening skills

5. Regulation through nature’s rhythm

Nature inherently promotes a calm, grounded state. When the nervous system shifts toward regulation, the middle-ear muscles can do their job more efficiently and consistently.

Common Signs You May Notice

Children with a history of ear infections may show:

• frequent tripping or bumping into things

• difficulty with balance or climbing

• noise sensitivity or startle responses

• needing more movement or deep pressure to feel regulated

• challenges learning new motor tasks

• trouble with eye–hand coordination

• difficulty sitting upright for long periods

• overwhelm in busy or noisy environments

How Occupational Therapy Helps

OT supports body awareness and auditory regulation through:

• vestibular play (swings, rolling, climbing)

• heavy-work and deep-pressure input

• postural and core strengthening

• coordination and balance activities

• listening and sound-tolerance strategies

• nature-based sensory play that gently exercises the middle ear and supports nervous-system calm

Our goal is always to help your child feel more grounded, confident, and comfortable in their body and the auditory world around them.

The Bottom Line

Ear infections affect more than hearing—they also influence balance, posture, sound tolerance, and body awareness. Nature provides a uniquely healing environment where children can strengthen these systems gently and joyfully.

Thanks for reading ~

Lisa Haverly 🌲

Rainbow Tree Therapies

www.rainbowtreetherapies.com