@ehBeth,
Oh yeah. I'm forever saying "out, not in!" to sozlet. (Hey, less lately. Said it all the time before she had the surgeries, anyway.) She learned that bad habit from her dad. Grrr.
In addition to the germ thing (which I didn't actually know, makes sense), the pressure sends stuff up Eustachian tubes/ into the middle ear. Doesn't
cause ear infections per se, but really doesn't help.
How are you feeling, Diest?