Well, I tried to avoid that....and with the help of a different pediatrician I learned that 95% of ear infections are due to a food intolerance. We tested my girls and removed the foods that showed to be issues. After four months of avoiding those foods we started adding them back in one at a time. This has been amazing for my children. They are both so much more healthier. It was the toughest thing I have ever done (not a betty crocker here) but I grew a lot and the girls do not have ear infections anymore. The only food we have not added back successfully for my youngest is cheese....she will still get an ear infection which was the culprit in the first place. It has been two years so we are going to try cheese again and see what happens. The benefits of doing this were well beyond the ear infections: clarity in speech, clearer cognition, awesome immune systems (instead of the monthly virus she always got).
I ONLY recommend Immuno Laboratories due to the accuracy of their results; not the cheapest, but the results can be trusted. Seen many people use various labs and end up with issues still. I have personally seen this work for 10 or so people, not all with ear issues, most are for GI issues.
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in more info......don't want to bog down your responses if you are not interested in this route verses surgery.