Here's a conventional medicine article suggesting the benefits of probiotics for ear infections:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/n...ory_35926.html
The theory is that most kids who get ear infections have a sort of "biofilm" in their ears, like that of the slimey sort which you find on rocks at a river, and that this biofilm is naturally resistant to antibiotics, which is why they aren't effective. It suggests that probiotics may be more useful than antibiotics.
My dad is a conventional doctor -- ENT, actually. I wish I had known to try probiotics when DS was having ear infections. DS finally got tubes, which in a way was a blessing b/c his adenoids were huge and obstructing his breathing at night, so they removed them at the same time. Anyway, I grew up with conventional medicine but I also embrace natural/homeopathic remedies if I can. There are conventional treatments that are a real help to people, but other times, it seems that it takes conventional medicine a while to "catch up" with natural medicine!