Nearly 670,000 children had tubes surgically inserted into their ears in 2006, making it the most common operation performed on children. But most children who have the surgery don't need it, according to the study, which was published in the British Medical Journal. Investigators who reviewed the records of 682 kids (average age was just under 4) who had the procedure concluded that about 70 percent of the operations performed were inappropriate, based on criteria created by an expert panel, as well as guidelines developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Medicine, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery.

The issue of overuse is not new: 16 years ago, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that more than half of the operations were not fully justified. (Learn more about treatments for ear infections.) The American Academy of Pediatrics says that surgery should generally be reserved for children who have fluid in the middle ear with persistent hearing loss or other signs and symptoms that last for several months.

Read more in the full Health blog post.