Most children will experience at least one episode of otitis media, or a middle ear infection, by the time they reach age three, making it one of the most common pediatric infections in the world. For years, rats, mice, and even monkeys gave researchers some insight into how this infection behaved within animal models; however, chinchillas stand out today as the only lab animals with similar enough ear structure to humans and in which otitis media can be easily produced by squirting very small amount of bacteria into the nose.