Home Remedies for Ear Infections?

[venusianx13]

It's been years since I've had one, but was sick two weeks ago and never really felt recovered. Woke up with a raging ear infection in the wee morning hours on Saturday. Had to go to a medical clinic, where a double ear infection was confirmed. It's been 48 hours and I've been on antibiotics as well as something to help drain fluid from my sinuses and ears. I still feel like my head is underwater, and I have constant tinnitus, as well as a steady fever still. I'd think the antibiotics would have done more good than this by now...

 

Are there any good home/holistic remedies for ear infections? I plan on going to see another doctor tomorrow if it doesn't get better.

[ooglesnboogles]

I don't know about the infection, but something to ease the tinnitus is pink noise or white noise. There are many sound generators out there for free download that will play the noise in a loop. It works the same way noise-cancelling headphones work: The same frequencies of the tinnitus are played through speakers (much preferably headphones) and cancel out what you hear. Of course, you still get the vast ranges of other noise, but when I had a bad infection a while back, I wanted anything to get rid of those piercing sounds.

 

I'm also quite adept at playing with sound and picking out certain frequencies so I customized my generator to play only the frequencies that were exaggerated by the infection. Sounded a bit odd but mostly got rid of the nuisance.

 

 

Hope that helps! Feel better! Ear infections are terrible.

[rys]

home remedy: lemon grass

 

boil 2-3 lemon grass stalks then drink (minus the leaves).

[Feelin Frisky]

Drink plenty of water and maybe tea and give it a couple of days. Swallowing the water can jog open your eustachian tubes. If you have tinnitus in a week, you may need to take Prednisone--a steroid that is prescribed in a blister-pack with staged doses. I had an attack a few years ago where one ear just seemed to drop in efficiency like 40%. After the Prednisone I recovered fully. It does something to the cochlea to get them righted. The steroid is a prescription only a doctor can give though. Good luck.

[venusianx13]

I am heading to my usual doctor in a little while and will hopefully see some better results this time. Yes, my hearing in my right ear is considerably compromised... and the tinnitus is constant, as well bouts of vertigo. I've never experienced anything like before. Lemongrass tea and other fluids I can definitely do!! Thanks for everyone's input.

[FitChick]

If you have an infection, Vitamin C fights infection. Take 1000 mg every two hours or until you get diarrhea, then back off a bit. I would think any warm liquid would be soothing, like heated chicken broth.

 

I wonder if you have impacted wax in your ear.

[venusianx13]

Well, I went back to the doctor (a different one). They gave me a stronger antibiotic, and assured me this round would take care of this raging inner-ear infection. Well, I'm a little discouraged still, because I can barely hear out of my right ear and there is intense pressure with intermittent pain. If by the end of the week there is no improvement in these aspects, I may go to see an ENT doctor.

[TaraMaiden]

There could also be a build-up of wax, which, when pressed against the ear-drum can interfere with hearing and cause pain....

 

But confirm this first.

THEN - I'll give you the wax remedy.

 

Not before.....

[venusianx13]

There could also be a build-up of wax, which, when pressed against the ear-drum can interfere with hearing and cause pain....

 

But confirm this first.

THEN - I'll give you the wax remedy.

 

Not before.....

 

 

Thank you!!!!

[TaraMaiden]

The reason for confirmation, is obvious:

Ears are delicate and complex organs... I would be mortified if I gave you a remedy for a non-existent problem, and you ended up hurting your ear or making it worse....

So I'm not trivialising the issue, I just want you to be safe.

 

I also have dreadful ear problems, so I can entirely sympathise.

 

I too suffer from tinnitus:

let me give you a mental image here:

 

Pretend you're at the local city zoo. And that it's a fine summer morning. Around dawn, in fact; with the promise of a fine, warm day....

And where do you find yourself? Why, in the massive, covered aviary, where there are 25 different species of birds.

Now, you know what happens at dawn, right?

Right. we get the 'Dawn Chorus'.

Imagine being in an aviary, with close to 200 birds, all yelling their little lungs out.

Noisy, isn't it?

And get this: There's one persistent, loud little blighter, whose whacking out his song, higher and more shrilly than all the others.

so you get the background cacophony, and the single strident song, over it.

 

24/7.

 

365/365.

 

Sometimes, so loud you feel you need to run a mile, at others, quite calm and 'background-ish' so that you hardly notice it, but you know it's there.

And on top of that, you have an imitative aspect: Some times, if you hear a sibilant sound, like an alarm going off, or a siren, then your ears pick that up, and repeat it all the time, all day, so effectively, you hear that alarm, or siren, continually, until it dies a natural death.

Then it's back to the birds....

 

That's my deal.

All the time.

Tinnitus, is incurable. But apparently, it can be managed.... some say by diet, others by water intake. I've never found a consistency....

"White noise" - actually has the bizarre effect of making it worse.

It's as if my ears start to compete with the white noise, to get the better of it....

 

I work with it.

Tell me what other choice I have!

 

But it's intrusive, occasionally inhibiting - I can't hear people properly - and when I have a head-cold and my sinuses are blocked, it's the devil's own job overcoming the discomfort.

 

My audiologist says it's one of the worst cases he's come across..... but he's fascinated as to how I remain so calm.

And that's precisely what I told him.

I have to work with it.

I have no other choice.

 

Sadly, it now seems that has compounded a problem my father also used to suffer from:

 

Hyperacusis.

[Els]

You should see an ENT doctor. Do not under any circumstances stop taking your antibiotics in favour of holistic remedies. You could possibly lose your hearing permanently if the infection gets much worse, so it's not something to gamble on.

 

Antibiotics aren't all the same thing, 1 or 2 not working doesn't mean that they all won't. There are many different types of bacteria, and they are all susceptible to different types of antibiotics. It may not even BE bacteria, it could be a virus, fungus, etc. What doctors usually do is to work by elimination, starting from the most common organism and working downwards. So you need to let them complete their process.

[venusianx13]

Oh wow, TaraMaiden, thanks for sharing your story! This is only day 5 of the tinnitus and hearing loss... I began to really think about others who suffer from these sorts of things permanently. I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I was encouraged by a Buddhist friend of mine to do a "Giving and Taking" meditation...I've been so distracted by the discomfort, I have not yet been able to focus. Perhaps I should I try (for real) tonight.

 

I definitely don't plan to go off any of the prescribed meds. No way. I'm scared enough as it is... if I tried anything holistic, it would just be to accompany the meds.

Edited January 10, 2013 by venusianx13

[TaraMaiden]

Meditation is excellent, but it's in your head...

The problem is, that's where the pain is too.....

 

So it's a real challenge to rise above it.

 

But deep breathing and 'accepting' the pain, knowing that this too shall pass, and that thanks to modern medicine, the issue can be made tolerable, helps....

 

I know that by deep breathing and actually focusing on 'my birds' bizarrely, the sound does not become so intrusive.

maybe it's because I cease letting it bother me, for a while, and actually accept it, and invite it as a guest during my Meditation.

 

I dunno.

But hey... we find what works and go with it....

 

((Hugs!!))

[venusianx13]

Just an update -

 

Went to the ENT and she found that my eustachian tubes were 100% blocked. Sucked some wax out of my ear with a long tube, too. Was sent to audiology, failed miserably with my right ear... but she believes it will be resolved once my tubes are clear. I was put on a strong oral steriod, and already, two days in, there's much improvement. It sounds like I have rice krispies in my ear, but the pressure is no longer there, and the tinnitus is nearly gone, and I can hear much, much better. Thanks for everyone's support, I'm happy to be on the mend now.

[Samilia]

I'm a bit late in my answer, my mother's remedies for that type of infections was natural honey (raw, it means non processed), lemon, and tea (or verveine, etc..). I am convinced that eating more natural food (as opposed to processed food) does wonders to your body.

 

I do believe in modern medicine, don't get me wrong, but I'm the type of person who will drink cranberry juice for a UTI. Actually was given this tip by my doctor!

[Disenchantedly Yours]

I'm glad to see the OP is getting better.

 

I've gotten ear infections time to time and one time purchased over the counter ear drops for swimmers ear because I really like soaking in the tube. But the over the counter ear drops was terrible and it ended up making my ear burn.

 

A really good home remedy for mild ear infections is cutting up some garlic, letting it soak in olive oil for about an hour, then heating the olive oil up just a little and letting a little bit drip into your ear. It's something my Mom did for us and my brother use to always get them. It's also something my Mom's friend would do for her kids. It worked for all of us.

 

Apparently garlic has some kind of anti-bacterial agent and the olive oil is soothing to an infection.

 

But if you are leary about something like this, Whole Foods Market has a really good section of homopathic medicine for all kinds of aliments. Some can be taken orally and then there of course, ear drop methods.

[Ruby Slippers]

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor.

 

I wasted thousands of dollars on ear doctors and ear drops because I used to get recurrent ear infections.

 

My dermatologist advised me to put a small dropperful of distilled white vinegar in each ear, squish around for 10 seconds, and drain, once a week. This is harmless, and kills bacteria and fungus that can grow in water trapped in the ear canal - which prevents ear infections.

 

I do this once a week, and haven't had anymore ear infections.

[venusianx13]

Thanks!!

 

I will definitely try both of these things. While my ear started to improve while taking the steroid, it's actually starting to clog again and the tinnitus is returning. I do go to see the ENT again on Monday to recheck my hearing and have a look inside. I'm getting pains again, but they are not constant, so I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm certain it's all linked to my sinuses and their poor drainage.

 

Garlic/oil and white vinegar are great suggestions...I will give them both a try. Can't hurt.