Ear infections don’t only affect small children, although they’re more common in the younger ones. Anyone can get an ear infection at any time. The causes vary.
Sinus infections, colds, and allergies are just a few reasons why you might experience an ear infection. Unfortunately, ear infections can be painful, even for adults. Ear infection home treatment options are a great way to start easing the pain and working your way towards a healthy ear.
Do you know how to treat an ear infection at home? There are a few ear infection treatment methods that you can try in the comfort of your own home that require items you most likely already have. Are you ready to treat your ear infection and find comfort again?
Continue reading below for a list of home remedies for ear infections!
1. Over-the-Counter Medicine
If you’re experiencing a lot of pain due to the infection, then you should try some over-the-counter medicine to help ease the pain. You can rotate between Tylenol and Advil for the best results. Do be sure to follow all instructions on each medication label to ensure you’re taking it as advised.
Taking these medications is a good way to stop the pain of the ear infection, but these medications won’t cure your infection. It’s important to give yourself some time off of the pain meds to see if the infection is still there while treating it at home. Aside from taking pain meds, you’ll also need to complete other home remedies to cure the actual infection.
When you combine the two together, the result should be a pain-free and infection-free ear.
2. A Warm or Cold Compress
When you feel that throbbing pain in your ear, you’ll want to seek comfort any way you can. Even after taking the over-the-counter pain medicine, you still might feel some discomfort. Another trick you can try to help alleviate the pain is to use a warm or cold compress.
If you have a heating pad, then put it on the warm setting and then lay your head down on it with the infected ear facing down on the pad. You can lay like this for a while until you feel the pain has subsided. You can also try a cold compress.
Bean bags work great for this. If you don’t have a cold compress, then try placing a small bean bag in the freezer. When you take it out, it’ll be cold enough to give you some pain relief but it’ll also be comfortable (no one wants to rest their ear on a solid ice pack).
3. A New Sleeping Position
Sleeping on the infected ear can cause pressure, which then causes more pain. Try to avoid placing the infected ear down on a pillow. Switch sleeping positions and sleep on the other side or sleep on your back.
If you can, consider making a chair on your bed out of pillows to support you while you sleep. Place one pillow on either side of you and one or two pillows behind you to support your back. Position yourself in a sitting up position that’s still comfortable so you can fall asleep.
This might help prevent those moments of waking up in the middle of the night in pain.
4. A Neck Exercise
When you’re suffering from an ear infection, there’s a build-up of pressure in the ear. To relieve some of this pressure, you can complete a few neck exercises. Begin by either standing or sitting straight up.
Then, roll your neck to the right, making it parallel with your right shoulder. Hold it in this position for about 10 seconds. You’ll then want to do the same thing with your left ear and shoulder.
The last part of the exercise is to bring your shoulders up to your ears and hold for about 10 seconds. Try doing these exercises throughout the day.
5. Vitamin D Intake
Consuming Vitamin D is a great way to boost your immune system. When suffering from an ear infection, consuming more Vitamin D can help keep prevent these ear infections. Other than consuming it, you can also spend some time out in the sun or take Vitamin D supplements as well.
Any way that you can boost your immune system, do so. The healthier you are, the less prone you are to infections of any kind.
6. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a good way to keep your ears clean. It’ll prevent dirt and bacteria from entering deep into your ear and helps prevent swimmer’s ear as well! To use this method, you’ll want to put a few drops of it on a swap and then clean your ear with it.
Be sure not to go too far into your ear, and don’t use too much of it that the swap is dripping hydrogen peroxide. You want to use just the right amount to keep the ear clean and healthy.
7. Natural Ear Drops
If you have certain essential oils and carrier oils at home, then you might be able to create your own natural ear drops. Otherwise, you can head to a vitamin shop or health food store and pick up some natural ear drops from there. Natural ear drops can contain a number of different ingredients such as ginger, garlic, coconut oil, tea tree oil, mullein, and other ingredients.
Try these ear drops out or look up recipes to create your own version. If these don’t work, then you can always visit the walk in clinic to receive prescription drops after a quick visit.
Which Ear Infection Home Treatment Option Will You Try?
There are a few different ear infection home treatment options to choose from. It’s best to give one a shot and see how it works for you. If you need more pain or discomfort relief, then continue trying more methods until you find one or two that work the best.
Interested in more health and fitness topics? Visit on a regular basis for new posts!
