25+ Natural Earache Remedies

MR - When we first published our post about Earache Remedies, we were just looking to share a few ideas that worked for our kids, and were looking for more hints and tips from others.  And wow – did we EVER get a lot!   That post is our most-viewed and most-repinned of all our posts. 

At some point in time, almost every person will be dealing with sore ears – either their own or their child's/grandchild's, and it is preferable to avoid antibiotics, if at all possible.  (Note: please  use your judgement – if the pain is severe, prolonged, or accompanied by fever, see your doctor right away.  These are suggestions to soothe the occasional sore ear – we make no medical claims about these remedies).

So here is a compilation of some of the remedies that were suggested by our readers- THANKS!

Oil - Many people suggested some sort of warm (not hot) oil to be dripped into the ear

• My original post talked about coconut oil – my sister-in-law warmed it up in a saucepan for my 4-year old. We checked the temperature to make sure it wasn't too hot. If I'd had an eyedropper, I would have used that, but we didn't, so I took a small spoon and dropped a few drops in. It seemed to soothe it right away. We repeated every 20 minutes or so for an hour, keeping him lying on his side so it wouldn't drain out. After that hour, he seemed to be in much less pain, and went right to sleep.
• “You really don't even have to heat up the coconut oil, it melts at the touch of your skin, so if you wanted, you could just put a glob in and let it melt by itself,” suggested a reader.
• Olive oil
• Garlic oil - you can make garlic oil using coconut oil and garlic heated up together in a pan using halved cloves
• Sweet oil
• Willow Garlic Oil
• “Garlic Mullein oil....this is what you want to buy at a natural health store, its in a dropper bottle. I warm it up buy rolling it in my hands for a few minutes,” said one reader.

Heat (not too hot – just slightly warm – there was some concern about too much heat causing a burst eardrum)

• Heating pad with a few layers of towel in between (and monitor the temperature often)
• From one reader, “Heat up a bowl of water with a wash cloth in it in the microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 min, then pour the water and wash cloth in a ziplock bag have your child or whomever lay with the hurt ear on the bag (wrapped in a handtowel of course).”
• “My mom would take about a cup of salt and tie it up in a thin dish towel (the ones that resembled a thin cloth diaper before it was folded). She would heat it on the stovetop with her iron skillet until it was almost too hot. Then she would wait until it was barely cool enough for us to stand it on our skin. She would have us hold it to our ear and even sleep on it if we needed to. The heat was soothing, and if there happened to be any moisture in the ear (swimmer's ear), then the salt and heat together would draw the moisture out.”  Other readers mentioned the same idea using a tube sock filled with salt and microwaved.

Essential Oils - never directly in the ear canal – just outside of it

• Tea tree oil
• Lavender oil
• “You can rub the meleleuca oil (tea tree oil) around the ear and on the bottoms of their feet, as well as by putting a drop or two on a cotton ball and sticking that in their ear (if they won't pull it out that is)!!”

De

Garlic/Onions

• Garlic oil (see above)
• “Take a whole clove of garlic, peel it, and let it sit out for about an hour. Then, put the whole clove right into the ear canal before bed. Sleep with it in all night long. It is kind of stinky but it really works! If the clove is too big to fit, cut it down to size, but don't put it in so far that you can't get it back out.”  (again, please use caution when putting anything in your ears.  Don’t use this on a child, who could poke it deep into his ear)
• “My naturopath once suggested onions. Basically, you cut the onion in half and bake it in the oven at 325 for about 20 minutes until it becomes translucent. Allow it to cool a bit, and then hold it on the affected ear for about 15 minutes. She said to do it once or twice a day. My kids have always found the warmth very soothing.”
• “Chop up some onions and steam heat them in a gauze or a thin sock and lay it on the ear, covering the ear and the part behind the ear near the neck.  Smells like onion but works really well.”

Chiropractic Care for Chronic Ear Infections

• There was much discussion from readers about the benefits of chiropractic care.  A few people seemed skeptical, but there were testimonials from many who said it helped their child immensely.  According to Dr. Sears, "chiropractic adjustments to the skull and neck can improve middle ear drainage and decrease ear infections." (http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/childhood-illnesses/ear-infections).
• “My chiropractor brother in law taught me a trick where you can pull on the outer, straight out to open the tubes, then run your finger along the bone right behind the ear. It really hurts if there is a problem, but it helps drain the ear.”

Ear Candles

• Again, there was some discussion as to the effectiveness of this.  Most people said it was somewhat soothing, but not necessarily a cure or solution.

Vinegar

• “50/50 Vinegar/Water Solution - a few drops 4 times daily will kill the bacteria - avoided antibiotics.”
• “For swimmers' ear infections: equal parts rubbing alcohol and distilled white vinager. put a few drops in after you go swimming if you are prone to having ear aches or infections from swimming (especially in lakes).”

Random Tips

• Some readers suggested a few drops of breastmilk for a young baby.
• “Get a pan or dish large enough for both feet to fit in. (I used one of those plastic throw-up things they give you at the hospital.) Fill it about 3/4 full of water as hot as you can stand to touch. Add about 3 tablespoons of dry mustard powder and stir. Then stick your feet in it and soak for as long as you can.”
• Allergy Medication: from one reader, “As for ear infections, on small children, their Eustachian tubes are more horizontal than vertical, connecting to the throat, making it easy for bacteria to travel up them to their middle ear, where the first small bone (of three in the ear), the stapes is located and vibrates as a result of the movement of the eardrum. Anyway, if these bones are misaligned there is an interruption of hearing, not drainage. The use of the chiropractor might cause the eustachian tube to drain due to straightening but he really cannot manipulate the bones in the ear, nor do the bones of the spinal column effect the drainage of the ear. The best thing to do is use anti-allergy meds during the time of year when grass, tree, and chenopods are blooming and releasing their microscopic pollen into the environment.”

 Several readers reminisced about old remedies by parents/grandparents of blowing cigarette smoke or pipe smoke into the ears for earaches or swimmers’ ear.  Definitely not recommended these days!!

Never use any of these remedies if your child has tubes in his ears.

Pet care

• Many readers talked about their dogs having repeated ear infections.  They used oils (olive oil, coconut oil) with great success, and were happy to avoid another vet bill.
• One reader said, “We had the same problem with our dog (ear aches) and changed to a wheat-free food - no more ear infections! The food is more expensive, but less expensive than vet bills and she is much happier!”
• From another reader, “If your dog keeps getting ear infections then he has allergies, most likely to the food he is eating, or he has folded ears....if it’s the food try a lamb and rice or duck and potato formula (just not corn and wheat). If his ear are folded use the vinegar and water solution daily until the infection is cleared up, then use every other day and diligently keep ears dried out.”

How about you?  Do you have anything to add to our list?  Have you tried any of these with any degree of success?