Earaches

Earaches

Sometimes, an earache isn’t really coming from the ear. Often, ear pain is referred pain, meaning that it is really coming from somewhere else nearby. It could be a throat problem or pain from a nearby joint (the jaw, for example). Ear pain could even signal a toothache, says Charles P. Kimmelman, M.D., professor of otolaryngology at Cornell University Medical College and attending physician at Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital, both in New York City.

Ear pain, of course, may also mean that your ear just hurts. Sometimes, this is the result of an ear infection. To be sure of what’s causing the discomfort, you should see your doctor any time you have an earache that lasts more than a day or two.

But until you get to the doctor’s office, you can soothe earache pain in a number of ways.

Try This First

Crank up the heat. You can use heat to treat earaches, says Michael Wynne, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of otolaryngology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. Lay a warm, damp washcloth, heating pad, or hot-water bottle wrapped in a towel over the outside of your ear. You can apply the heat steadily for as long as the pain lasts. The heat over your ear will help stimulate circulation and relieve the pressure that causes the pain of earaches, Dr. Wynne says.

Other Wise Ways

Drop in some oil. Put a couple of drops of warm baby or mineral oil in your ear canal (as long as you’re certain that you’ve never had a ruptured eardrum), says Jennifer Derebery, M.D., otologist at the House Ear Clinic and Institute and assistant clinical professor of otolaryngology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles. Once again, the warmth should soothe your pain. You can warm the oil by holding the bottle under hot water for a minute or two. Before you put the oil in your ear, put a dab on the back of your hand. If it’s too hot for your hand, you can bet that it’s too hot for your ear canal. After inserting the drops, wipe any excess oil off the outside of your ear.

Massage a little. Earache pain can be very sharp, so people tend to tense up, Dr. Wynne says. Relax that tension with a little light massage. Using your fingertips, apply gentle pressure and rub your jaw and neck with circular strokes for 5 to 10 minutes. Massaging the large muscle groups in the jaw and the back of the neck helps reduce tension and improves overall relaxation, thereby decreasing some of the discomfort, he says.

Quit abusing cotton swabs. Cotton-tipped swabs are fine for cleaning your outer ears, but when you start using them to clean out wax from inside your ear canal, you may as well be sending out an engraved invitation to an ear infection. So don’t. Not only can swabs break the inner ear’s delicate skin and make way for infection, Dr. Wynne says, but they can cause problems when they accidentally get shoved in too far or break off and damage an eardrum. And earwax, believe it or not, is a first line of defense against infection and, therefore, ear pain. Too much aggressive earwax removal clears the way for bacteria to proceed unhindered to your inner ear.

Swim smart. Getting lots of water in your ear can happen when you do a lot of swimming. That can also have an effect on your earwax, softening it, lowering its acidity, and causing the general irritation known as swimmer’s ear. To combat this problem, you can use earplugs while swimming. Of course, some people are prone to swimmer’s ear and can even get it from showering. Putting a few drops of the product Swim Ear or rubbing alcohol in your ear canal can dry up the moisture that leads to swimmer’s ear. Better yet, mix a solution that is 50 percent alcohol and 50 percent white vinegar. Use an eyedropper to put a couple of drops of the solution in your ear after swimming, Dr. Wynne suggests. The alcohol helps evaporate the water that can lead to irritation, and the vinegar helps keep the acidic value of the ear canal high.

Clear your tubes. If you have a cold or flu and have to be flying, think about taking a decongestant a half-hour before you board (and before you land, if your flight will last longer than the effect of the medication) to help keep the eustachian tubes in your ears clear, explains Dr. Wynne. It is the blockage in these tubes, which lead from your ear to your nose, that make it difficult for your ears to adjust to altitude changes. That allows pressure to build up behind your eardrums, causing pain.

Keep your jaw flapping. Any time you face a change in altitude and pressure, do things that keep you swallowing, says Dr. Wynne. That opens the eustachian tubes and thus can prevent ear pain. Chew gum, yawn, sip a drink—it all helps equalize the pressure that builds in your ears when the plane is ascending or descending.