Home Remedies For Ear Infections
Ear infections are caused by bacteria or viruses in the middle ear. Ear infections occur more often in children than adults. Some causes and contributing factors that lead to ear infections are wax buildup, upper respiratory infections, food allergies, environmental allergies, fetal alcohol syndrome, genetics, nutritional deficiencies and internal injuries. Some common signs that someone is suffering from an ear infection are pain in the ear, tugging at the ear, difficulty sleeping, headache, poor response to sounds, high fever, fluid draining from the ear, vomiting, diarrhea and so on.
The ear is made up of three parts: outer, middle and inner.
An ear infection can occur in any of the three parts. Inner ear infections are the most serious. It is important to treat an ear infection to prevent complications, including damaging or rupturing the ear drum. Untreated ear infections can also lead to chronic recurrence and can even cause deafness! It is important to consult a doctor, but for immediate relief you can try some natural treatments. There are many time-honored, simple and easy home remedies that can help to get rid of the pain and other symptoms of an ear infection.
Here are the top 10 home remedies for an ear infection.
Food Allergies May Be Linked To Ear Pain
Food allergies can contribute to chronic ear infections. If you deal with chronic ear infections or other chronic health problems, try adjusting your diet.
Common allergens include dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts. Work with your health care provider to see if you can identify any problem foods. Keeping ears clean and dry can also help prevent ear issues.
Tested Home Remedies For Ear Infections In Adults
1. Salt Compress
Salt can be one of the easily available home remedies for the ear infections. Just heat a cup of salt on pan/double boiler or microwave. Then take out the salt on a cloth and tie from top.When some heat is released, place the salt filled cloth over the affected ear for 5-10 minutes. Repeat the procedure every day. Salt can be replaced with rice.
2. Heating Pad
Heat pad not only relieves pain quickly but also prevents micro-organism infestation. You need to use heating pad or warm water bottle to press against ear. Remember to apply heat for short periods. Start with 5 mins, and then remove. Apply few minutes later again.
3. Make the Best of Garlic
Naturally, garlic has the ability to relieve pain, especially earache. It can be used in different ways. You can prepare garlic oil by frying 2 cloves garlic in oil until blackish, strain and use as ear drops when slightly warm. Otherwise, just boil garlic in some water, crush and add salt, place in cloth piece and place over ear. The simplest way to apply garlic is to eat garlic daily.
4. Apply Basil Oil
Basil also works to relieve ear infections in adults. Minor earache and infections can be treated with basil. Extract juice of 4-5 basil leaves and apply on the ear and surroundings. Don’t let it enter into the ear canal. You can also mix holy basil oil with carrier oil. Soak in cotton ball and wipe it inside the ear.
5. Apple Cider Vinegar in Cotton Ball
6. Olive Oil to Clean
7. Tea Tree Oil
8. Mullein Drops
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Final Thoughts Home Remedy For Dog Ear Infections
If your pet is suffering from an ear infection, there are many home remedies you can try to help fight it off.
As you try some of these home remedies for your dogs ear infection, keep in mind that healing is a gradual process. Nothing gets cured overnight!
Before going straight for the home remedies, however, you may want to get the problem diagnosed by your vet. That way, you will know what treatment is best for your dogs situation.
Make Sure About The Origin Of Ear Pain:

Ear infection is not the only the cause for ear pain. Sometimes toothache can produce ear pain. So make sure that this pain is actually for ear infection. If you think you have an oral problem see a dentist. A dentist can give a proper idea about the actual origin of pain. If the pain is originated due to ear infection than you can follow the home remedies and over the counter drug for the treatment of ear infection.
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Cold Or Warm Compresses
People often use ice packs or warm compresses, like a heating pad or damp washcloth, to relieve pain. The same can be done for ear pain. This method is safe for both children and adults.
Place the ice pack or warm compress over the ear and alternate between warm and cold after 10 minutes. If you prefer either cold or warm, you can use just one compress.
Hot Salt Wrapped In A Cloth
Salt is one of the most readily available home remedies for dealing with pain in the ear. All you have to do here is take a small cup of salt, heat it properly, then wrap it in a cloth and seal the end of the cloth by tying a knot.
Now, lay down and place the cloth with hot salt on the affected ear for a couple of minutes .
Repeat this process a few times daily to relieve you from the pain and swelling in the ear. Alternatively, you could also use rice in place of salt for the same purpose.
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Homeopathic Earache Relief Ear Drops
Homeopathic earache relief drops with herbal extracts, such as Similasan, are popular for earache treatment and have been in use for decades. Similasan earache relief dropsactive ingredients include:
- Chamomilla 10X for sensitivity to drafts, soothing
- Mercurius solubilis 15X relieves fullness, sensitivity to cold
- Sulphur 12X reduces itchiness, sensitivity to water
How Is It Treated
Most ear infections go away on their own, although antibiotics are recommended for children younger than 6 months of age and for children at high risk for complications. You can treat your child at home with an over-the-counter pain reliever like acetaminophen , a warm cloth on the ear, and rest. Do not give aspirin to anyone younger than 18. Your doctor may give you eardrops that can help your child’s pain. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
Your doctor can give your child antibiotics, but ear infections often get better without them. Talk about this with your doctor. Whether you use them will depend on how old your child is and how bad the infection is.
Minor surgery to put tubes in the ears may help if your child has hearing problems or repeat infections.
Sometimes after an infection, a child cannot hear well for a while. Call your doctor if this lasts for 3 to 4 months. Children need to be able to hear in order to learn how to talk.
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Dog Ear Infections: Natural Remedies That Work
Does your dog have itchy, gunky, smelly or even painful ears that dont seem to get better? Youre not alone. Dog ear infections are one of the main reasons people take their dogs to the vet.
Heres some information to help you fix your dogs ear infections for good especially if she gets recurrent ear infections,
Fever In Young Infants
If a baby younger than 3 months old has a rectal temperature or forehead temperature of 100.4 F or higher, they need to go to the emergency room, even if there are no other symptoms.
For infants age 6 months or older, toddlers, and older children: Acetaminophen or ibuprofen are options.
Never give children aspirin, as it puts them at risk of a rare but serious condition known as Reye’s syndrome.
For adults: Acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen can help. Neither aspirin nor naproxen should be given to children unless directed by a healthcare provider.
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Preventing Middle Ear Infections
How To Use It

If using OTC drops, follow the directions on the label.
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Warm Water Bottle Or Compress
Whenever a person suffers physical pain, treating it with a hot substance often becomes the first option as an effective remedy.
Generally, using a warm water bottle or a warm compress works most of the time. Applying a warm cloth on the infected ear for a few minutes and then repeating the process can help in reducing the pain in the ear.
Treating An Middle Ear Infection
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Safe And Effective Ways Treat A Middle Ear Infection
This article was co-authored by Laura Marusinec, MD. Dr. Marusinec is a board certified Pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, where she is on the Clinical Practice Council. She received her M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine in 1995 and completed her residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Pediatrics in 1998. She is a member of the American Medical Writers Association and the Society for Pediatric Urgent Care.There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 518,314 times.
Middle ear infections are fairly common in childhood. One of every 10 children will experience otitis media, the medical term for middle ear infection, every year. This is 10 times the number of adults who will suffer from a middle ear infection.XResearch source Otitis media is the second leading cause of doctors visits in children and and the most frequent reason for antibiotic prescription in children.
Cat Ear Infection Home Remedies
Ear infections are nasty. Your cat is so dependent on its ears for mobility and navigation that an ear infection for them is much worse than for us. These infections can be caused by a number of different factors, and more often than not, an ear infection is a secondary ailment. Because cat ear infections are very common, there are several home remedies to help owners combat the issue.
Before you apply any home remedies to your pet, make sure to speak with your vet first. It would be best to catch any other ailment before the issues get any worse. If there is excessive blood or discharge, skip the home remedy, and take your pet straight to the vet. For less severe cases, it may be safe to treat your pet at home. Before we get into home remedies for ear infections in cats, lets fully explore what one is.
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Latest Infectious Disease News
Antibiotics and outer ear infections
- The most recent policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages pain management and not antibiotics as the initial approach to most outer and middle ear infections. Since outer ear infections are generally bacterial in cause, this type of ear infection can be prevented by avoiding prolonged ear canal immersion.
- Antibiotic eardrops have been shown to accelerate the healing process in swimmers ear, but avoiding prolonged water in the ear canal also is highly recommended. Rarely, severe cases of swimmers ear will cause the ear canal tissue become swollen shut. To treat this, an “ear wick” is placed in the ear to allow the antibiotic eardrops into the narrowed ear canal. Oral antibiotics often are used in severe cases.
Antibiotics and middle ear infections
Antibiotics and inner ear infections
- Inner ear infections are rare, and usually need to be treated by an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist.
If you have an ear infection in which antibiotics are not prescribed, follow up for re-evaluation by the doctor is important.
Key Points About Ear Infection Remedies
- Ear infections tend to occur in young children, but they can affect anyone.
- Ear infections can either be viral or bacterial. Treating a viral ear infection with conventional antibiotics typically is ineffective and includes undesirable side effects.
- Do ear infections clear up on their own? Yes, they certainly can, especially when you do what you can to boost your or your childs immune system!
7 Natural Remedies for Ear Infections
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What Increases Your Risk
Some things that increase the risk for middle ear infection are out of your control. These include:
- Age. Children ages 3 years and younger are most likely to get ear infections. Also, young children get more colds and other upper respiratory infections. Most children have at least one ear infection before they are 7 years old.
- Birth defects or other medical conditions. Babies with cleft palate or Down syndrome are more likely to get ear infections.
- Weakened immune system. Children with severely impaired immune systems have more ear infections than healthy children.
- Family history. Children are more likely to have repeat middle ear infections if a parent or sibling had repeat ear infections.
- Allergies. Allergies cause long-term stuffiness in the nose that can block one or both eustachian tubes, which connect the back of the nose and throat with the middle ears. This blockage can cause fluid to build up in the middle ear.
Other things that increase the risk for ear infection include:
Things that increase the risk for repeated ear infections also include:
Remedies For Inner Ear Infections

Do you need antibiotics?
If you have a bacterial inner ear infection, you may need an antibiotic. However, most inner ear infections are caused by viruses, not bacteria. Antibiotics arent effective against viral infections. For viral infections, your doctor will suggest treatment options to control your inflammation and help with your symptoms.
What treatments can help?
If you have a viral inner ear infection, your doctor may prescribe a steroid treatment to reduce inflammation or antiviral medication to attack the virus.
What are some inner ear infection home remedies?
Besides medication, there are steps you can take at home to ease the symptoms of an inner ear infection. For example:
- Keep your head upright as much as possible. Sitting or standing can help to drain the ear.
- Apply a warm compress to the affected ear to relieve pain.
- Avoid smoking and drink as little alcohol as possible.
- Reduce your stress levels, since tension can worsen symptoms.
For labyrinthitis, specifically, to combat dizziness and nausea, you can try:
- Resting in a dark, quiet place
- Drinking plenty of water, especially if your nausea leads to vomiting
- Keeping your vision focused in one place instead of glancing around at your surroundings
- Going for walks as soon as you feel you can, with someone for support until you get your balance back
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