If you’re prone to earaches, you’ll know all too well how incredibly painful and frustrating they can be.
Some ear drops and medications used to treat earaches can cost a fortune, and aren’t always laying around handy when you need them.
Although you should always seek treatment for an ear infection or severe earaches, there are ways you can ease the pain with simple things you have laying around your house.
Here are eight remedies you can try at home.
1. Hot Water Bottle
You’ve all heard ways hot water bottles can help you, from putting them on your feet to ease feet pain to holding them against your tummy to ease cramps. But did you know you can also use a hot water bottle to help treat earaches? Simply wrap your hot water bottle in towel and hold it against your sore ear for a few minutes.
2. Onion
With its antiseptic and antibacterial properties, onion is a great home remedy for easing earaches. There are two ways you can use onion. The first is to squeeze a tablespoon of juice from a grated onion and heat it over low heat. Put two or three drops of the onion juice in your sore ear two or three times each day. The second way you can use onion is to crush a fresh onion and wrap it in a clean cloth. Then, hold the cloth over your sore ear to five to 10 minutes several times each day.
3. Olive Oil
As a natural lubricant, olive oil is handy for providing fast relief from earaches. As well as that, it can also help stop any buzzing you might be feeling in your ears. All you need to do is put three or four drops of lukewarm olive oil into your ear canal. Another option is dip a cotton bud in oil and put it firmly in your ear.
4. Garlic
Garlic is a natural antibiotic, which makes it handy for providing relief from your earaches. Try making your own garlic oil by heating a teaspoon of minced garlic with two tablespoons of sesame oil. Allow the mixture to cool and filter the oil. Put two or three drops of the oil in your sore ear. The other option is to squeeze the juice out of a few cloves of garlic and put it in the ear that hurts.
5. Peppermint
You can either use peppermint leaves or peppermint oil to soothe a sore ear. Try putting the juice from fresh peppermint leaves in an ear dropper and putting a few drops into your sore ear. You can also try adding a few drops of peppermint oil around the opening of your ear – although you need to be careful not to put any peppermint oil inside your ear.
6. Hair dryer
That’s right, your hair dryer can help fix your earache by removing moisture from inside your ears. After having a bath or shower, use your hair dryer to dry your ears instead of a towel. Keep the hair dryer on warm and hold it away from your ear a little bit to dry the moisture inside. You should not do this for more than five minutes.
7. Basil
You’re probably used to using basil as a herb to season your food. But it turns out it can be used to heal every day ailments. That’s because basil has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. You can use basil to ease your earache by crushing a few basil leaves and using the juice. Just pop three or four drops of the basil juice into your ear two to three times per day.
8. Ginger
The anti-inflammatory properties in ginger make it an excellent natural pain killer. Just like onions, you can use ginger two ways to ease your earache. You can either try juicing fresh ginger and putting the juice in your sore ear, or mix and infuse a teaspoon of grated ginger root with two tablespoons of olive oil for five to 10 minutes and then put a few drops in your sore ear.