Earaches are rarely life threatening but can be very painful. Often caused by infections, earaches can include acute pain in the ear area, swelling, inflammation and fever. Permanent hearing loss can occur if an earache is left untreated. There are some free home remedies that can help cure earaches, but if the problem does not respond to home care, you should consult a medical professional.
Diet
Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water each day. Keeping hydrated is important especially when an earache is accompanied with a fever. Eliminate all dairy products from your diet since they tend to cause mucus secretion. Avoid fruit juice, fried foods, sugar and MSG when you have an earache. These foods can worsen the earache.
Remedies
Sleep with your head propped up on a pillow. This will help stop the fluid in the ears from draining down the back of your throat. Drainage can cause irritation in the throat and spread an infection. Lay a warm heating pad (not too hot) or hot-water bottle over the ear to help with the pain.
Tea Tree Oil Remedy
Put two drops of tea tree oil in your pained ear with an eyedropper before sleeping. Loosely place a cotton ball in the ear to hold the tea tree oil inside the ear canal. Remove the cotton in the morning. Put two drops of hydrogen peroxide in the ear. Lie on your side with your affected ear up. Let the peroxide bubble for at least on minute. Use a cotton swab to clean the ear. Rinse the ear with two drops of apple cider vinegar. The vinegar will act as an antiseptic. Do this treatment up to five nights to cure your earache.
Swimmer’s Ear Remedy
Mix 1 ounce apple cider vinegar with 1ounce of isopropyl alcohol in a dropper bottle. Place two drops in each ear after swimming to dry the water trapped in the ears.