The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by dadude99 (Cottonwood, AZ,) on 07/05/2009
Right now i have a realy bad ear ache that has ben going on for 2 days. yesterday it was the 4th of July, so the bangs made it worse. i tryed pain killer, and it worked pretty well. this morning i started to hear ringing, so i tryed proxide, and now it is stuck in my ear bubbling. so DONT USE PROXIDE!
Garlic
Posted by Jeremiah (San Diego, California) on 07/01/2009
Eb22, there are likely several reasons that this happened to you. If you are allergic to allicin or any of the other properties unique to garlic, that would explain the reaction, which I remember reading somewhere (I'm sorry that I can't remember where). Allicin is a very potent chemical, which is why it can irritate the stomach and/or the digestive tract.
If you are not allergic to any of the compounds, the length of time that you had the ear infection (5 weeks is quite a bit of time) might have something to do with it. The potency of the garlic/allicin, added to the fact that your immune system is working hard against the infection anyways, may cause for a little bit of overcompensation in regards to fighting the infection.
A third possibility is the first two possibilities combined. Both an allergy to the unique compounds in garlic combined with the duration of the infection as well as the fact that your immune system is hard at work already, could very well cause a little bit of overcompensation in regards to fighting the infection.
I don't know whether you are allergic to garlic, but something about it caused an abnormal reaction to what has otherwise been proven an effective method of treating an ear infection if used properly. I would advise that you look further into this, as this could be an underlying symptom of something else.
Garlic
Posted by Jeremiah (San Diego, California) on 06/21/2009
★★★★★
EAR INFECTION, PREPARATION SUGGESTION
I had a really bad ear infection in January of 2009 in which the infection caused my right ear to have hearing loss, as well as a constant sense of being clogged with something and/or feeling clogged from high altitudes (pressure change). I took a clove of garlic, peeled it, then scraped a part of it to release the juice and allicin, then CAREFULLY (I CANNOT emphasize that enough) the scraped part into my ear canal and let it stay there for at least 2 hours, possibly 3. When I took the clove out, the infection was gone.
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST, I SAY MUST!, EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION IN DOING THIS!!!!!!!!
Hydrogen Peroxide and Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Terri (North Little Rock, Arkansas) on 03/06/2009
★☆☆☆☆
I have been trying one of the remedies that was seen here from a friend of ours and it is not working. I have had only one ear bothering me then the other one started so he went and looked up some home remedies for us because we can not afford to send me to the doctor. But it looks like that I am gonna have to go because I have not been able to get a solid night sleep. I finally do get to get some rest and it is only for about 3 hours at a time. The pain is so unbearable that I have literally bawled my eyes out and I am a 44 year old woman. The remedy that was given to me was the one that calls for 3% hydrperoxide 3 drops in each ear and then dry each one completely then take 2 drops of apple cider vinegar in each ear and leave in there for five minutes repeat this whole remedy 3 times a day. I know that there are some who do not get relief by using these remedies and others do, but I am at my wits end. I can not afford to go to the doctor. I am currently unployed but I am out there pounding the streets to find work and I have been very depressed lately. Work was the only thing keeping me going. My ears are hurting so bad right now I just want the pain to stop because it is so terrible that I have thought about other ways to end this pain and I am being very serious about this. Can you please help me find something that will work.
Vinegar
Posted by Mom2_3 (Balitmore, Maryland) on 06/05/2009
★★★★★
my family friends son had an ear infection for nearly a year. They did everything imaginable to cure it and nothing worked. He had oozing green nasty stuff coming from his ear constantly. After many different painful and risky treatments, including thinking of taking out parts of his ear (10 hour surgery), they were referred to their last resort at John's Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore City. The doctor was stumped and gave them one last idea...he said this may or may not work but let's give it a try....use vinegar to irrigate the ear twice a day. After 2 months of that and then 1 month of once a day it was gone and has NEVER returned! VINEGAR!
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Louis (Scotia, NY, USA) on 06/03/2009
★★★★★
About a year ago I had a really bad ear ache that started without warning. At the time, it was late Saturday and I knew that if I were holding my ear from the pain that waiting til Monday just wasn't an option. With that, I went online to find out if there are any homeopathic remedies that I could use. Mind you, I've never been fond about homeopathic anything..! It's like your Mom giving Cod Liver Oil which never worked, know what I mean. With that, it made sense when I ran into another posting where someone stated that they used Hydrogen Peroxide. Pretty straight forward right? Have a skinned knee use Alcohol or peroxide, made sense (not the alcohol but the HP). This one guy said that his earache went away in just a few hours. Figuring that it'll take a day or so before it felt better, I was HUGELY surprised when it worked...! If there's one thing that I've done since is use peroxide for an earache. Meanwhile, I thought the guy who wrote this POV was just making it sound like it was slice bread to just promote the option but no lie, it worked and I've never looked back. This will work, hand over fist, no question and you don't have to wait. Just spend the $0.89 on a bottle and get relief NOW...! :)
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Eva (Denham Springs, Louisiana, United States) on 05/26/2009
★★★★★
Most of the children on my father's side have had to have tubes put in their ears. I suffered from many ear infections throughout childhood. Typically, it was from swimming, but I even got it from taking a shower or bath occasionally.
Ear drops from the doctor were warm, oily, expensive, and took about a week to cure the infection. My mother heard that you could get rid of it with hydrogen peroxide and I have never looked back. Any time my ear starts to hurt, I put a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide into my ear and let it sit until it stops bubbling. Then, I drain out the ear and put one drop of rubbing alcohol. The peroxide cleans and sanitizes the ear canal. The drop of alcohol mixes with any water or peroxide left in the ear and evaporates it quickly.
This method usually takes care of the infection overnight, and I haven't had an earache for more than two days since I started using it. I don't know how safe this is, because I'm not a doctor. I do know that I have been doing it for the past 14 years and still have good hearing and no known problems with my ears.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by emt_scheid911 (Detroit, MI) on 05/15/2009
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
Hello,
I came to the website in search of something to help with my ear pain which I associated with having impacted wax with a q-tip yesterday. I read about the peroxide and used it and was immediatly regretful! I became so dizzy that I passed out immediatly and when I woke up I didn't stop vomiting for the next 2 hours. It took the whole day for the dizziness to go away. And after all that-nothing changed in my ear whatsoever. I went to the doctor and he said to make sure you MIX the peroxide 50/50 with warm water, and to make sure the peroxide is WARM. If you put it in your ear cold-you will get the side effects that I did. So-I'm not saying it doesn't work because clearly for some it does. Just make sure you WARM THE PEROXIDE and make sure you DILUTE it, and make sure it really is ear wax because I ended up having an infection and a ruptured ear drum!
Take care guys!
Cigarette Smoke
Posted by Mom2_3 (Baltimore, Maryland) on 05/12/2009
★★★★★
I suffer from severe allergies. Once again I gave into my doctor and started a course of antibiotics and steroids. I had the most drainage I have EVER had...I developed earaches in both ears. After 5 days on the meds and still having a lot of pain, I took myself back to the Dr. to make sure I didn't have an infection. I was right, no infection but still a lot of pain! I tried pain meds and that still didnt work. So as a last resort I was reading through your cures. I already tried the peroxide, so I gave the cigarette a try. I cut the cigarette in half and lit it. I placed the filter down in my ear and laid on the floor. I set the timer for 1 minute. I repeated for the other ear. YEAH...my pain went away and has not returned!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for putting, even the weirdest, natural cures on here :)
Apple Cider Vinegar, Sea Salt
Posted by Dandy5 (London, Canada) on 05/04/2009
★★★★★
As I write this, I am suffering with the flu, and on top of that managed to plug my ears with wax. Having administered several drops of olive oil over the course of last night and today, and then syringing, I was getting nowhere, and feeling very depressed. I have a dr's appointment tomorrow, but couldn't stand the pain, so I went on the internet researched ideas, decided to try the sea salt and water, as I had softened the ear wax already with the olive oil. Tried a couple of times nothing, was about to give up, and voila, out came the wax, and a huge relief of pressure. Thanks for the info.
Oregano Oil
Posted by London (Sandusky, Ohio) on 04/28/2009
★★★☆☆BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS
Yes, I've tried Oregano Oil for an Ear infection and It worked, but it burned the heck out of my Ear!! Just rub the outsides of outer ear, and it will make it's way to inner ear, without causing you to go nuts with the burning.
Ear Pick
Posted by London (Sandusky, Ohio) on 04/28/2009
★★★★★
Yes, I'm a believer in the ear pick. I HATE Q-tips. They just push the wax in, and it causes irritation, and more wax build up along with itchiness. The Ear pick actually pulls the wax out, but I have caused my ears to bleed before, and other problems,and that was scary. Now, I'm much more gentle and cautious about it.
The best thing to do is irrigate with a warm, purified water/hydrogen peroxide solution with a bulb syringe. Water is the best thing for your ears.
Sea Salt Solution
Posted by Jodi (Grand Rapids, Michigan) on 03/13/2009
It's called vertigo, any time you put something in your ear this will happen. It is fine and won't hurt you, you just have to wait it out and LAY DOWN! You aren't supposed to get up and start walking around, when the room is spinning, you're gonna want to throw up! Hope this helps
Sinus Wash
Posted by Nate (Kansas City , Mo.) on 03/13/2009
★★★★★
Short and simple it works Thank You! Just don't blow to hard it can make your ears hurt, but worked first time I tried it, not 100% yet but few more times will do the trick thanks again.
Hand on Ear Method
Posted by Gean (Salina, KS) on 03/13/2009
★★★★★
At the very first sign of ear pain, put your hand over your ear for a few minutes, warming your ear. If your hair is long enough, pull some hair over your ear and cover with warm hand. Keep it there until pain goes away. If you have access to a hat or head band, cover ears to keep warm. If very bad you can cup both hands and make a "tunnel" from your mouth to your ear, blowing warm air. The key is not to wait at all, but do it at the first sign of pain. You can do this wherever you happen to be, and can save you lots of trouble. I've told my kids to do this, and no one in the family has had ear pain for many, many years. If time has gone by and you've had the ear pain for hours, then you may need a heated salt bag or some of the other treatments, although it wouldn't hurt to try the above. But, remember for the next time that a stitch in time saves nine.
Garlic
Posted by Susy (Woodland Hills, CA) on 03/10/2009
★★★★★
I've been using Garlic for earaches ever since I can remember. It works like a charm. You use one Garlic Tooth, heat it up but not burning hot, you cut the piece small enough to fit in your ear but not small enough to go into the ear canal. It works like a charm. I've done this on my kids as well. They fall asleep & wake up pain free.
Cigarette Smoke
Posted by Diana (London, UK) on 03/02/2009
★★★★★
I have very sensitive ears and everytime I'm exposed to wind blowing or just a simple air drought, especially after a shower, when my ears are still wet, I get ear ache almost instantly. Sometimes my tonsils ache and my neck becomes stiff. I suffered with this for years until a friend from Transylvania (no connection with you know who...) put a cigarette in my ear. It was unbelievable. I almost felt I had bubbles of air inside there and they were coming out one by one (that's the popping sound) and I can hear a whistle like the wind blowing through a crack in the wall. I tried to find an anatomical reason for this, but until now I couldn't. It definitely works, though and I gladly recommend it to anybody who suffers with this. It doesn't work on an ear infection, though. You will need antibiotics, I guess.
Garlic
Posted by Eb22 (Hilo, Hawaii) on 02/28/2009
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
Warning! Do NOT PUT GARLIC INTO YOUR EAR! I placed a peeled garlic clove in my ear for 2 hours to relieve a 5 week long ear infection which had made me me desperate. 1 hour later my face went numb on that side. 7 hours later I woke up with vertigo and ringing in my ear. It is now 3 weeks later and I still feel vertigo and the ringing makes it difficult to sleep. I hope this goes away!
Sea Salt Solution
Posted by Tristan (Palm Coast, Florida) on 02/21/2009
I've had a recurring ear infection (it's left a constant ringing sound), and have tried a number of oils, garlic, clove etc, and nothing has worked. This afternoon I put in some drops of sea salt solution - the right ear was fine, but after rinsing the left one, I couldn't walk straight. I was all off balance like I'd been drinking, and I felt quite nauseous. I'm worried now. Can anyone explain what may have happened? Thanks.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Glass (Brooklyn, NY ) on 02/06/2009
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
WARNING ABOUT PEROXIDE!!!
i have a history of ear problems throughout childhood. i havent had any infections or pain in about 15 years, since i was 12-- until now. last week i developed a cold, everyone in my house is sick and coughing, phlegm, congestion, some with fever, you know the deal. winter in new york. i read about hydrogen peroxide in the ear and tried it, it barely even went down, that's how clogged my ears must have been. but i had zero ear pain at all, i have had many sinus infections/ flu / colds over the years, all cured naturally with no spread to ear. 2 nights ago i had a severe earache, for 6 hours i was literally wailing in excruciatng pain. i put in a cap of peroxide 2 or 3 times, it started to feel better when it first when in and as soon as it got deeper the pain was just as bad. i think it's a bad idea to put anything in your ears, especially anything liquid, if you have a history of problems draining fluid or tubes put in as a kid, because that drainage problem can come right back as it did for me. the liquid got trapped in there the other day when i first did it (in attempt to cure the cold) and whatever clogging was there just left the little peroxide with nowhere to drain, and it caused an infection.
yesterday felt a little better when i woke up, but muffled hearing. woke up today with blood and white fluid (some pus?) coming out of ear. i got scared and went to a doctor. i'm pregnant and refuse antibiotics, she said since the pus isn't green, i can try to cure infection myself but still recommended penicillin. i will continue to inhale steam, eat lots of raw ginger and garlic and massage all around the ear (around the outside of ear, all those pressure points especially behind earlobe and a little down the neck) and that could cure the infection. do both ears to prevent spread of infection to other ear. also massage pressure points around nostrils. ACV is great too!!! i swig a few teaspoons mixed with water and cayenne, like 5 times a day when im sick. it's a great sinus reliever and breaks up congestion. turmeric is great too, it's a potent anti-inflammatory. hope this helps.
Cayenne Pepper
Posted by Justis (St. Louis, MO) on 02/03/2009
★★★★★
I had such severe sinus pressure i thought my ears were going to explode and I couldn't hear at all...I made a cayenne tea and shot it up into my nose and my sinuses repeatedly. Talk about pain...sinuses drained by the time i went to bed couple hours later and pressure all gone next day.
Onions
Posted by Yeshai (Brooklyn, NY) on 01/29/2009
★★★★★
Squeeze onion juice in the ear from a onion. It will take any ear ache away super fast.
