Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with earinfection

Chiropractic Manipulation of the Ear

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:33:57 -0800

My wife wants to take our 9 month old to the chiropractor to have his ear manipulated to address ear infections. From what I understand, this would involve tugging/manipulating the ear itself, and not the C-spine. Hope me with science? I've been able to find no scientific literature regarding manipulating the ear, but plenty of stuff addressing c-spine manipulation that is, quite frankly, scary. The lack of literature is a bit of a red flag for me.

My wife would like to pursue this prior to looking at tubes for addressing my son's ear infections.

Lest this go in the direction of a review on communication, we have discussed this. She's of the opinion that "if it can help, why not try?" I'm of the opinion that we could make the same argument for faith healing or psychics, but she wouldn't legitimately consider either of those options. She's polled a couple of our friends who are medical professionals on the topic, so I feel I'm in the clear to (anonymously) ask the hive.

I should also note that it was her chiropractor that brought up this course of treatment after she mentioned that our son had been dealing with chronic ear infections.

dog ear infection

Countess Elena — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:41:16 -0800

My little dog seems to have an ear infection -- head tilting, ear-scratching, ear-shaking, general sadness. She has a vet appointment Saturday, for an unrelated follow-up, and I will tell the vet about it then. In the meantime, would it hurt her to give her some of the miconosol eardrops (1%) I have left over from when this happened before? They have an expiration date of 9-2011, which isn't great, but probably just means it would be a little less effective. She'll certainly be looked at this weekend, and in any case I know it may not be a yeast infection, as it was that time. I just want to be sure that this isn't the kind of treatment that you definitely don't want to give unless it's necessary.

(I know, I feel responsible. She haaates having her ears fooled with, so they don't get washed much. When a dachshund wants to hide from you, they stay hidden.)

WOMPY WOMPY WOMPY WOMPY WOMPY WOMPY WOMPY

functionequalsform — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:43:30 -0800

YANMD: Post-sinus infection ear stuffiness. Infuriating! YANAD, YANMD. I know.

So I got a cold/flu on Christmas Day.

The flu symptoms abated relatively quickly, but turned into a really mean sinus infection. I did all of the things you should do at home/over the counter to relieve this, in vain.

On the evening of the 27th, I woke up from nap #8,000 to a really severe earache. I couldn't hear out of it either.

So off to the doctor I went. They prescribed a Z Pack for the infection and some lidocaine drops for the earache.

Now I'm feeling much better, but the ear is the last symptom standing. It doesn't hurt, so I don't need to use the lidocaine, but it makes this really frustrating and distracting WOMPY WOMPY WOMPY noise.

It womps with each step I take. When I'm sitting quietly at my desk, it womps with my pulse. Occasionally, a loud noise (like a door slamming) will make it momentarily stop. Sometimes it will stop womping when I work my jaw in the right way, or snap my head in its direction.

Essentially, it just kind of sounds like there's water in it.

Would buying some "swimmers ear" solution or hydrogen peroxide help it? Hurt it worse, god forbid?

Please help me stop the womping.

Can I begin to treat my ear infection?

desertface — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:31:26 -0800

What (if any) household items are there that can help in the early stage of an outer ear infection (not just the pain, but the infection itself)? I've heard of people using olive oil to soothe the pain. I've even heard more than one anecdote about people dripping Listerine into the ear canal to help with the pain. But is there anything that can actually help with the infection itself?

Mouth wash, skin toner, rubbing alcohol, Neosporin... could any of these help safely curb the worsening of an infection?

I know getting antibiotics/ear drops prescribed by a doctor is by far the #1 best route. But in a middle-of-the-night, painful, non-ER pinch, is there anything in my medicine cabinet that can help with what feels like a quickly worsening outer ear infection?

Ear infection tips/tricks

Brocktoon — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 09:59:16 -0800

I need your tips/tricks for dealing with an ear infection. I have an ear infection, which either didn't go away completely after 10 days of antibiotics starting about a month ago, or this is a new infection. I saw my GP again, and he gave me a 15 day supply, and told me to see a specialist. I can't get into the specialist until next month. In the meantime, I need whatever tips you might have for dealing with the reduced hearing, and constant pressure on that side of my head, while waiting for the antibiotics to do their thing. Also, whatever you recommend I should not be doing, and whatever might speed up recovery.

Weird ear infection remains

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:14:30 -0800

Something is horribly wrong with my right inner ear. There is an ever present pressure behind my jaw and in my sinuses, worse when I'm laying on that side and worse when I'm eating (and worse, apparently, driving in a car going over 60mph). This has been going on ever since I had what sounds really similar to otitis media (with, ew, drainage happening after three days...and during those three days I had bucket head and could hear nothing but myself walking and talking). I don't have health insurance anymore, but when I did (lost it in November when I turned 19) my doctors just told me it was earwax (i.e., they didn't see anything, I guess).
It just always feels blocked, even in the back of my sinuses. I also feel a kind of swelling behind my jaw (below my ear and above where the lymph nodes are generally felt), that has been there since last March. When I press on it, I can feel the pressure radiating into my ear.
I just fear it's going to close up again like for those three days last year.
I know you're not a doctor, but maybe you've had this. If you think it's really bad or requires scary surgery, just say it nicely—I'm feeling worse just writing this! Is there a chance it'll go away by itself? It's not *quite* as bad as it was in, say, July.

Oh, I've had chronic ear infections as a kid and a sinus infection every year throughout high school. I don't have a lot of noticeable hearing loss, just pressure. I'm scared to ever go in an airplane.

Look into my...ear

bilabial — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:51:38 -0800

YANMD filter. I have had an earache for...a long time. I need a super low cost ENT type visit in the miami/fort lauderdale area. I've been taking ibuprofen and benadryl to faciltate sleeping at night. This was fine with me until it stopped working.

I'm under employed and uninsured (working 11-15 hours/week, had a hopeful job interview today). Minute Clinic at cvs (a drugstore chain here in Florida) is the cheapest option I can find, but at $62 for the visit, that's just not affordable. I do not have a credit card. I'm not in need of emergency room care, so please don't suggest I go there. I'm not currently enrolled in college classes, so utilizing campus health is not possible.

My google fu is failing me and at the moment my ear hurts so badly that chewing is uncomfortable. I can't put this off until I get health insurance or find a winning lotto ticket in the gutter.

I have a broward county bus pass and a bike. I could use the Miami buses. I might be able to get a ride someplace from a friend. So, transportation is a challenge, but less of a barrier than money.

Is there a clinic with a sliding scale? Does anyone have a doctor friend in Miami who could look into my ear and say, 'yup that's infected.' (I've had a lifetime of ear infections. I'm 70% certain that's what it is. Of course, I'm not a doc, and even if I were, I'm not physically able to look into my ear. So my guess at what the problem is doesn't amount to much. What I know is, it hurts and before I consider drinking myself to sleep, I need to see a doctor.)

my pain is a special snowflake

mustard seeds — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:58:16 -0800

YANMD-filter: I'm having ear pain and want to avoid going to the hospital if I can. Yucky details inside. My right ear canal has been very tender for the past three days. After noticing some itching, I cleaned it out with hydrogen peroxide on Friday and was alarmed to discover pus gunking up my ear. A few months ago, I had a painful infection that sent me to the doctor, and I really don't want to go through that again. Three days later, I don't have any further symptoms (decreased hearing, fever, dizziness) but I still have some pain and itchiness in the canal. I have continued to clean my ears a few times a day with peroxide, and the gunk has gone away/is not aggressively regenerating, but the ear canal still feels sore, especially just after I clean it. Could it be sore just because I've been cleaning it too much for the past few days?

Normally, I would already have called my doctor, but I would like to treat this at home if it is at all possible. I'm currently living in a small town in China, about two hours from the nearest "foreigner's hospital." I went to the local hospital for my previous ear infection, and it was not a great experience (clouds of cigarette smoke, strangers crowding into the examination room to stare at me, unusually painful treatment, difficulty communicating with doctor). I have resolved to suck it up and go back to the hospital if I develop any other symptoms (stuffy ear, dizziness, etc.) or if the pain and itching increase, but I would like to know how I could (or should) be monitoring my ear in the meantime. At my last hospital visit, the doctor advised me to clean my ear canal three times a day with hydrogen peroxide, using a Q-tip. Leaving aside the fact that other doctors have repeatedly advised to never ever put Q-tips in my ear, three times a day sounds like a lot.

My plan is to take decongestants and vitamins and hope that the ear clears itself up on its own, but to try to make arrangements to go to the hospital in the city if things take a turn for the for worse.
I've read the posts tagged earinfection, earinfections, and earpain and I've looked on other forums, but I'm still hoping that someone on metafilter can advise me about whether I should leave the ear alone for awhile or whether I should keep cleaning it or if there is anything I should be doing/avoiding. Thank you and, please, no victim-blaming, metafilter!

Treatment for a child's ear infection?

mamaraks — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:37:56 -0800

My first-grader has pain in his right ear. It was keeping him up last night but the pain went away after a dosage of Tylenol. For the past week he's had a cold but the ear pain began just last night. Does anyone have advice for how to proceed with this thing I suspect is an ear infection? Our clinic is closed until Monday, and that is also the earliest I could get him to his chiropractor (he sees one since he painfully overextended his back on a waterslide last summer--but I hear chiropractors can help with ear infections too).

Do ear infections in an adult require a trip to a doctor?

tastybrains — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:24:22 -0800

Has anyone had experience with ear infections going away on their own or with home treatment? Or do they always require a trip to the doctor and some antibiotics? I know you're not a doctor or not my doctor. I'm just trying to decide if I have to try & get into my doctor's today (which will require going to their walk-in clinic, which will require sitting in a waiting room for 2.5+ hours) or if there is anything I can do at home (rest, Tylenol, decongestants, etc) that might encourage it to go away on its own.

I don't really feel sick overall, which usually happens when I get an ear infection. Basically my ear canal started hurting and sort of almost itching in a painful way yesterday and has gotten worse overnight. It doesn't feel like a usual ear infection - it seems more focused in the outer canal than a deep-inside ache. I also don't feel congested which always happens when I get an ear infection.

Could this be related to getting the flu shot yesterday?

If I wait it out until Monday to see if I feel better, what can I do in the meantime to help it? Otherwise, if you think I should just suck it up and go to the doctor, I can accept that. I just tend to be a hypochondriac so I have trouble deciding when it's actually necessary.

Crazy ear infection treatments that just might work?

spaceman_spiff — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 16:07:55 -0800

I've had recurring ear infections for almost a year now, and it's driving me nuts. My doctor is now saying that there aren't a lot of options left, and while I'm looking for a second (third, fourth, fifth) opinion, I'm tempted to try her latest oddball suggestion. We've done antibiotics, in oral and ear drop form, we've done surgery, and we're about to try a powdered form of antibiotic that the doc says is a last-ditch effort (and will most likely not work). She's told me (after much pressuring to provide more options) that some people recommend exclusion diets - eliminating wheat, dairy, corn, and so on - as a method of treatment, but that this has never been supported by anything other than anecdotal evidence.

I haven't been able to find any reputable information about this - I know it's not a standard treatment, but I'd hoped to at least find a source without LOTS OF CAPS, accusations of oppression by "the 'so-called' mainstream medical community, a.k.a., thieves" and typos galore. My desperation can only do so much to surpress the skeptic within me. Does anyone have any experience with an ear infection-related exclusion diet? General suggestions for figuring out how the heck I eliminate these foods from my diet without starving myself?