Seeking Some Advice - Akron,OH

Have you tried putting a couple of drops of rubbing alcohol in the affected ear to help dry up any excess fluid?

Go to www.onehealthylifestyle.com or www.home-remedies-for-you.com, those pages have almost everything you need to know!
I found plenty of home remedies and info on all sorts of things (medical)! Good Luck!

I'm chiming into second the ear-candle advice! My husband gets water in his ears when he swims and this always takes care of it, and we've used it for an ear infection, too. It really can help to dry everything out in there and allow it to heal up quicker. Just be sure you have someone help you with it. And don't even bother to ask a regular doctor if they'd recommend this... they'll say it's crazy and unscientific.

Also, in case nobody mentioned this to you, whenever you take an antibiotic, be sure to take a good probiotic formula to ensure that your gut is recolonized with good bacteria instead of bad, which can lead to yeast infections and lots of other nasty stuff!

Homeopaths say that garlic oil works better than antibiotics. I haven't tried it, but it's worth stopping by a Whole Foods (or similar natural store) and getting a small bottle and trying it out.
Good Luck:)

Go to GNC or a home remedy store and get ear candles. It sounds crazy but you would not belive the gunk it will pull out. It will take a day or two after you do it for the rest of the stuff to drain but it really helps! Good Luck

I get like that ALOT and i have found that almost nothing helps too get your ears clear except that putting a warm/hot compress or heating pad on my ears for a few minutes at a time (it causes your ears to drain fluid which is causing the muffled sound)and even getting my ears to pop helps a little

You can try pinching your nose off and lightly blowing. Sometimes that will help to move the fluid that is built up in your middle ear or in your eustacian tube. Also, try blowing your nose to help loosen the fluid build up. Your ears will probably pop and it may hurt but it will help to get the fluid moving.
D.

I am 31 and have been married for almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7, and 4.

Sweat Oil.... you can get it at Wal Mart, it's in a little brown bottle, doesn't cost very much at all. You can warm it up (be very careful if you warm it up) or put it in cold, pour it in or put it on a q-tip but it's better to pour it in. Then put a piece of cotton in your ear. My mother used this on me when I was small and I used it on my kids and I use it now as well. :)
Good Luck

Have you ever tried Ear Candles? I am totally not a natural health guru, so usually don't use stuff like this, but I LOVE ear candles! You can get them even at GNC. It would probably really help.

Sounds like you have fluid retention in your ears.lay on a heating pad on your ear , ear down and that should help draw out the excess fluid.Chewing crunchy stuff should also work those muscles in your ear to get rid of some fluid.I have fought ear infections my whole life antibiotics are way over used.Before electric heating pads Grandma always gave me ahot water bottle to lay on.

Dear B.,

Try cutting out all dairy. Dairy creates mucous. Good to know when the kids have colds or ear problems. A good natural decongestant is cayenne pepper. Come in capsules at the health food store. Two with food will give you a couple of hours of relief. Side effects include possible burning in the stomach (but no usually because your stomach isn't sensitive to hot) and if you take a lot it can give you loose bowels. But it will not make you sleepy.

God Bless,

S.

B.,

I am an audiologist and I must say that some of the advice you have received has given me heart palpitations. Please don't stick anything in your ears without a doctors advice. Some of the advice for home remedies you received might be effective for certain things like removing wax or drying out the ear canal but you might be dealing with fluid buildup in the middle ear which is a completely different issue. I really don't mean to be rude but the only advice I read that really makes any sense came from the person who recommended that you see an ENT (Ear Nose and Throat Physician) if you have not already seen one... and call him again if you have! I work at an ENT office at yes we perform hearing tests to determine the degree and type of hearing loss that you have as well as doing an additional test (that is very quick and easy) to help us determine the status of your middle ear and eardrum. This will help the ENT determine your best treatment which may be something very simple like teaching you to autoinflate your ears if you are not already doing so. The health of your ear and your hearing are worth the appointment to an ENT. Good luck - hope your hearing returns to normal soon.

You probably still have fluid in your ear. My doc gave me some antihistamine (sp) and it worked really well. My sister has some hearing loss and hers is due to too much negative pressure behind her eardrum. Basically, instead of being round or flat it's sucked in. Hers started as ear infections too. You could also have a wax build up. I think you can get drops for that OTC.

B....Is your ear infection due to swimming? My daughter got an infection every time she went to the pool. Our doctor told us to put 2-3 drops of alcohol in each ear after swimming. It dries up the water. You could try that.

Hi B.! I'm not a medical professional, so I only have one piece of advice for you. If the antibiotic and decongestant aren't working then I higly recommend that you contact your doctor and tell him/her what's going on. He/she may want to put you on a different antibiotic or have you come in for further examination. If you continue having problems with your ears then you can see someone else for treatment. I don't know what type insurance you have, assuming that you do have insurance, but you can either go to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist on your own. If your insurance requires a referral for you to see a specialist, ask your primary care pyhsician to refer you to one. Also keep in mind that a lot of antibiotics don't have to be taken 10-14 days. Some are strong enough that you only need to take them for a week, but a lot of them require longer periods of time before you are completely well. I would most definitely not put any object, solid or fluid in my ear without it being prescribed by a physician. There may be wonderful home treatments out there, and some may work wonders. But your ears are so delicate and your hearing so important, that I wouldn't want to take a chance on damaging them. That's about all the advice that I have. Hope you get well soon!

Hi B.,
I have used garlic mulien drops in the past and that has seemed to work. You can get them at New earth in Cuyahoga falls, or probably any health food store. Hope this helps.
K.

B.,

Are you sure you had an ear infection? Did you have fever, pain?

It could just be wax. Is it worse after you get up in the morning or wash your hair? Water can also get trapped behind too much wax.Do you ever feel liquid moving in your ear?

I have this problem lately and it causes muffled hearing like you describe. Once in my twenties I had to get my ear irrigatged. Opened up my hearing immediately, but now I just use the remedy I found on WebMD. 2 drops of equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water every day for 5 days. However, I just discovered a new product by Murine. It's a spray can with a special back flow nozzle and it is working better. I used it once or twice a day until my hearing opened up. It's a bit pricey though, 15.99, but it lasted over a week with frequent use and did the job.
Good luck!

Hi B., Go to an ENT. I had a blown out ear infection two years ago. I did not have a reg. doctor. I went to the emergency care center (I was in exteme pain) I was told it was a hole in the ear drum. Is there blood or pain on your part? I was given antibiotics and told to see and ent. As it all worked out I saw an ent every month from March until Aug. they tried all kinds of things because I could not ear out of the ear. It ended up that the ent sent me to his partner for a surgery to see what the problem was. The ear infection I had actually ate away the bridge in my middle ear and I had to have reconstuction surgery. This is said in layman terms but the just of it is, is you really need a professional ent and tests to figure out why you're not hearing. It could be fluid? That's what they thought it was for me or it could be something more? In any case I did get back about 50-60% of my hearing back and compared to barely hearing anything at all I am grateful. Good luck to you! ML

B., most likely you have some fluid behind the ear drum which is causing a temporary hearing loss. The antiobiotic and decongestant may help drain this fluid however not always, i would recommend seeing an ENT physician. He can look to see if there is fluid and also an audiologist will test your hearing and test the function of your ear drum. The physician can plan a treatment to help properly relieve you of the fluid. If it was your family doctor that put you on the medicine you may want to contact them and tell them that you are still experienicing decrease in hearing. From a medical viewpoint please do not do ear candling. Hope you get feeling better soon.

Hi B.! I've had chronic ear infections since I had my wisdom teeth out. My dad also told me that I have hereditarily narrow ear canals, which were troublesome when I was small. I have avoided ear infections and improved the "muffled" hearing you mentioned by using a product called Murine whenever I wash my hair. I get it at our local drug store and it's just an ear wash you shoot up in your ear and "gunk" comes out. Be sure to give a good Q-tip cleaning after use. I'd check with your doc to make sure you can use it now with the ear infection. Good Luck!

B.,

I recently suffered from the same thing and was quite concerned that I would have permanent damage. I used the antihistamines as directed by my dr. and also did two rounds of antibiotics. The only thing that really had results: good old time; just giving it time to heal. Inner ear infections are s-l-o-w to heal but eventually you will recover. It won't be overnight and it won't be a perceptible "pop" or opening...but over the next few weeks it will get better. Mine took about 6 weeks before it was back to normal. Let me assure you that just waiting it out is the best plan. Time is the best healer for the diminished hearing.

blessings,
L. L.

I had a similar incident after my last ear infection. Is it possible your ear drum ruptured? Mine did within hours of waking with the ear infection. When it ruptured, I felt searing pain (which wasn't much different than I was already experiencing), followed by a little pop, and then my ear started oozing a little with blood mixed in. My ear felt better after that, and I had already started the antibiotics. The ear infection cleared up within a day or two, but it took about two weeks for my ear drum to heal and to be able to hear everything normally again - especially when I was talking.

B.,

This may sound crazy, but if you make onion juice and pour some in your ear it should help. Just grind the onion up very fine and sqeeze the juice out. I think it keeps in the frig for 3 weeks. I am a natural nutrition advisor and have more info I would be glad to share with you. Feel free to contact me ____@____.com

I have a combo of things that I know will help if you are willing to try. Hope to talk to you soon.

K. Hatch