Earache: Causes, Treatments and Home Remedies

Earaches occur particularly often in children, but adults are also affected. Here you can find out what causes there can be and what helps.

What is earache?

Earaches usually occur in children, but adults are also affected from time to time. But why does it happen? The ears are extremely sensitive because many sensitive nerve endings run through them. Even the smallest disturbance can cause ear pain or pressure in the ears, which can feel piercing, knocking or dull. The pain can occur in the outer, inner or middle ear. Depending on the cause, they are constant or occur in attacks and have various other symptoms such as dizziness. In most cases, earache is caused by an inflammation and can be treated with medication, but often also with home remedies.

Common causes of earaches

Here you will find an overview of the most common causes of earaches:

• Inflammation: Inflammation of the middle ear (otitis media), inflammation of the auditory canal, boils in the ear or auditory canal, shingles or erysipelas, but also inflammation of the teeth, palatine tonsils and parotid glands. Inflammation is often accompanied by fever
• Injuries: In the outer ear, for example, through cuts, in the inner ear through an injury to the eardrum – this can be very painful
• Ear canal is blocked: For example by a plug of earwax (here you can learn how to remove earwax), as a side effect of a cold or by a foreign body in the ear

Other causes such as toothache or problems with the jaw joint can also be responsible for earaches. Elderly people also sometimes suffer from so-called ear herpes.

Medication: What to do for earache?

Depending on the trigger, earache can be treated with medication. In the case of inflammation of the auditory canal, antibiotics are usually used, while decongestant nasal spray is used for middle ear inflammation. A plug or foreign body is carefully removed, injuries to the eardrum usually heal on their own over time, but in some cases surgery may be necessary.

Home remedies for earaches

In the case of harmless causes, household remedies can relieve acute complaints caused by earaches. These include:

• Onion wrap: The classic household remedy against earache! Onions contain disinfectant mustard oil and soothe inflammation. Simply chop an onion, wrap it in a cloth and place it lightly on the ear.
• Warmth: Those who often suffer from undefined earaches often find warmth soothing, as it promotes blood circulation. Infrared light, for example, helps here. Caution: Heat is not suitable for bacterial infections – they can get worse.
• Chamomile tea: The essential oils of chamomile help with all kinds of inflammations. In case of earache you can pour chamomile tea and hold the ear carefully over the steam for a few minutes – but please be careful, the steam can be very hot!