Earache....any Advice for Relief

I haven't read all of the posts, but I wanted to tell you that there is a lot of research that shows how chiropractic helps with ear infections.

a great website is www.icpa4kids.org

I am a chiropractor in Overland Park, and I have seen many severe ear infections resovle without the need for tubes and anesthesia.

If it were me i would ask to see and ENT Doctor. when my children started having problems with their ears i asked to see the ENT and the doctor put them on medications for 3 weeks. however my oldest child is fixing to get her 3rd set of tubes in her ears. I would suggest to see this speacialist and see what they think. that is what i had to do

I just started having this kind of problem with my own ears a few years ago. Mine is allergy related. My doctor prescribed Allegra D. But I often just use Caratin or Sudafed. My doc recommended drinkign through a straw and chewing gun to help get the fluid moving through eustacion tubes.

my daughter had this problem when we lived in Georgia. It was allergies causing it. She had fluid in her ears constantly and would get a phone call from school about every week that she was complaining with ear pain. I would take her to the doctor and she wouldn't have an ear infection but would be in a lot of pain so would get the ear drops for pain. They didn't do anything about it either. I sent the drops to school and told them to use them whenever she had ear pain because they weren't infections so that helped keep her in school pain free at least. She didn't have any ear problems prior to moving there. We lived in Georgia for 3 years and then moved here to Missouri. She hasn't had any ear problems here so it was something in GA causing her to have that. You may want to have him checked for allergies. It could be allergies causing his sinuses to drain and they are draining into his ears. She didn't have a runny nose often so her drainage was going to the ears. Her doctors never suggested putting tubes in her ears because she didn't have a history of ear infections. They thought it was sinus drainage causing it. She was put on Zyrtec because she also had a constant cough at night and that was only happening in that state too. Georgia was awful for all 3 of my kids. They had asthma problems there and don't have that problem here either so all the different climates we have lived in have proved some areas worse than others for allergies.
I noticed another comment suggested College Park Family Care Center. We also go there and know a lot of other people that go there as well. It is a very good Family practice center. They have several doctors that specialize in different areas.

my 7 yr old daughter has similar problems, and has had tubes put in once. I have found that when she shows signs of getting an ear ache/ ear infection, if I use an ear drop called Similasan Homeopathic Earache Relief for a couple of days, she clears right up. You can buy them at walmart or walgreens (those are the two places I have gotten them from, I'm sure there are more places that sell them)

I would take him to an ENT, but more specifically a pediatric ENT. They deal with these types of things all the time, and might have some other alternatives to surgery.
Best of luck,
J.

my 13 year old son has lots of problems with his ears he has had tubes put in 3 times and they wanted to do it again and I said no! there has got to be a reason that he has fluid build up so bad all the time I told them to find the problem. well they are still trying to figure it out. he gets so bad that he can't even hear you very well and it makes me mad that no one can figure out what is wrong with him. well the one thing I have found that helps when his ear starts to hurt and is much safer then a heating pad is you get a sock, put beans in it tye it up. when he complains of his ear hurting trow the bean sock in the microwave and warm it up. it stays worm for awhile but BECARFULL not to warm it up to much because the beans will get hot. sometimes we put it in and make it hot, wait until it cools down enough that it isn't to hot for him so it will last even longer. this way if they fall asleep on it all they get is the beans in there face and you can use it over and over again. just a suggestion hope it works for you.

I can see you have received a lot of responses. I agree with the person who wrote about the possibility of this being allergy related. Especially at your son's age of onset of this problem, I would want to consult an allergist or an ENT who works closely with an allergist. In the meantime, have you tried Sudafed? Sometimes when sinuses are blocked, the ears are prevented from draining well. Moist heat is a good idea for the discomfort. Do get a second opinion.

My son had this same problem though he was much younger (almost 3 was the start and it ended when 9 months later). We discovered our son had food intolerances...not allergies. As it turned out no surgery was needed, we changed his diet and I can count on one hand the number of illnesses including colds he has had since we changed his diet 1.5 years ago. In the meantime something that relieves ear congestion is a product by Metagenics called "Earache Remedy". It is actually a homeopathic solution and we always keep some on hand just in case.

Good luck!

B. :)

I had ear probs alllll my childhood!! My mom would not let them put tubes in my ears eather.. She was scard that I would Die.. Gosh!!! I just wanted to it hurt so bad!!!!

OK.. I was on pinacilian Sorry spelled wrong I know... I could not take the amoxicillion Not strong enought... I even had to get Shots in my Tushhhy 2 times a day!! OUCH!!!!

They had drops I had used in my ears.It was an RX.. They sort of Numb the ear.. It was my Favorite BLUE BOTTLE!!! I think now in a brown hehehe but they were a GOD SEND!!!! They have something over the counter now.. Not sure what it does... Ask dr if it numbs!!! or whatever..... A few drops.... stuff with cotton and I was off to bed or whatever I was a zombie most of the time!!! My ears were soooo bad.. I had Pus coming out of them... I had have mom lay my head on her lap... In one ear she would dump a cap of peroxicde in my ear... wiggle it around after a few seconds of bubbling PUt a towle on it and switch ears. We did this 2 times each ear... Then put drops in and I went to bed.. IT was so much fun!!!!

Now you said your son has water behind his ear... First If they will do drops great... If not... Try a heating pad!!!! OR a blowdryear.. The heat will help Shift the wax in his ear and could help drain the water maybe... I loved the heating pad It helped me sooo much!!!!! but my sisters son he has allergies... has sinus probs really bad... Name it.. It can cause it to be bad too... have dr reallly check this out.. Nolan had earaches like ever time he was on meds.. got off it happen again.. They dr even upped the meds to take a bit longer.... He still got another one.. They did hearing test too cuz it was soooo many... they were so worried...

When is his surgery planned.. I hope he will be ok Not too scard... My sisters son has had his tubes done 2 times.. Just keep that in mind.. He might need it done again!!! Nolan has had alot of probs with sinuce and ears and all that since he was little little little and he is now 15....

Sending hugs... and hope he feels better soon.. I sooo know how he feels.. I hate that he is hurting!!!!!

They would not do tubes on my son till he had so many earaches.. I was like HELLO!!! He is in pain... do it!!! But he grew out of it!! I guess 5 in a row did not count... So just make sure dr is not jumping the gun... and have it alll looked at!!!

T.

Ok,this is going to be lengthy...
I heard this from a retired nurse who worked for a Dr. The Dr. said this is what you do..... use nose drops (not nose spray)...have them lay on their back. Put drops in the both nostrils...massage their sinuses to get the drops in all areas...(nose, cheeks, forehead)...have them lay for several minutes. Then sit up, plug their nose and have them swallow several times. Do this about 3 times a day.
I tried it with my 2 year old the last time she had an ear ache and it cleared up. Worked great!!
Hope that helps.
D.

My 13 month old was having problems with fluid build up and his pediatrician recommended benadryl to help dry things up. In our case the fluid was caused from nasal drainage so not only did we vamoose the earaches but I don't have a snot nosed kid :) I actually give him the grape thinstrips now....same med as benadryl but much easier to get down...

My kids have chronic ear infections, so I think I've tried everything out there to help the symptoms. At the last doctor's visit, he said there have been recent studies saying that chewing gum, especially with Xylitol has been shown to help people with chronic ear infections. Apparently the chewing motion helps drain the fluid, and the Xylitol has natural antibiotic properties. I can't remember which brand contains this, but it was definitely a brand of gum you'd find in any check-out line.
And before you get tubes, you might want to have your son evaluated by a specialist. We almost went the tubes route with our (now) 6-year-old when he was 3, but a specialist was able to test his "perminent hearing" and found that it was not damaged, so we decided to wait it out and the very next winter his ear infections were drastically reduced. It might be a different situation with a 12-year-old, but I'm sure you'll want to be sure that's the right thing to do before you have him undergo surgery.

Best of luck!
N.

I have heard of alot of people having success taking their children to a chiropractor. If you can find one that specializes in children it may be worth a shot.

Well, my kids have had ear infections, none as bad as your though. When I was little my mom would hold a heating pad against my ear to help the pain. Not sure if it's just one of those things people did back then or not but I think it helped a little.

There is a product called "Symilicin" that is used for the pain of ear infections. It is a homeopathic combination, sold at most stores.

A. L

Dear J., My oldest daughter had chronic earraches for years, finally we found one thing that finally gave her relief. Warm about 1 teaspoon olive oil in a spoon with a match test it to make sure it isn't too hot, just warm then pour into the ear canal and hold earlobe snug against ear for about 30 seconds then place small cotton ball in ear over night. softens wax buildup, dry cannal gets moisture and a protective coating from contaminants. Also blowing cigar smoke directly into ear will help with pain. good luck, T. K.

A friend of mine had ear probs.(an adult)she went to ENT who just gave an antibiotic ear drops. It helped some but it kept returning. Then because of an insurance change she had to see different doctor, this doctor took stuff out of her ear and sent it to the lab. It came back positive for fungal and bacterial infections. She started new meds for these particular infections and is starting to finally get some relief. Apparently this is not so uncommon.

http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Earache.html

this is a home remedy website. maybe it can help you.

Good luck hun!

I have three children,ages 3,7,and 10(I'm also 2 days away from having my fourth) ALL three have had the ear problems.Tons of earaches and infections, my oldest was the worst and he's the one who has suffered from some hearing loss. All three of mine have tubes in their ears, my oldest has had seven sets and an aednoidectomy twice and his tonsils removed, my middle child has had three sets of tubes and my youngest,one set-she has never had a problem since-however I have heard that getting tubes causes almost as much damage as an actual ear infection.I opted not to have the surgery for ear bone replacement for my son due to the fact that the docter told me that there would most likely be permanent hearing loss.I think it really depends on the child and you have to take your chances, because as I have said nothing has worked for my oldest and tubes worked wonders for my youngest. I can tell you that the surgery is simple and practically painless.Since your son is 12 I would think he would fly through and he is old enough to take care of himself and his tubes, it would probably be good for him-however I would also look into T tubes-these are a new permanent plastic tube that my son had put in last and they were the ones that worked the best.Good luck I hope I was able to help a little.

Check with Dr. Miriam Mills in Tulsa. She may be able to help him without using meds or tubes, but rather OMT. http://www.youngpeoplesclinic.yourmd.com/miriammills

J. my 11 year old has had ear aches all of his life. I use ear drops when his ears start hurting it helps,but once a month he has to go to the dr. and get his ears drained.
Recentaly he had to get meds. for his ear ache as well has getting his ears drained. Heat also helps. It may not hurt to take your son to another dr. or even an ear specialist, they try not to put tubes in unless necesary.It never hurts to get a second opinion.

Good luck
J.

My son had the same problems, ear infection after ear infection!!! He had tubes put in his ears and his tonsils and adnoids removed all in one surgery when he was 5 years old. No problems at all and it made a world of difference!!

Any other questions feel free to contact me!! :)

Mucinex. As an adult my doctor tells me to take mucinex for build up of fluid and congestion. They recently came out with a childrens mucinex. It works great! It is over the counter, but of course you can speak with a pharmacist about it and his doctor, but I would definately try that and maybe another doctor.

Find another doctor immediately. Could be allergies as well. I love Dr. Bruce Pfeutze (not sure of spellling) He is connected with College Park family practice off of College & Quivera in Overland Park. Not sure where you live (?) They also have a PA, a woman, who is fantastic. I would also go to Wild Oats and talk with their vitamin specialist. There may be an alternative therapy you can try. Good luck. But don't let that young man suffer any longer!

I have ear problems to this day I am 27. If I get any Oklahoma water that is not clorinated I have an ear infection with in days. What I do when I get a flar up is put rubbing alcohol in my effected ear for about a minute. Then I let it run out and put a heating pad over my ear for a while. I try to do it as long as I can stand the heat. If I am watching TV I will put in on. I try to make sure someone is home just incase I fall asleep I don't want it to burn my face. It can if you have it really hot. Oh and make sure the heating pad is wraped in a towel to make it softer on your face and if you do fall asleep it wont be as bad.