Both of my ears are hurting. Do you have any ideas to help me relieve the pain?(see details)

When that happens to me (I have chronic ear infections) I put cotton balls soaked in warm mineral oil just inside the opening. My doctor says don’t push it in, just lay it on the outer portion.

I have also found that a warm cloth over the entire ear and face area provides relief.

You can try laying down on a heating pad, alternating ears every so often. That helped some when I was a kid with ear problems.

@shego I am in the same pain. I’m still getting over a double ear/sinus infection. A warm bath might make you feel better. Then you can put something warm when your in the tub (washcloth or towel) on your ear.

Take another dose of ibuprofen as soon as you can, too. And get to the doc in the AM. You’ll need anti-biotics to beat this.

I am very miserable right now, and being in pain, is make me very impatient, but @SpatzieLover you think it might be an ear infection?
I felt fine last night, and this morning, then this afternoon I felt really horrible, and I am pale. I could scare casper right now.

That is one of my least favorite sensations. It starts making me very anxious and jumpy.
I hope it gets better soon.
Try to take deep slow breaths. It’ll be ok.

@shego
Most likely you do have an ear infection. (Obviously I can’t see in your ears from here ;) If not, you definitely (don’t need to see it, your pain says it all) have fluid in your ears.

@SpatzieLover please forgive my ignorance, but how bad is that?

Warm washcloths right behind your ears. It helps me. It also helped when I got my tonsils out and was getting pain all the way into my ears.

Try referred ear pain. Where your brain is telling you your ear is falling off when its not, the nerves are just being mashed by swelling in your neck.

@shego It’s not so bad. Your doc will give you some antibiotics to take for 5 days or a week. You may have fluid built up in your ear for a few more weeks, but the stabbing pain will subside quickly.

If you don’t go to the doc, you could rupture an eardrum, which takes much longer to heal, and causes horrific pain.

@SpatzieLover No, I don’t think I can handle much more pain.

if you can get some sudafed it may help a bit. until you get to the doctor.

@shego Plan to go to the doctor. Be there when they open. :P

@avvooooooo You’d better believe I will

You could bribe ‘em with cookies too. I know that motivates me to get things done! :D

The doctor should be able to give you meds to deal with the infection as well as telling you what to use/giving you something for pain.

I hate this. Besides my ears hurting like hell, and me being sick, I can’t taste my skittles. :( I am such a crybaby.

@shego It hurts so bad you cant taste skittles? You ARE sick.
::hug!!!!!!::
and extra lurve.

I gave up on eating them :(

Try pancakes?

@rangerr not getting out of bed unless it is time for me to go to the DR. or to the restroom. But pancakes sound good.

If the ibuprofen isn’t helping, you could try taking some aspirin, too.

(I believe it is safe to take ibuprofen + aspirin. Fact-checker, please!)

Do you have a Neti pot or similar? Getting some warm water in your sinuses might help relieve some of your pain. (My doctor gave me one of these when I was suffering from a sinus infection.)

Do you drink hot tea? It might help, but less because of medicinal value, and more because it is relaxing/comforting.

And I second @Judi‘s suggestion for some sudafed. (Make sure you get the “naughty” kind, behind the drugstore counter. The OTC stuff doesn’t do squat.)

I hope you feel better soon!

@shego The have pancakes at McDonald’s that are pretty ok. Maybe you can do a drive thru visit on your way to the doctor or home from there if that’s feasible. :)

@evegrimm: NO! Aspirin and ibuprofen (as well as naproxen) are NSAIDs – the same class of pain reliever. Acetaminophen/paracetemol (Tylenol) [on the iPhone, apologies for spelling errors] is a different class of medication and can be taken in conjunction with an NSAID. However, this is only recommended for very severe pain or high fevers, as it is a lot for the liver to have to process all that.

Hi, @shego; I’m an Audiologist. You have not mentioned any fever, sore throat, swollen glands, or decreased hearing. If you don’t have those symptoms, it may be just pressure in the ear rather than an infection. As some people have mentioned, it is possible to get fluid in the ear without an active infection, but you would have a significant reduction in hearing (as you would with an ear infection, as well). As noted, having your ears examined by a professional with an otoscope, and ideally a measurement of the eardrums’ response to pressure and sound (a 2-minute test called a tympanogram) are the best way to know exactly what is happening in your ears.

Since you say you are sick, it is likely that you have some sort of upper respiratory infection, whether in the ears or sinuses, so your doctoray prescribe antibiotics. If you do get them, be sure to take them as directed for the entire course of treatment. Doing so ensures that all the bacteria are killed. If you stop antibiotics when you feel better but still have pills left, there could be some bacteria lingering in your system, and now that it’s been exposed to the antibiotic, it will be harder to kill if it breeds a recurrence of the infection.

Applying heat, such as a hot water bottle, to the outer part if your ears is the best way, besides medication, to ease the discomfort if ear pain and pressure. Decongestants help some, but not others, and may not be safe for people with some medical problems or on certain medications. Unless you’ve taken decongestants previously and responded well, AND your medical/medication history has not changed since then, I wouldn’t take anything other than what your doctor recommended when you spoke on the phone.

I hope you’re feeling better soon!

Just gonna throw this out there… Have you been under any other stress lately? I was having simmilar issues, went to the dock and was diagnosed with TMJ. It’s cause from grinding your teeth. Sometimes we don’t even realize were doing it. If you can, get something to use as a mouth guard for tonight and see if it helps any. Be aware if you might be clenching your jaw more than usual. It might be a long shot, but TMJ can really mess you up. I don’t know if it can cause sickness, but it can really mess up your head, and make you wanna cry. It can be really painful. I couldn’t even sleep before I realized what the problem was.
Just a thought. Good luck :)

@Landonscranton: Welcome to Fluther!
Yes, TMJ pain is often felt in the ears, since the ear canal runs along the jaw joint. We see many patients who complain of ear pain that comes from TMJ issues. A dentist is usually the person who treats TMJ problems.
(I didn’t mention TMJ in my reply because @shego said s/he was “sick as hell”)

@shego
yeah, Im not a doctor by any means, I just remembered how terrible I felt when I was diagnosed with it and thought… maybe its a long shot, but its all I got!! lol

@shego Did you get into the doctor today? How are you feeling?

I still feel like shit, and it is my first ear infection. It sucks. I am in a lot of pain.

@shego (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Healing Thoughts)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

So sorry to hear you’re still in pain…Keep taking the ibuprofen!

Don’t worry bout it shego, lotsa people have been through this and you’ll make it out fine! We’re all spreading ‘healing thoughts’ to you hahahha.

But more importantly, once you’re recovered, take steps to ensure you don’t land yourself in the same situation again. For example if you have sinus problems, practice nasal irrigation.