How to Deal With Ear Pain

Earaches are literally a pain in the ear. Ear pain can keep you up at night, make you irritable and cause you to lose your appetite. When you have an earache, dealing with ear pain may be all you can think about. Consequently, if all of your focus is on your ear pain, you may be distracted to the point of experiencing decreased productivity and contentment. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to relieve ear pain.

Instructions

• 1

  See your doctor about your ear pain to pinpoint the cause. A number of conditions can cause earaches. According to MayoClinic.com's Symptom Checker, earaches are associated with ear infection, ruptured eardrum, swimmer's ear, a cold, earwax blockage or even a foreign object in your ear.

• 2

  Ask your doctor to recommend or prescribe pain medication. He may advise taking over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen, or he may prescribe stronger pain medicine. Take medications as directed.

• 3

  Ask your doctor to prescribe numbing ear drops. MayoClinic.com recommends warming ear drops in warm water before using.

• 4

  Apply warmth to your hurting ear. MayoClinic.com suggests using warm compresses or warm (not hot) moist cloths to relieve ear pain.