I considered an ice pick to help things along.
Several years ago—at least eight, given where I was living at the time—I got a middle ear infection and an external infection in the same ear. I remember that narcotics really didn’t make it stop hurting; the only thing that touched it was one Extra Strength Tylenol paired with 1000mg of ibuprofen. [Before you shake your head, I had an RN tell me about that combination. She said that she'd had that stop pain when nothing else would, not even narcotics.]
Oh yes … right before I start my vacation, I’ve come down with the same combination of maladies. I’m so thrilled. I went to the doctor for the middle ear infection on Monday, and the external one really fired up today, causing me to leave work so I could go back to the doctor. I’ve got these drops that are supposed to dull the pain [no dice] and more that are antibiotics [I think those might actually be working], costing me $100 combined. [Amusingly, the narcotic? $10.] Until the Darvocet kicked in a half-hour ago, I was intermittently yelping just to get the pain stress out of my body. Now I’m sorta … dulled to it all.
Oh yeah, I’m gonna hit up a 24-hour drugstore about 0500 for some Extra Strength Tylenol … that’s the only way I’ll make it through tomorrow. :sigh:
This is going to sound crazy, and it might not work for a more severe issue like you’ve got, but in the past when I’ve had ear aches, this has helped.
Take a hair dryer, hold it about 8 inches from your ear, and blow it directly at the ear. You might have to do short bursts of this since the air gets hot, but do that for a couple of minutes. I don’t know why it works (though I’m sure there’s some scientific explanation about heat, expansion, and pressure), but it has worked for me.
Like I said, it may not make a difference if you’re not having any luck with high-power pain killers, but it may be worth a try.
Hope you feel better, man. I’ve had ear problems before, and I know they’re certainly no fun.
July 25th, 2008 at 23:39Yeah, that works when all you’re trying to do is dry out the area to promote the body’s immune response [since the bacteria you've got here love the moisture]. I was definitely past that point.
July 26th, 2008 at 16:30