Symptoms:
One or both ears ache. This is frequently accompanied by infection in the middle ear. The pain will be worse at night because the body is prone (flat) and it is more difficult for the eustachian tubes to drain out the phlegm.

Sometimes the ears will ache because there is trouble with the teeth (referred pain), but this is not common.

Cause:
Infection of the outer or middle ear causes pressure to build up. This pressure on nerve endings causes pain. But, if there were no pain, there might be no warning that a serious ear problem existed.

Otitis externa is infection in the outer ear. The eardrum through the length of the eustachian tube becomes swollen and inflamed. There is a slight fever, discharge from the ear, pain (which increases when the ear is touched or pulled), and temporary loss of hearing.

Otitis media is infection in the middle ear, and is especially common in infants and children. The infection is located behind the eardrum, where the small ear bones are located. There is earache, fullness, pressure in the ear, and a fever as high as 103o F. or higher.

Here is an ear test: if you can wiggle your outer ear (the part you can see) without pain, you probably have a middle ear infection; if there is pain, the infection is in the eustachian tube.

Going into higher altitudes can push phlegm, already in the eustachian tube, into the middle ear. Never sleep on your ear if you have a head cold and the vehicle is moving upward to a higher elevation.

Infection in the inner ear generally results from meningitis or from the spread of a middle-ear infection. Symptoms include loss of hearing, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and fever.

Earache is a common childhood infection. Most children experience it. It is easier for a child to have an ear infection, since his eustachian tube is shorter than that of an adult. Causes include childhood diseases, allergies, colds, and respiratory infections.

If they are frequent, ear infections can lead to loss of hearing.

Chronically enlarged adenoids may cause blockage of the eustachian tubes, leading to congestion and fluid buildup in the middle ear.

There is a tendency for people who have ear problems to be heavy earwax producers. To reduce the amount of earwax made, eat less unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids are not a problem.

Treatment:
• If you seem to have pain in the ear, pull on the earlobe. If the pain increases, then you probably have an ear infection. If the pain does not increase, you may have a dental problem.

• Keep the ears warm and the person resting in bed, preferably with his head and, perhaps also, his trunk slightly elevated (to assist natural drainage of the eustachian tubes). Surgical draining might be necessary. The fever increases the need for vitamins A and C. Keep the feet warm. Heat applied to the feet will draw blood from the head and improve circulation.

• Sit up when practical to do so, to decrease the swelling and start the tubes draining. Swallowing will help ease the pain. Yawning really helps open up the eustachian tubes.

• Blow warm air from a hair dryer 18-30 inches from the ear, and blow air toward it.

• Warm some oil to body temperature, and place a drop or two in the ear. This will help lessen pain. But do not do this if you think the drum has burst!

• A helpful method, used by many for a long time is this: To alleviate pain in the ear, use a little olive oil or garlic oil in the ear, then add a drop or two of lobelia tincture.

• Another way to reduce pain is to make a paste, using onion powder or clay packs. Then apply this to the outside of the ear.

• Bake a large onion until it becomes soft, and tie it over the ear; this will often give great relief when pain is severe.

• Avoid sugar, dairy products, meat, and heavy meals until the crisis is past. Herbal teas are helpful in assisting the healing process. This includes peppermint, echinacea, goldenseal, pau d'arco, and slippery elm.

• Because they increase sticky mucous in the body, dairy products increase ear infections. Excessive sweets and starches lower resistance and intensify ear problems.

• People with a tendency to ear infection should avoid all cow's milk products. But, in addition to producing so much mucous, it is reported that milk allergies can produce earaches (and even a burst eardrum), simulating otitis media—without an ear infection actually existing.

• Avoid cigarette smoke, for it can irritate the eardrum.

• Place drops of hydrogen peroxide in the ear, to help clean it out. Then rinse out with water. Do not leave the peroxide there. It can sink through the eardrum and produce a fizzing sound which can last for several years.

• Take garlic enemas. These will help disinfect the body of higher levels of toxins that are building up from the infection. Signs of this are chills, fever, general aches, and pain increase.