An ear infection is a painful and unsettling condition that can have a number of negative effects on your health and your comfort. Not only will an ear infection cause considerable pain in your ear, but it is also likely to cause difficulty hearing, potential seepage and pus, and even loss of balance.
Ear infections are caused by bacteria getting into the ear and may be triggered by a build up of wax, by the use of unclean implements to try and clean the ear canal or by an infection elsewhere that has spread.
The good news is that there are many ways to treat an ear infection or to at least manage the symptoms while your body drives out the infection, but it is important to be careful when doing so as using the wrong method can actually exacerbate the problem. Read on for 13 effectively treatments that you can use.
1. Olive Oil
Using olive oil is one of the age old methods of clearing out an ear infection and can be very effective when handled correctly. Olive oil has some antibacterial properties though it is not known for this and is also effective at helping to soften and disperse wax that has built up in the ear.
Using olive oil is particularly good when combined with other strategies. This way, the oil can first be used to soften and break up the oil and then other strategies can be used in order to completely remove the remaining sludge.
Note that it is common for this to actually make matters slightly worse first of all before it begins to become effective!