By Melody Wong, ND

Earache is one of the most common reasons a child sees a doctor.  Ear pain can be due to an infection, fluid in the ears and swelling in the ears, sinuses or throat.  Earache can occur in the outer or middle ear.  If the ear pain is in the outer ear canal, it is called Otitis Externa.  Foreign object, boil, eczema or excessive scratching of the canal can cause an infection.  A common cause of otitis externa is swimming.  Thus called “swimmer’s ear”.  If the ear pain is in the middle ear, it is called Acute Otitis Media.  An acute otitis media is usually preceded by colds/ upper respiratory infections, sinusitis, and throat infections.  This may also be associated with infants who fall asleep while being bottle-fed.

Chronic Serous Otitis Media is fluid in the ear without an infection.  This cause intermittent pain and pressure behind the eardrum.  As the fluid in the ear gets thicker, hearing diminishes.  A common cause of chronic serous otitis media is from food allergies, which can lead to frequent episodes of acute otitis media.  Introduction of solid food too early to a premature digestive tract can lead to an intolerance to certain food allergens and develop food allergies.  Food allergens cause an inflammatory swelling of the Eustachian tube (the passage that connects the middle ear to the throat) and nose, which is called Toynbee Phenomenon (swallowing when both mouth and nose are closed, forcing air and secretions into the middle ear).

Earaches may be overlooked in small children who may not be able to communicate their problem.  Keep ear infection in mind when your child is crying and constantly pulling at the ear.  Other symptoms include irritability, ear pain, pain in the throat and with swallowing, drainage of pus or bloody discharge from the ear, fever and swollen tonsils.  Lying down can increase the ear pressure and thus causing the child to wake up from the pain.

Since the eustachian tube has a poor angle for draining in the head that is not fully-grown, the standard medical treatment is a surgical insertion of myringotomy tube through the eardrum to assist fluid drainage.   Antibiotics have been over-prescribed for ear infection.  Many times antibiotics are not necessary and can be easily treated with natural remedies.  The following is a few recommended natural treatments.

Natural prevention and treatments:

1.       Prolong breastfeeding to avoid early food introduction.  Infants do best if they breast feed for the first 6 months of life and add hypoallergenic foods after 6 months.  See our food introduction schedule.

2.       Treat food allergies with NAET, a non-invasive and safe allergy elimination technique. Refer to NAET article for more information.

3.       During ear infection, keep child in upright position to prevent build up of pressure in the middle ear.

4.       Bake/microwave one half of an onion for 15 min or until warm and place next to ear without touching the skin.  The warm sulfur vapor from the onion is soothing, drawing and breaks up congesting.

5.       A few ear drops of mullein, garlic, St. John’s Wort oil and calendula succus in equal portion 3 to 4 times per day can relieve the pain, soothe the irritated, inflamed ear canal and rid bacterial infection.  *Never use drops if the eardrum is ruptured or if you see discharge from the ear. *

6.       Immune boosting herbs and nutrition:  Echinacea, astragalus, garlic, vitamin C, zinc, beta-carotene, bioflavonoids, omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids.

7.       Homeopathic remedy is prescribed according to the overall picture of the symptoms. For a remedy prescription, call our office for an appointment of phone consultation.

8.       Probiotics supplement to replenish the gut with good microflora if child is on, or has recently finished a course of antibiotics.