Earache is common all around the world amongst adults and children. During the months of winters and spring, pain in the ears occurs because of cold. The pain caused due to cold can either be gentle or severe resulting in hearing loss. These are some of the reasons for earache but you can still find out many more. However, the most common reason is due to infection caused in the middle or outer region of the ear.

Causes of Earache
Some of the most common causes of mild to severe earache are diseases in the ear, infection caused to the mouth, nose as well as throat, otitis externa, otitis media, building up of wax, due to cold especially in the winter and spring months, sleeping disorders, internal damage to the eardrum, due to growth of fungus in the inner part of the ear and sinus infection.

Common Symptoms
Whether you are dealing with an earache can easily be decided through some of the most common symptoms like severe and continuous itching, mild to severe pain, might result in fever or even you may suffer from diarrhea, inflammation and swelling of the ear, temporary or permanent loss in hearing, continuous sound of ringing and buzzing, you’ll feel a sensation of blocked or full in the ear, there might even be thick drainage as well and you will have some kind of irritability.

Treatment and Earache Relief
Home Remedy – It is always better to consult an ENT specialist or a health care practitioner in case you are dealing with severe health related problem. However you can treat mild pain and fever through suggestive treatments. By taking an appropriate dose of ibuprofen or acetaminophen you can control pain and fever. However, you need to consider past medical history as certain medicines have a tendency to damage liver and may even result in kidney diseases. If you are treating kids, you need to consider the weight of infants and children before giving the dose. In order to get some relief from pain, you can also provide a warm compress to the ear.

Medical Treatment – In case of swelling and severe pain, health care practitioners generally prescribe to put eardrops for about a week or more. Mostly these are antibiotic drops having a tendency to fight with the infection and even work as a steroid for reducing the swelling. Doctors may even prescribe oral antibiotics along with eardrops for few days in order to reduce the pain and control the infection. If there is some sort of drainage coming out of the ear, you need to consult an ENT specialist as for cleaning and removal of the infection.

Internal & External Injuries
We can simply classify these injuries as External Ear and Internal Ear injuries. These wounds and damages may be caused because of several reasons like use of blunt or sharp forces or by placing or entering of some foreign objects into the eardrum.

Internal Ear Injury – Such type of wounds are generally caused via placing of some objects into the ear canal. Because of it the eardrum gets ruptured and results in abrupt decline in hearing ability and uncontrollable pain. The damage to the eardrum resulting in its rupture can also be caused from a slap particularly by the palm or due to rapid sudden changes in pressure caused while flying on higher altitudes or diving deep into the sea.

Treating Internal Wounds – If your eardrum gets ruptured, you need not worry as it has a tendency to heal naturally without any specific treatment. If your eardrum is ruptured because a foreign body has entered into it or if it has ruptured because of coming in direct contact with highly contaminated water, you’ll require oral antibiotics. These medicines will help in reducing the likelihood of having bacterial infection. It is highly recommended by ENT specialists that the ear canal should always be kept free from water, oils and ear drops. If in case you have a wound that is not healing properly even after taking some antibiotics, you should immediately consult an ENT specialist in order to prevent aggravating you wound.

External Ear Injury– Such type of wound or damage can take the form of lacerations or wound to blunt soft tissues. To prevent laceration, performing surgical repairs like stitches will often be required. This will result in balancing the cosmetic appearance and to an extent reduce the risk of the wound getting aggravated. Blunt injuries caused to the ear by slap, punch or an accident may even result in noticeable swelling around it.

Treating External Wounds – Patients dealing with large hematomas will be requiring incision and drainage for avoiding permanent disfigurement. If in case you have an external damage, by applying cold packs and compressive dressing on the ear as early as possible will result in eliminating the problem quickly. For treating abrasions, you’ll require the wound to be treated with gentle cleansing with the help of an antibacterial soap. After properly cleaning the wound, apply an antibiotic ointment. In case the wound has broken your skin, you might even require a tetanus injection. If you have a severe wound, consult an ENT specialist. For controlling the pain you can take aspirin, acetaminophen or an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen.