Diagnosed on Tuesday, prescribed an antibiotic spray. Two sleepless nights in agony, seriously considering a Van Gogh.

Is this a typical experience?

only thing stopped me taking a bread knife to my ear was the realisation that the pain was in my head, not in the bit of ear i could easily cut off.

HTH

I used to suffer terribly with them, so i can sympathise

Once ended up in hospital for a week on morphine for one!

Go back to the docs ASAP (get an emergency appointment). You need something stronger than spray

Earache is the worst pain, feel for you. Sadly, cutting the outer bit off won’t help, your infection is in the ear canal somewhere. Co-codamol? Can you get some stronger painkillers from the GP?

WWVGD? Absinthe 🙂

yeah , I wanted to stab myself in the ear with a knitting needle. 😡

Co codamol interspersed with ibuprofen helped me to handle the pain.

Otherwise get something stronger from the docs

Had an ear infection last year, so bad the doctor couldn’t actually get the torchy thing in to see how bad it was. Can’t remember what he gave me for it but I remember I was still in pain but not quite as much, but more importantly, I was either asleep or didn’t care about the pain. Whatever he gave me was pretty powerful stuff.

When the GP tried to look in to see the problem she couldn’t see past the inflamed area.

I’ve been taking Ibuprofen, but they are not really helping. I’ll call the surgery and see if I can’t get something stronger.

Get some really good ear protectors. The fact you can’t hear and your brain understands that, some how makes ear problems easier to handle.
It has certainly helped me.

Back to the doctor this afternoon. After three nights with no sleep, my face and neck are swollen and I’m suffering boughts of nausea.

They’ve prescribed some oral antibiotics ans super strong painkillers. Fingers crossed they work.

Daughter #3 had an ear infection for a week starting on NYE Munty so you’re sort of in good company. I threatened her with a trip to see our good pal who’s an ENT consultant – she got better quite quickly at that point.
Do you want me to book you in?

holey moley. I used to get bad ear infections as a kid so sympathise. It’s so internal I think, and direct into the brain..

Ibuprofen ain’t going to cut it, good luck with super strength (hopefully targeted) anti biotic and the pain killers too – would be thinking at least diclofenac..

I had an abscess perforate my ear drum. Slowly. I was devouring whatever pain-killers I could get , but my partner at the time, an ever-resourceful German woman, gave me a tea-towel filled with boiled onions to hold against the side of my head. The relief was beautiful, I presume from the emanating warmth, and allowed me the first few hours of sleep I’d had in a few days. When I eventually succumbed and presented it to my GP, he actually made that sucking-air-through-the-teeth noise that I thought only car mechanics made as he peered into my swollen lughole. The abscess actually burst as I sat weeping in the pharmacy waiting for my script of whatever super-strength pain relief he’d opted for.

McMoonter, you have my every sympathy. It’s a pain that I would wish on nobody.

Dont google Malignant Otitis Externa. You haven’t got it. Not unless you’re an ancient unfit diabetic like my dad who had months in hospital, then months living with us to recuperate. Equally, if you’re immuno suppressed otherwise, don’t let this drag on too long before checking for it. Better spotted early, but rare enough that it doesn’t get considered until several rounds of regular antibiotics have failed to get to the bottom of it. I feel daft writing this, since it’s unlikely. Get well soon.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/argREL]Somehow I Need to Suppress the Urge to Drill in One Ear and Out the Other before I Succumb to Serious Brain Damage[/url] by ricko, on Flickr

Laying off dairy might help – As might colodial silver ..
No one solution – the holistic approach is key ..

I felt mine developing on Christmas day, ended up going to the walk-in centre on the Saturday. I saw a prescribing nurse, she couldn’t see my eardrum, so prescribed oral antibiotics. The soreness took a week to go, swelling’s just about gone.
Get well soon.

I used to get earache all the time as a kid, just reading this and I can taste and smell the thick pink penicillin medicine I had to take.
Stopped once I got older, except for one occasion some years back when I suddenly woke up around 3am in excruciating pain in my left ear. Absolutely bugger-all I could do at stupid-o’clock, so I lay there suffering when there was a loud ‘pop’ and the pain vanished, leaving only fluid dribbling from my ear.
I figured that there wasn’t much I could do about it and left it, and it was fine thereafter, except if I blow my nose hard, then I can hear a faint hissing noise from that ear.
My commiserations to anyone who gets an ear infection, it’s bloody miserable.

Last ear infection I had I was 24 years ago. It’s never been right since.

Harass the doctor and demand steroids if necessary. And if you suddenly can’t hear then straight to hospital – worst infections can cause permanent hearing loss.

Get well soon.

I was brought up on amoxicillin, years of putting up with ear infections and not getting the root cause has left me hearing damaged. I was only sorted out about 5 yrs ago.

I feel your pain 🙁

I know your pain I had several as a kid, once when I was on holiday I was in absolute agony beyond anything else I have ever felt in the end my ear drum perforated and it was a while before it got any better don’t get them any more though.

The oral antibiotics worked well so that by Saturday night – Sunday morning I felt a lot better, such was the relief I neglected to take the prescribed dose of antibiotics on the Sunday.

By Monday it was bad again, today its been excruciating.

Question – could missing a day’s worth of antibiotics screw up the whole healing process?

I’m still pretty deaf, its not surprising if the inflammation in my ear is restricting the flow of sound. That said any background noise is like a sledgehammer.

I used to get them a lot as a kid and distracted myself from the ear pain by causing considerable pain elsewhere. 😆

Question – could missing a day’s worth of antibiotics screw up the whole healing process?

To a degree, yes. You should always carry on the full course of antibiotics even when it starts to feel better as well, otherwise you are helping to contribute to antibiotic resistance.

Which is really irritating to medics and anyone involved in the medical field.