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Ear Infection / Head Cold

Wheezebucket

Master Cylinder
Wheezebucket
Joined
Jan 14, 2006
Messages
1,491
Ok, I've had a bit of a cold for the last few days, and last night my left ear started to get kinda sore. Today it doesn't hurt, but everything sounds metallic. At first I thought I was turning into a Cyborg, but then I realized it's probably just an ear infection or a head cold or something (or both, I don't friggin' know). I've never had one before. I can't go to the doctor. It's annoying. Also - it's almost impossible for me to search other websites right now on account of this dialup I'm on.

So...any advice on how to fix it? I'm told it won't go away unless I do something, but I dunno what. I've heard of those ear cleaning kits but I don't really know anything about them.

Thanks in advance. Ears are gross.
 
I am not a doctor and medical advise from the internet is a bad idea. That said, go to the Pharmacy and ask the pharmacist. That's what they are there for.



Boo
 
I'd trust this forum before I'd trust the pharmacist I just visited in Braham...yowza.

I mostly just want to know if those ear-cleaning kits are any good, or if anyone else has even used one before.
 
Wheeze,

Very likely you have a fluid build up in your middle ear from the cold. Try an OTC decongestant.


Boo
 
Serenity said:
Don't listen to Boo.

Try this .
Click to expand...

I hope you are joking. Even the site itself admits that it's not real medicine:

Any information on this webpage is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis or prescription. You are advised to seek medical help if you have a medical problem, as we are not medical practitioners. Ear Candling should not be performed if: the eardrum is perforated; the ear is fitted with grommets/eartubes; cysts in the ear; artificial eardrums; recent ear, nose & throat surgery. The user assumes full responsibility when using Ear Candles. Consult a Medical Practitioner for any ear problems.
Click to expand...

I would just add that ear candling should not be performed. Period.

-Dr. Imago
 
I should've inserted a winky into my other post. I'm sure it was obvious the ear candling link was a joke since you're a regular here.

Seriously, I've used this type of ear wax removal system successfully. Too much wax or too little can make your ears susceptible to infection. Avoid sticking anything too deep into your ear... had to say it. If you think your ears are impacted with wax then its worth using the above product to remove it.

More importantly and as was mentioned earlier, better to see a professional. I doubt ear wax would affect your hearing so quickly. More likely it's something else.
 
As has been said, medical advice over the net is a bad idea (I'm certainly not a dr).

As Lisa said, ear cleaning kits can work if the problem is a blockage with ear wax (though last time I checked there wasn't reliable evidence that they worked better than a cheaper option like (clean) olive oil). If the blockage is caused by your cold, a decongestant may well help. If it's an infection, though, you really should see a dr - you may need antibiotics.

Advice off a (good) pharmacist would be a good idea anyway; if it hurts more that might suggest an infection, and would be a stronger reason to visit a dr.
 
Actually, in spite of all the misguided advice given to you so far, it does in fact sound like you are turning into a Borg. This is not necessarily a bad thing. While you lose all individuality, and become a pasty white human regardless of your species/color, you do get to shoot lasers out of your eye and have really nifty gadgets attached to your arm.

Marc
 
My very general advice: Call your primary care physician today and try to get an appointment to see him/her tomorrow. That's what they're there for. If you have or develop a fever and/or are dizzy before you get a chance to see your primary care provider, then go to the ER. Someone needs to look in your ear and figure exactly what's going on. Odds are that it's as Boo said, but no one can be sure without taking a full history and properly examining you. On the rare (and I emphasize rare) occassion, these things can turn out to be more serious than initially seems. For example, a few weeks ago a close friend of mine and fellow skeptic (who is an ENT resident) diagnosed a case of early mastoiditis in a 40-year-old woman who, I kid you not, had come into the ER after being talked into trying ear candling the day before by her boyfriend. Fortunately, she had the good sense to come in for a real medical evaluation. She also happened to have a perforated ear drum (not likely as a result of the candling but instead the otitis media).

Serenity: My apologies. I'm not here as often as I'd like to be, and I don't know most posters all that well anymore. This place's membership has grown by leaps and bounds since I joined years ago as one of the first 150 or so members. Some posters (unfortunately) ARE serious when they post such things here. So, thanks for the clarification.

-Dr. Imago
 
I checked up on the Borg thing, but no luck on the cool laser eye so far. I was trying to find treatment methods, but from what I understand, resistance is futile.

I did go out and buy one of those ear cleaner doodads with the solution. It got rid of the metallic sound after the first dose, so we'll see what happens over the next couple of days.

I'd go see a doctor, but I lose the urge when I look at the stack of unpaid medical bills sitting on my desk. All I want for Christmas is insurance. Well, insurance or a jet pack.
 
Wheezebucket said:
I'd go see a doctor, but I lose the urge when I look at the stack of unpaid medical bills sitting on my desk. All I want for Christmas is insurance. Well, insurance or a jet pack.
Click to expand...

Ah... you're the one.

You know, separate subject, but I'm all for doing away completely with medical insurance. People are willing to go to Home Depot and plop down $10,000 for granite countertops, but Ed forbid they actually pay the $145 not covered by their health plan for their kid's tonsillectomy. I wonder what would happen if we actually went back to a system where you paid up-front for medical care? I bet the cost of pharmaceuticals would magically and mysteriously go down, as would the cost of many not-so-urgent-as-seemed-at-first-blush procedures. After all, people willingly pay up front for cosmetic surgery. Why should life-saving procedures be any different?

-Dr. Imago
 
I'm betting it's because people can save up for years, planning their home remodeling. Medical bills come out of nowhere and cannot be spaced out neatly.

I've been putting off going to doctors, instead diagnosing myself, because I didn't have insurance and could not afford care. Sounds like Wheezebucket is having the same problem, so why are you ranting about insurance? Without insurance, paying up front is WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. Your rant is misplaced.

Should we return to a system where everything is paid up front, there will be a lot more unpaid bills, bigger unpaid bills, and a huge jump in the death rate because (lets face it) medical care is prohibitively expensive for most (in the US at least).
 
Advice from the nurse practitioner:

First, ear wax is in the outer canal. Fluid from either a virus or a bacterial infection is on the other side of the eardrum, in the middle ear. But you don't necessarily need to do anything.

A serous otitis media (from your description) will resolve on its own. If it really really annoys you, you can take a decongestant. It may help.

A bacterial otitis media generally hurts and is commonly accompanied by a fever >100.5 F. You don't feel well. That should be seen by a health care practitioner, not a pharmacist. The eardrum can rupture though this too heals eventually but it isn't something you want if it can be helped.

So look up serous otitis media and otitis media on reliable web sites and see if either of those diagnoses fit your symptoms. You don't generally need to see a health care provider for congested feeling in your ears with symptoms of a cold, unless it fails to go away within a reasonable time. And cleaning the wax out of the outer canal will have no effect on the middle ear. The middle ear opens to your throat via the eustachian tube, not via the ear canal.

You may all make your LOTRs jokes about middle ear now. :D
 
Serenity said:
I should've inserted a winky into my other post. I'm sure it was obvious the ear candling link was a joke since you're a regular here.

Seriously, I've used this type of ear wax removal system successfully. Too much wax or too little can make your ears susceptible to infection. Avoid sticking anything too deep into your ear... had to say it. If you think your ears are impacted with wax then its worth using the above product to remove it.

More importantly and as was mentioned earlier, better to see a professional. I doubt ear wax would affect your hearing so quickly. More likely it's something else.
Click to expand...

Could Neandrathals see their doctor? What did THEY do? I know what *I* do: I slosh hot water into my ear, while showering or otherwise. Works everytime, over a period of time and repeat treatments in causing the wax to shift/comeout...to soften the pressure against the eardrum, and to hear right, once again.
 
Dr. Imago said:
Ah... you're the one.

You know, separate subject, but I'm all for doing away completely with medical insurance. People are willing to go to Home Depot and plop down $10,000 for granite countertops, but Ed forbid they actually pay the $145 not covered by their health plan for their kid's tonsillectomy. I wonder what would happen if we actually went back to a system where you paid up-front for medical care? I bet the cost of pharmaceuticals would magically and mysteriously go down, as would the cost of many not-so-urgent-as-seemed-at-first-blush procedures. After all, people willingly pay up front for cosmetic surgery. Why should life-saving procedures be any different?

-Dr. Imago
Click to expand...

And I might add that we are in a viscous cycle where due to rising costs WELL above the inflation rate, for medical and insurance,... that as more people are forced financially to opt out of insurance plans, there are less people to absorb the tab, which means their bills go up, which measns MORE have to opt out...etc. And the insurance companies surely know in advance, to their pleasure, that as the "group" ages, that as the aged group has higher premiums...these riskier people opt out and the insurance companies are then collecting premiums from more healthy young people who the insurance companies don't have to pay out as much money on.
 
Medical bills come out of nowhere and cannot be spaced out neatly.
Click to expand...

we're talking about a simple visit to a doctors office and probably a prescription for an antibiotic, not brain surgery here.

Cost you what 75 dollars,plus I bet if you talk to the doctors office they would be happy to set up a payment plan.
 
You're right, it's not brain surgery - but it is slightly more complicated than that. At least it is for me, at the moment. I was just curious about this ear annoyance since I've never had it before. I'm not the one who brought up all this medical bill talk, so don't lay in on me, brother!

Also - that ear cleaner stuff feels wacky.

ETA-

Just real quick, for the record - 75 bucks is also a ***** ton of money for some people.

Like me.

Just sayin'.
 
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