Ear infections don’t always need antibiotics to be treated because not all are bacterial. In fact, doctors recommend pain management for ear infections because overuse of antibiotics could lead to infections that are antibiotic resistant. Some of the remedies that can be given at home for ear infections include the following:

The most common ear infection pain relief would be prescriptions given over the counter. Pain relievers such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for acute otitis media, a kind of ear infection. Not only do they help bring a fever down, but they are also safe to use with antibiotics, if necessary.

Another home remedy would be a cold or warm compress. An ice pack or a warm washcloth can be used on both adults and children to relieve pain caused by ear infections. It is best to alternate between a cold and hot compress every ten minutes. Another effective treatment, studies have found, is naturopathic drops such as herbal extracts that have olive oil. They are found to be better than over the counter medicines.

Sometimes, ear infections are caused because of the ear canal being pressurized which can be relieved by doing some neck exercises. One of these neck exercises include sitting up straight with feet flat on the ground, rotating neck and head to the left until the head and the shoulder are parallel to each other, repeating the rotation to the right, raising shoulders high as if one is covering shoulders with the ears, making these movements slowly and holding each position for five seconds, and repeating them as often as possible.