How To Drain Fluid From Middle Ear At Home

A fluid buildup in the middle ear can be caused by a middle-ear infection or allergies. It could also occur due to an infection of the sinuses, viral infections, acid reflux, or a middle-ear infection. This can make it hard to hear and be painful.

There are several things that you can do at home to drain the fluid from your middle ears. Home remedies for this condition include using a warm compress to drain fluid from your middle ear, inhaling steam and popping your ears. You can also try over-the-counter medications.

This article provides five tips on how to drain middle ear fluid at home. The article also describes when you should stop using these products and consult a doctor for treatment.

Pop Your Ears

The eustachian tubes drain fluid from the middle ear into the throat. This tube can swell if there is an infection or irritation. Fluid can back up.

You can drain fluid by popping your ears. You can pop your ears by yawning, chewing, or swallowing.

Try the valsalva move.

Take a deep breathe and hold it.
Gently pinch the nose closed.
Exhale slowly and gently through your nose.

When the eustachian tubes opens, you may hear a popping sound.

Create A Vacuum

Try this if you can’t pop your ear with the techniques above:

Hands over ears: Place your palm on your ear.
Try to seal your ear by pressing your palm against it.
Use very small movements to gently pulsate your palm inward and outward, creating a vacuum.

As you press into the ear, you should feel some pressure. When the eustachian tubes opens, you may hear or feel a small pop.

Inhale Steam

Steam inhalation is well known to clear sinuses. Steam can open a blocked eustachian tubes and drain trapped fluid from the middle ear.

Inhaling steam is possible with a personal steam-inhaler. This electric device turns water into steam, and comes with a flexible, soft plastic mask you can hold to your nose.

Fill a large pot or bowl with boiling water. Cover the back of your neck with the towel and lean over it. Breathe through your nose.

Gargle With Saltwater

Many doctors recommend gargling salt water to drain fluids from the ears. This can help in several different ways.

Warm salt water can help shrink and soothe swollen tissue. This is a natural remedy that’s often used for sore throats and earaches.

A saltwater gargle can also help relieve swelling by allowing the trapped water to drain.

Gargling can also be used to help pop your ears and drain the water.

Add a teaspoon of sea salt to a cup of warm tap water. Stir the salt and let it dissolve. Keep your mouth closed and tilt your neck back while you take a mouthful. Gurgle from 30 seconds to a minute.

Use Ear Drops

Although it might seem counter-intuitive, adding liquid to your ear while you’re trying to drain fluid may be helpful.

You can choose between two formulas: one you buy over the counter (OTC), or one you make yourself.

OTC ear drops

Over-the-counter ear drops that dry fluid are available. Isopropyl Alcohol is used in the base of traditional ear drops to treat swimmers’ ear. Alcohol is used to dry up liquids sold as Debrox Swimmer’s Ear drops or other store-brand drops.

Also available are homeopathic ear drops. They contain sulfur, graphite and pulsatilla. These products will not dry out the fluid in swimmer’s ears. They treat other symptoms such as pain, a feeling of a blockage in the ear and itching.

DIY ear drops

Different homemade ear drops formulas may help fluid drain out or to dry up.

Try these ideas:

Distilled Water that is at room temperature or warmer
Hydrogen peroxide
Alcohol and white vinegar can be mixed in a 1:1 ratio
Olive oil heated

Draw up the solution using a clean, dry eye dropper. Place a few drops of the solution on your wrist and check the temperature. Wait a few moments for the temperature to reach room temperature if it feels too hot or cold.

Lay on your back or tilt your head upwards so that the affected ear faces up. Pour several drops into the affected ear. Hold this position between 5 and 15 minutes for the drops to take effect. It is possible to feel pressure or hear a crackling noise, but this should not hurt.

Place a cotton swab or towel on the outer ear. Tilt your head the other way.

If you still do not see fluid draining from your ear after several minutes, gently pull on the earlobe. As the water is released, you may feel a popping sensation.

OTC Medications Can Help Relieve Symptoms

While anti-inflammatories and decongestants won’t drain fluid out of your middle ear they can make the symptoms you experience more bearable as you wait for it to clear.

Anti-inflammatories

Anti-inflammatory drugs will not cure an infection or remove fluid from the inner ears, but they can reduce pain until the fluid has left the ear enough to no longer be painful.

Try:

Advil, Motrin (ibuprofen)
Aleve (naproxen sodium)

Antihistamines and decongestants

The Eustachian tubes and their opening can be treated directly with medication. The outer canal drops will not reduce middle ear swelling unless the cause is an infection or a buildup of wax.

Benadryl or Sudafed, both antihistamines (diphenhydramine), can relieve the symptoms of infection. If your fluid buildup is caused by a Eustachian Tube swelling or dysfunction, they will treat the problem.

You should ask your doctor if you can safely take Sudafed. Sudafed may affect your heart rate and blood pressure.

If your ear infections do not improve, you should consult a doctor.

What not to do

Avoid digging your ear canal with cotton swabs or your finger. This can cause an infection by introducing bacteria into the ear. Placing objects in your ear may also force water into the ear, which can scrape or puncture your eardrum.

When To Consult Your Healthcare Provider

Serous otitis can lead to hearing loss, bone and cartilage damage, and even cause death if left untreated. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms listed below, or if your middle ear does not drain, consult a healthcare professional:

When you pull on the outer ear, the pain in the inner ear worsens
The ear feels blocked or full
Ear drainage that smells bad or is pus-colored
Fever
Hearing loss
Pain that can spread to the face, neck or side of the skull
Swollen lymph glands around the ear, or on the upper neck
Skin swelling or redness around the ears

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms, and then examine your ear to check for swelling and redness. The doctor may also collect a sample from your ear to test for abnormal fluids or discharges, especially if the infection is recurrent.

What Home Treatments Do Not Work

If you’ve tried over-the counter and home remedies without success or your doctor suspects an infection, he may prescribe medication. Surgery may be required in some cases.

Antibiotics

Your healthcare provider may prescribe antibiotics if you have an infection in your ear. Amoxicillin-clavulanate is usually recommended unless you have a penicillin allergy. Penicillin-allergic people will be prescribed azithromycin or Cefdinir.

Myringotomy

If you don’t get better with antibiotics, or if your middle ear continues to be problematic, then a Myringotomy may be recommended.

Your healthcare provider will make a small opening in your eardrum during this procedure. This hole allows the fluid to drain. While the healthcare provider works in there, he or she will often place a tube so that this doesn’t happen again.

The procedure can be performed in the office of a healthcare provider using only a topical anesthetic.

A Word of Advice

If not treated correctly, ear infections in adults may lead to hearing loss. You must consult a doctor if you suspect that you have an infection in your ear. They will not only treat the cause of the fluid, but also prevent it from occurring again in the future.

Cynthia Vincent