Hepar sulph.
Whizzing and throbbing in ears.
Darting pain in ears.
Canal filled with, cheesy bloody pus. Surrounding skin scurfy and irritated.
Little pustules in meatus and auricle wherever pus touched. Pus very offensive.
Haemorrhage from slight touch.
Better hot applications: worse anything cold.
[One wonders that more has not crept into homoeopathic literature regarding the extreme value of Hepar in ear troubles. At outpatients, years ago, a doctor, trained by Dr. Yunnan (a great prescriber) in India, revealed the marvellous action of Hepar 200 in single dose in ear troubles. Since when one has used it again and again with great effect. The most striking case was during the War, when “specialists” were not always at hand.
A young girl with very high temperature; much pain; ear, “sticking out”; the redness and swelling over mastoid denoting urgency, and no surgeon to hand, got Hepar 200. When seen, a couple of days later, the whole thing had subsided, temperature, pain and all. But such cases of urgent responsibility, in normal days, one hands over, gladly, to the ear surgeon. One remembers hearing of a patient brought to hospital too late, where pus was found, not only in brain, but down the spinal cord].
Allium cepa (Onion).
An old domestic tip for earache. “Heat an onion in the oven, and insert the small hot core into ear.”.
Discharge of pus from ear.
Pains behind ears, deep in head, from backwards and towards ears.
KENT says: “The old mothers used to put onions on the babys ear when it had earache: not surprising, when we see all the pains and aches belonging to this remedy.
“Jerking pains from throat towards Eustachian tube. Violent earache, even to discharge of pus from ear. Ringing in ears. Stitches towards ear from forehead. Pain like thick threads drawing from deep in head. Stitching, tearing pains in ear with whooping-cough coryza laryngitis”.
Pulsatilla.
Most useful in less extreme cases.
Otalgia: pain violent as from something forcing outward.
Jerking; tearing; darting; shooting; bursting; pulsating at night.
Earache relieved by cold applications (reverse of Hepar.).
Stitches in ears: itching sticking, deep in.
“Otitis media: profuse, yellowish, or yellow-green discharge. Severe pain, especially as evening sets in, continuing through the night, with paroxysms of increasing severity: causing little concern during the day: later a bland discharge of mucus and pus: not especially offensive.”.
Otitis external: pains very severe: ear red and swollen. Pains worse at night. Sensation as of something crawling out of the ear.
Otitis with delirium, horrid pain, swelling in ear. Pain may extend over side of face, and into throat.
Otorrhoea, from cold: after scarlet fever, measles, etc.
“Puls. has such a strong affinity for the ear that it will cure earache in almost all sensitive children who cry pitifully.”- KENT.
Chamomilla.
She grows furious with the pain.
Violent pains in ear, ameliorated by heat (rev. Hep. of Puls.). Cant have a draught of air on the ears (Hep.).
Single large stitches in ear: especially stooping, with ill- humour and peevishness.
Roaring in ears, as from rushing water: ringing in ears.
Sensation as of hot water running out of ear.
Pressing earache in spells, with tearing pain, extorting cries. Particularly sensitive to open air about ears.
[KENT says: “Pitiful crying in children with earache calls for Puls. But those who are snappish, who are never suited, who will throw away something asked for and slap the nurse in the face must have Cham. With Puls., Cham. and Allium cepa, you can cure the majority of earaches in children].
Silica.
Otorrhoea: offensive, watery, curdy.
Purulent discharges from ear.
Caries of mastoid process.
Scabs behind ears.
Child bores into its ears with fingers when asleep, causing discharge of blood and pus: enjoys having its ear cleanses.
Hepar is far more hypersensitive; to touch, to cold, to draught. One cannot imagine Hep. :loving to have its ear cleansed”. Sil. may clear up the results of mastoid operations which fail to heal easily.
Mercurius.
Soreness and excoriation of inner ears.
Ears inflamed internally and externally.
Pain: cramp-like, sticking: as if stopped by a swelling.
Purulent, green offensive discharges.
After a cold: intolerable pain in whole head, esp. ears: boring, tearing, stitching, raring, worse left ear, which externally is red, hot and swollen. Pain may cause fainting.
Great restlessness and sleeplessness.
Purulent offensive discharge with itching in ears.
Boils, fungus excrescences, polypi in ears.
Inflammatory swelling of glands under ear.
Typical Merc. is offensive-saliva, sweat, discharges. Tremors of hands and tongue.
Aching in ears worse between 5 and 6 p.m.
Worse at night and from heat of bed.
Queer symptoms: shivering in any pus-cavity.
Complaints increase during sweat.
N.B. Beware how you use Silica after Mercurius, or Merc. after Silica: they are inimicals. Hepar antidotes or follows both.
Aurum.
Oversensitive to noise, but music relieves.
Caries of mastoid: obstinate otorrhoea.
Burning, pricking, itching, boring pains behind ear.
Fetid otorrhoea, especially with caries of the ossicles. After scarlatina.
Typical Aurum is intensely depressed-even to suicide.
Tellurium.
Itching and swelling with painful throbbing in external meatus: then discharge of water fluid smelling like fish-pickle, which causes vesicles wherever it touches. Ear is bluish-red, oedematous: hearing impaired.
Constant rather severe deep pain in ear.
Dull throbbing pain in ears day and night; thin, watery, excoriating discharge.
Ulceration in external auditory meatus. Characteristic. Hungry at night: wants an apple in the middle of night.
Longs for beer.
Offensive sweat of armpits: fetid sweaty feet.
Fear if touch in sensitive places. (Hep.).
Itching of sweaty places.
Colchicum.
Discharge from ears with tearing pain: Otorrhoea after measles.
Colchicum is hypersensitive to odours: especially smells of cooking.
[Clarke somewhere records the case of a middle-aged woman with ear-trouble after scarlet fever at thirteen. Clarke gave her Colch. which cleared it up. The drum healed, and she had normal hearing thereafter].
