Aconitum napellus: rapid onset, after a shock or after getting chilled especially by a cold wind; high fever, sharp pains with bright red ears; pains cause moaning or crying out; after exposure to cold, dry winds; burning thirst, very anxious and restless; wakes with severe, distressing pains, around midnight, after having gone to bed feeling fine; primarily effective during initial 24 hours of infection.
Apis mellifica: burning, stinging pains; pain can be hot with swollen sensation and is characteristically worse form heat or hot applications; both patient and ear better from cold drinks or applications; usually worse in the right ear, though can begin on the right and shift to the left; often accompanied by a sore throat; averse to being covered up or touched, unlike Pulsatilla which often looks similar; weepy, clingy, thirstless and restless (more restless than Puls.).
Belladonna: sudden onset of severe pain and fever, with throbbing of carotids; child cries out in sleep; high temperatures with heat radiating from the ears to the face and neck; flushed face; often angry, irritable; fever has dry, burning character and is often accompanied by delerium and dilated pupils; little thirst, anxiety or fear; no thirst with fever; tongue red with white spots, like a strawberry.
Calcarea carbonica: stitching and throbbing/pulsating pain in ear with a mucopurulent discharge and enlarged glands; often report noises in the ear; profuse sour discharges (sweat, breath, stools); child ususally sweaty, especially head and the back of the neck, worse at night; takes cold easily and is sensitive to cold around face and neck.
Capsicum: redness; otitis with rupture of the membrane; tenderness and soreness of the mastoid, abscess of mastoid; chronic discharge; often strong element of home-sickness, consider with childcare separation situation.
Chamomilla: ears red hot, violent pain which makes them irritable and prone to screaming; child wants to be held, wants to be put down and held again; inconsolable pain, which often is difficult to sympathize with given their irritability and anger (in contrast to Pulsatilla) ; impossible to satisfy: asks for things and then refuses or throws them down; sensitive to cold wind on ears; one cheek red and the other pale
Ferrum phosphoricum (Ferrum Phos): first stages, before exudate; from wet and cold; pulsating and throbbing pain; high fevers, membrane is red and bulging; not thirsty
Hepar sulphur: often begins in left ear and goes to right; splinter-like or stitching pain, covers ear due to not wanting draft or wind exposure; chilly, oversensitive; sweat easily, with smelly and profuse perspiration; pain better from heat, hot drinks or warm applications; swollen glands; become morose and irritable when ill; want to be wrapped up but averse to being touched.
Kali Muriaticum: ears snap, crackle and pop after an infection; often there is hearing loss after an earache.
Lycopodium: thick, yellow, offensive discharge; humming and roaring with deafness; craves warm things, irritable and sensitive and averse to being alone; better 4-8 p.m.
Magnesia phosphorica (Mag Phos): right-sided pains, usually shooting and spasmodic, which radiate to the face and are worse frm rotating the head; onset often after exposure to a cold wind or getting chilled; generally indicated with any pain that is worse from cold and better from heat and firm pressure, especially warm compresses.
Mercurius solubilis (Merc sol), aka Mercurius viv. (Merc viv): patient is chilly with burning thirst, bad breath and a moist mouth, often drools on pillow; fever with heat alternating with chills and profuse, smelly perspiration; sensitive to both heat and cold; characteristically swollen glands; discharge from ear is thick, yellow-green, bloody, is fetid and foul in odor; often suited to serous otitous media after a cold or earache where odorous discharge from the ear continues.
Pulsatilla: copious, thick, yellow or yellow-green discharge, especially if eardrum bursts; earache has sensation of pressure from the catarrh pressing on the eardrum, often accompanied by noises in the ear or hearing loss; symptoms constantly change, patient is thirstless and craves the cool air; these children may be clingy, whine and want to be cuddled, carried and constantly attended to, but they also evoke sympathy (as opposed to Chamomilla); sensitive to pain and weeping easily from it; can be emotionally pathetic and constantly needing reassurance; often a good remedy to give at 2nd or 3rd stages.
Silicea: roaring sound in ears, sensitive to the pain, noise; profuse sweats; thirsty; condition is slow to develop and resolve; often occurs after a vaccination.
Tellurium: rupture of the membrane with a thin, acrid and profuse discharge which lasts a long time, smell of pickles; discharge is excoriating.
Sulphur: left-sided infections with swollen glands; generally aggravated by heat; redness of ears with localized painful throbbing; ringing and/or roaring in ear; thirsty and restless; fever with sweating and shivering; hot head but cold feet; ill effects of suppression of a discharge; lack of reaction; emotionally irritable and sluggish; generally averse to washing or bathing.
footnotes
Friese KH, Kruse S, Ludtke R, Moeller H. The homoeopathic treatment of otitis media in children--comparisons with conventional therapy. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther 1997 Jul;35(7):296-301. Haunersches Kinderspital,
Munchen, Germany. Abstract: In a prospective observational study carried out by 1 homoeopathic and 4 conventional ENT practitioners, the 2 methods of treating acute pediatric otitis media were compared. Group A received treatment with homoeopathic single remedies (Aconitum napellus, Apis mellifica, Belladonna, Capsicum, Chamomilla, Kalium bichromicum, Lachesis, Lycopodium, Mercurius solubilis, Pulsatilla, Silicea), whereas group B received nasal drops, antibiotics, secretolytics and/or antipyretics. The main outcome measures were duration of pain, duration of fever, and the number of recurrences after 1 year; the secondary measures were improvement after 3 hours, results of audiometry and tympanometry, and necessity for additional therapy. These parameters were only considered descriptively. Of the children treated, 70.7% were free of recurrence within a year in group A and 29.3% were found to have a maximum of 3 recurrences. In group B, 56.5% were free of recurrence, and 43.5% had a maximum of 6 recurrences. Out of the 103 children in group A, 5 subsequently received antibiotics, though homoeopathic treatment was carried through to the healing stage in the remaining 98. No permanent sequels were observed in either group.