• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

“But what about the lurkers?”

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

Trump makes a mockery of the legal system and cowardly judges just sit back and let him.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

A consequence of cucumbers

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Books are my comfort food!

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

When we show up, we win.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

So many bastards, so little time.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2024 Elections
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / z-Retired Categories / Previous Site Maintenance / Earache My Eye

Earache My Eye

by John Cole|  March 14, 200811:09 am| 30 Comments

This post is in: Previous Site Maintenance

FacebookTweetEmail

Thank you for all the lovely suggestions regarding the earache. I especially appreciated the suggestion that I put a bullet in my ear. I passed on that one.

My prescription drops finally showed up at Walgreens this morning, and I think I can tell a difference. The pain still sucks, and I can not hear out of it very well, but hopefully it will be better in a day or two. I also picked up a heating pad and some Tylenol, but I really hate taking over the counter medicines because I know how bad they are for you. However, my daily 81mg aspirin was not cutting it.

I think the worst thing about this ear infection has been every time I have seen/said/read the word earache, I am reminded of this:

Try being in pain for 24 hours with that song running through your head.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « The Republican Strategy
Next Post: Question »

Reader Interactions

30Comments

  1. 1.

    Svensker

    March 14, 2008 at 11:27 am

    Are you sure that earache wasn’t the last bit of RW Kool-Aid working it’s way out?

    The only thing comparable to earache pain for excruciating I’ve found is toothache and a kidney infection. Even childbirth doesn’t come close. Glad it’s getting better — and take the OTC stuff, would ya? (As long as the C’s are granite, of course.)

  2. 2.

    myiq2xu

    March 14, 2008 at 11:30 am

    Blind Melon Chitlin and Alice Bowie. Now that’s a double bill worth scalper prices.

  3. 3.

    myiq2xu

    March 14, 2008 at 11:40 am

    I especially appreciated the suggestion that I put a bullet in my ear.

    To be fair, I did say that the earache was Hillary’s fault.

  4. 4.

    Sirkowski

    March 14, 2008 at 11:40 am

    Over-the-counter medecine is bad how?

  5. 5.

    dr. luba

    March 14, 2008 at 11:46 am

    Next time you have a problem filing a prescription, call the doctor back, as there is probably another formulation that will work and IS available. He/she should be able to prescribe soemthing else, even if just as a stopgap until the other medication arrives.

    Common problems are normally treated by common medications. It’s not like you’ve come down with some rare tropical disease that only the CDC knows how to treat. What you have sound like a fairly simple otitis externa (inflammation of the external ear canal), and pretty much any sort of steroid/antibiotic drops should be able to treat it.

    Really, you need to be a bit more assertive. Empower yourself–you’re a democrat now. And your doctor needs to know that that whatever it is that he is used to prescribing is no longer locally available, so that other patients won’t have to go through what you did. (And know that I would want to know if MY patients were having trouble getting MY precriptions filled.)

  6. 6.

    Punchy

    March 14, 2008 at 11:58 am

    I also picked up a heating pad and some Tylenol

    Do NOT drink your Friday scotch or mint julip or whatever it is you swirl while on Tylenol. You do know this, right?

  7. 7.

    Krista

    March 14, 2008 at 11:59 am

    I especially appreciated the suggestion that I put a bullet in my ear. I passed on that one.

    That only works if you’re hanging out near a thinny.

  8. 8.

    milo

    March 14, 2008 at 11:59 am

    O/T:

    I don’t know if anyone is into ‘freeping’ a poll, but this Limbaugh based radio station’s website has one on Obama. I’ve managed to get the ‘no’ vote up from 20% in about 20 minutes. It’s “The Question of the Day.”

  9. 9.

    Buck

    March 14, 2008 at 12:03 pm

    John, ear ache or ear infection?

    I’m prone to ear infections. Not enough natural ear wax, my Dr. says. Moisture in the inner ear canal is what causes the infections. Wax helps to control moisture.

    Especially while your ears are infected, do not ‘dig’ at them with Q-tips. And when you shower, put a small cotton ball just inside your ear to keep water out. You don’t want any water getting into your ear.

    Doing this and using your drops, you’ll be fine in a couple of days.

  10. 10.

    Kevin

    March 14, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    to help with the earache i suggest the following to help it clear up faster (this was recommended by an specialist many years ago when I was a GENIUS showing off to girl by diving in headfirst at Vernon Valley NJ. I blew out my eardrum by turning my head to side at the last second!!!!!)

    you take a double dose of SUDAFED (the real stuff) and chew ALOT of gum. These 2 actions combined will help the infection drain thru the eustacian (sp!) tubes!! GOOD LUCK

  11. 11.

    myiq2xu

    March 14, 2008 at 12:13 pm

    That only works if you’re hanging out near a thinny.

    From the link:

    A thinny is a “weak spot” in reality, where the fabric of reality has been worn thin.

    That pretty much describes this place.

  12. 12.

    Xenos

    March 14, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    … and I only know three chords!

    That takes me back to junior high. Good times. No, not really.

  13. 13.

    Ninerdave

    March 14, 2008 at 12:16 pm

    Over-the-counter medecine is bad how?

    Tylenol (acetaminophen) can damage your liver (especially when drinking booze).

  14. 14.

    Svensker

    March 14, 2008 at 12:26 pm

    milo Says:

    O/T:

    I don’t know if anyone is into ‘freeping’ a poll, but this Limbaugh based radio station’s website has one on Obama. I’ve managed to get the ‘no’ vote up from 20% in about 20 minutes. It’s “The Question of the Day.”

    As tho any of the Dittoheads would “change their minds” about Obama.

  15. 15.

    Ben

    March 14, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    Seriously, do people still take Tylenol without codeine in it? You need a vicodin or six.

  16. 16.

    The Other Steve

    March 14, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    Tylenol (acetaminophen) can damage your liver (especially when drinking booze).

    I hear it can also damage your pancreas, especially when consumed with 750ml of vodka a day.

  17. 17.

    The Other Steve

    March 14, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    Seriously, do people still take Tylenol without codeine in it? You need a vicodin or six.

    Or 30 or 40, if you’re Rush Limbaugh.

  18. 18.

    Danton

    March 14, 2008 at 1:26 pm

    If this is a bacterial infection, do NOT use a heating pad on your ear. Bacteria thrives in a warm and moist environment.

  19. 19.

    tBone

    March 14, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    A thinny is a “weak spot” in reality, where the fabric of reality has been worn thin.

    That pretty much describes this place.

    I think we moved past “worn thin” and into “completely ruptured” territory quite a while back.

    On a related note, I have a medical suggestion for John: ignore any and all medical advice you receive from this blog. As a matter of fact, just ignore any advice at all you receive from this blog.

  20. 20.

    Libby Spencer

    March 14, 2008 at 3:13 pm

    You obviously didn’t take my previous advice when you had the last infection John. Not that I blame you, I never believed anyone who told me it would work either and consequently suffered many years longer than I needed to.

    I suffered from repeated infections from childhood. It sounds like you have the same ear canal problem I have and in following this advice, I have not had an infection in the last 18 years [knock on wood]. It’s a preventative, so it won’t do you any good until the present problem clears up but I’m telling you, swab your ears with alcohol every time they get wet. After every shower, or swimming or whatever. You should also do it if you get an earache from being out in the wind without something covering your ears.

    Use three qtips. Swab the ears dry with the first one. One side for each ear. Then dip one side of the second swab into the alcohol (90% rubbing alcohol, the lower grade doesn’t work), and swab the ear, using the other side to swab it dry again.

    I know it sounds crazy but trust me, three qtips a day and a two dollar bottle of rubbing alchohol will change your life. In the meantime, you have my total sympathy. I know your pain. Too bad they don’t prescribe the old original percodan anymore. That was the best pain relief in the world for it. Percoset isn’t nearly the same and I can’t believe tylenol, even with codeine will touch it.

  21. 21.

    Chasm

    March 14, 2008 at 4:24 pm

    I second Libby. Alcohol is a well known preventative to those who grew up near the beach on the west coast, but I didn’t realize it wasn’t common knowledge until my east coast gf moved in. I prefer to just pour a small amount directly into my ear (from the cap) and then turn my head over an let it drip out, gross, I know, but kills surfer’s ear before it starts. C, my gf, used to suffer from frequent ear infections until she got on the alcohol program too, but now she never gets them. I think she uses Q-tips tho.

  22. 22.

    Mutaman

    March 14, 2008 at 4:39 pm

    John I used to enjoy your writing but you have proven over the past few weeks that you are just annother race baiting racist. And unlike you, thats a word that I don’t use lightly. Go back to the right wing, and I hope the medication doesn’t work.

  23. 23.

    John Cole

    March 14, 2008 at 4:47 pm

    John I used to enjoy your writing but you have proven over the past few weeks that you are just annother race baiting racist. And unlike you, thats a word that I don’t use lightly. Go back to the right wing, and I hope the medication doesn’t work.

    That was certainly random.

  24. 24.

    J. Michael Neal

    March 14, 2008 at 4:54 pm

    Try being in pain for 24 hours with that song running through your head.

    That was a song? Excuse me, I need to put my Steve Hackett back on.

  25. 25.

    AkaDad

    March 14, 2008 at 5:37 pm

    I denounce and reject all painful ear aches.

  26. 26.

    LiberalTarian

    March 14, 2008 at 7:00 pm

    As a matter of fact, just ignore any advice at all you receive from this blog.

    Amen.

    Re the earache–the last time I had a bad earache the doc prescribed a killer decongestant, but no antibiotic. It worked. No, as soon as it feels like I’m getting an ear infection I go for the sudafed and afrin spray. Haven’t had an earache for going on 6 years now (and I used to have them frequently).

    My earaches usually started from getting water in my ear. I can see why putting alcohol in your ear would work. I have a chemistry reason for why it works–when you put alcohol in water it reduces the surface tension of the water, so that the water blockages formed in small pores/tubes/capillaries break easier.

  27. 27.

    Tax Analyst

    March 14, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Alcohol works pretty well. You definitely don’t want to leave water in the ear. No gouging with a Q-tip, however, only gentle swabbing.

    P.S. – avoid over-reliance on heavy-duty pain medication, for instance Vicodin. You can actually damage your hearing with that stuff. But one when you are in screaming agony is probably OK.

    The reason I counsel moderation in pain-pills is the number of people I’ve known who are no longer with us due to the abuse of and addiction to pain medications. All that shit has to get filtered through your liver and kidneys. When you blow out your kidneys you are on dialysis, when you blow out your liver you are dead or dealing with anti-rejection meds the rest of your life to keep that “new” liver from trying to get back to it’s old owner.

  28. 28.

    Fat Mort Jellyroll

    March 14, 2008 at 9:37 pm

    This is going to sound ridiculous and fairly disgusting but I swear upon the ear health of my two children that it works, put a small amount of breastmilk in your ear. It is so high in natural antibiotics that it will kill just about any nasty you got in there short of anthrax.

    Now where you get your breastmilk is on you, but I bet theres an ex-governor in NY that may have a hook up.

  29. 29.

    bernarda

    March 15, 2008 at 8:11 am

    It could be worse, you could be hearing “Sister Mary Elephant” ringing in your ears.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU34iLemwdY

    BTW, in Britain you can get aspirin combined with codeine OTC. It is pretty effective for some pain.

  30. 30.

    Jamey

    March 17, 2008 at 8:59 am

    My older brother listened to Cheech and Chong. A lot. I still remember this stuff.

    Had no idea Alice Bowie was a punk rock send-up. I thought it was a bust on Glam.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Geminid on Take the Fucking Win (Apr 15, 2024 @ 2:24pm)
  • Redshift on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 2:20pm)
  • WaterGirl on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 2:20pm)
  • Mousebumples on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 2:20pm)
  • WaterGirl on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 2:20pm)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning
Proposed BJ meetups list from frosty

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
Virginia House Races
Four Directions – Montana
Worker Power AZ
Four Directions – Arizona
Four Directions – Nevada

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
Positive Climate News
War in Ukraine
Cole’s “Stories from the Road”
Classified Documents Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Political Action 2024

Postcard Writing Information

Balloon Juice for Four Directions AZ

Donate

Balloon Juice for Four Directions NV

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!