The ear , an organ of sense and more , which allows us to perceive frequencies, vibrations but also to maintain the balance of our body and balance ourselves in space.

Already from these simple considerations we can understand how important it is to safeguard the health and well-being of the ear and its functions.

Ear pathogens

> Noises: 65 decibels is the safety threshold beyond which we can speak of noise pollution . Intense noises such as sirens, horns, discos, are sources of hearing damage. Protecting yourself and avoiding it are the basic indications to prevent progressive and permanent damage. > Cotton buds : cotton buds are present in all our homes and we use them daily for ear hygiene. Unfortunately , the use is often clumsy or incorrect , because we do not limit ourselves to cleaning the excess wax on the outside but we go deeper, thus risking to push the wax to the bottom and thus form plugs that must be. > Atmospheric agents 

 
 : cold, cold temperatures, but above all the wind can be elements that attack our ear canal, causing painful contractions. It is always good to protect yourself with a scarf or earmuffs to avoid intense pain and spasm.

> Bacteria: in the swimming pool or at the sea it may happen that upon coming into contact with water some bacteria are carried into our ears, where they give rise to purulent and painful infections and inflammations, such as otitis . In these cases it is necessary to intervene with specific ointments and antibiotic remedies. 

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Natural remedies for the ear

In the event that our ear is affected by inflammatory forms and we need some “grandmother’s first aid” remedies we can draw on some natural aids directly from the kitchen of the house .

>  Garlic : it is a powerful bactericide , which has a protective, antibacterial, antifungal, immunostimulating action. In case of earache of an infectious nature we can squeeze a few cloves of garlic , rich in allicin , and with a dropper insert 2 or 3 in the ear to leave for a few minutes and then rinse.

>  Olive Oil and Ginger : a magical synergy that helps lubricate the ear canal and disinfect it. We use olive oil warmed with a few drops of fresh squeezed ginger , if we do not have ginger we can replace it with garlic. A few drops of the compound thus obtained in the ear perform a soothing action due to the heat, dissolve any accumulations of hardened earwax and the ginger acts as an antimicrobial and antiviral.

>  Warm salt : Heat can be an excellent soothing agent for earache, especially if caused by blows of air, stagnation of water or hardening of ear wax. The coarse salt heated and wrapped in a cloth has the property of spreading heat for a long time and absorbing excess moisture.

>  Ginkgo Biloba: this powerful plant has innumerable properties including that of thinning the blood. In case of mild forms of tinnitus due to microcirculation it can represent a natural response to the disorder. We can take Ginkgo in dry extract or hydroalcoholic extract under medical supervision.

Anatomy of the ear

To say ear is to summarize in a very simple way the structure of an organ which is actually very complex and which basically consists of three structures: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear.

> External ear : formed by the auricle and the ear canal, it has a peculiar conformation that serves to convey and channel the sound waves towards the eardrum.

> Middle ear : it is a cavity that houses 3 small bones, the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup , which transmit the vibrations of sound. This channel is connected to the pharynx and opens when we swallow or yawn.

> Inner ear: we find this portion in the bones of the skull and performs the function of transforming sound waves into electrical impulses through the acoustic nerve. The inner ear also contains the labyrinth that governs our balance.