Best home treatment for earache

[EducatingArti]

Posting here rather than health for traffic ( and to get sympathy 😊)
I've had a cold since Monday. It's been a really snotty one with lots of sinus issues.
I am taking paracetamol plus decongestant
I can't take ibuprofen because of other meds I am on.
Although I'm not feeling as bad as I did in myself, I've started with earache. I'm fairly sure this is just pressure in sinuses/ eustachian tube rather than any infection.

The last few nights I have added in codeine which has helped with sleep but I need to drive tomorrow and Tuesday and not keen on driving when I've taken codeine the night before.

Anyone know any failsafe home remedies or things I can try?

Have you tried yawning as a way to help relieve some of the pressure in the earway?

Hadn't thought of that. Thank you. I will try.

There are various videos on YouTube with techniques for helping to shift your blocked sinuses/nose/ears. They are mostly slightly odd Americans but might be worth a try, they seem to have an effect on me so here's one as an example:

Viewing one will link you to others to try. Good luck, earache and congestion are horrible.

Can you pop/equalise your ears? Hold nose and very gently blow. I assume no gunk is coming out of your ear canal. The decongestant should be helping. A warm compress might feel nice behind each ear, but likely won't do a great deal.

Do you have a neti pot? Not to relive the ears, but helps with sinus congestion and feels so much clearer afterwards.

When we were kids, my mother would always dip a bit of a cotton ball into gently warmed castor or olive oil and then kind of stick it into aching ears.

Not sure that it had any actual medical impact, but was very comforting.

Sleeping with my ear on a hot water bottle (in a cover obviously) was a big part of my earachey childhood.

Thank you for the video @VeronicaBeccabunga . I've just tried it. Pressing under the right cheekbone was painful but I persevered. No miracle yet, but I'll try it again later.
@JC03745 I don't have a neti pot but I can pop/equalise my ears. Nothing coming out of my ears.
@BeenThere101 I did try a hot water bottle and it helped a bit.

I think I might try a warm bath later on. I could do with an early night but I've just finished wrapping presents and my spare room looks like an explosion in a Christmas factory! Need to tidy up a bit really as have other stuff I need to do tomorrow!

Ooh, I will try the cotton wool and warmed olive oil. Thanks @AbigailsPartyFrock

In bed now having tried lots of your advice. Thank you all for helping me out.

So far yawning, ear popping and warm/compress olive oil have helped a little. I'm not sure on the sinus draining exercise. Maybe I did it a bit too vigorously but nose bled a bit when I next blew it, which could have been coincidental of course. I'm going to try and sleep with ear on hot water bottle but I think this is likely to make me very hot and sweaty.

Brushing my teeth ( especially very back gums) helped but there is a limit to how long I can do that for!
I've also tried inhaling warm steam with a bit of Vicks in it. I can't actually smell it but it made me cough and my eyes water so was doing something!

Thank you for all your kind help!

HcP here. Get some ear all from the pharmacy.

Ear calm

Thank you. I have used ear calm before but I'm fairly sure this isn't an outer ear infection. I think it is from the huge amount of congestion I have at the moment from a cold.

Sterimar from the Chemist. Flush the gunk out of your sinuses. Follow the instructions on the leaflet, don't blow, lean over the sink and it should all come out with repeated use.

Thank you @unsync