When I have sore ears I love to bring out this old school trick.. hot (warm) salt in a thick sock..

Is it just the warmth that soothes, is it the warmth that help the blood flow better to allow the area to heal, does it help it drains?

I googled and got lots of folks making unproven claims and lots of people saying this does not work..

I always heat the salt (canning salt) in a frying pan, you want to stir the salt with a wooden spoon to help the heat be spread out evenly, you want your salt hot but not burning. The key to being able to use this while the salt is quite warm is the sock you choose.. You ideally want a big thick soft sock.. no thin material, my mom used wool but I use the more modern hot socks.. they hold the heat well and they are thick and comfy to lean on.

I have read that some folks heat the salt in the microwave, I do not own a microwave so I do not know if this would work or not. I put the sock in a wide mouth quart jar and use my wide mouth canning funnel to move the salt into the sock.. once it in, I take the sock out of the jar and tie off the end..

Ideally at least five minutes each ear.. I hope it will work as well for you as it does for me.. keep the salt and reuse as often as needed. .

Here is what I say.. I do not know why it works beyond the warmth feeling good, but I know that after a treatment my own pain is reduced, my swelling is reduced.  I have tried it with other heating bags with rice, buckwheat and it has never worked the same as salt does.