This section is from the book "Camping And Woodcraft", by Horace Kephart. Also available from Amazon: Camping and Woodcraft.
Let the patient hold his head to one side at a right angle. Heat a spoon, pour alcohol into it, and hold close under the head so that the fumes will enter the ear Or, heat olive oil just hot enough not to burn, put a few drops in the ear, and follow with a small plug of cotton. Earache often is relieved by a bag of hot salt, or the like, as described below for toothache.
The following is recommended by H. W. Gibson: "Take the heart of an onion, heat it in an oven, and put it in the ear, but not so hot as to burn. This not only relieves the earache, but helps to send the sufferer to sleep".
"Hold a bright light to the ear. The fascination which a bright light has for insects will often cause them to leave the ear and go to the light. If this fails, pour in warm oil from a teaspoon, and generally the intruder will be driven out." (Pilcher).
 
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