Ear infection

My wife has been dealing with a major ear infection. The things are murder. The worst part is that there isn't a whole lot to be done about one. Antibiotics are pretty much useless, since we are talking about a virus for the most part.
She and I both used to get them a lot as kids. In her case, they are made worse by the fact that she needs to wear earplugs each night. I was lucky enough to outgrow the worst of them. That and tubes put into my ears as a child.
I've always found that the only thing that really works for an infection of this nature is rest and Tylenol for the pain.
Then there is the old standby to go with the rest. Chicken soup, or as I like to call it, Jewish penicillin.
Science has finally caught up with some of the old folk remedies. Chicken soup, ginseng, if it's been used as a treatment (Note that I don't say cure.) in the past, research has shown it to actually be effective. the only problem with all of that, is that the pharmaceutical industry likes to try and put these things into expensive pill forms.
I think maybe if we just payed a little more attention to our grandmothers when we were younger, we'd all be in better shape today. How often were we told to take cod liver oil and get lots of fresh air and exercise? Now the doctors tell us that omega 3 fatty acids (found in fish) and exercise are keys to staying healthy longer.
Unfortunately, my grandmother never had a remedy for an earache, aside from the rest and an elevated head.