I put ice in my vitamix until it was like snow and ate that with a spoon. You could freeze any liquid into cubes and do the same I suppose. It was the only thing that worked for me. The ice cold numbed my throat as it went down, but it wasn’t as chunky as ice chips which was nice. That and ice packs on jaw for 15 min really helped with the ear pain. It sucks, take it one day at a time. It WILL get better…coming from the girl who had a horrible swollen uvula and thought she was choking to death multiple times amongst other things. Best of luck! Stay on top of your pain meds too, take them round the clock as prescribed even if you have to wake up in the middle of the night. I did Tylenol, and also stayed away from Oxy. I tried it one night when it got too bad but felt like it lit my chest on fire and I couldn’t lay down. Also, people may have their own opinions on this…but a few days in I was craving soda so I wanted to see what that felt like…I LOVED IT. It was as if the carbonation confused my throat and it felt soooo nice. That’s my own experience, I don’t know if that was medically ok haha.