Ear ache

Proven content

Ear pain can be a symptom of various diseases – even those that are apparently not associated with hearing, e.g. aortic aneurysm or thyroid disorders. One of the causes of earache is pressure difference at take-off and landing, and excessive noise.

What is earache?

Ear pain is a condition that affects children to a large extent, but also adults. It can be a symptom of other diseases, even those that we would never associate with the hearing organ (aneurysm, aorta, thyroid problems). Primary ear pain is usually acute, localized to one site, while secondary ear pain is difficult to locate.

Ear pain – causes

Causes of middle ear pain

1. Barotrauma: This usually occurs after flying or diving. It can cause bleeding from or under the eardrum. Barotrauma is otherwise known as barotrauma.
2. Eustachian tube obstruction: A build up of fluid or thick discharge in the ear causes the ear to feel overflowed or blocked.
3. Mastoiditis: This occurs most often in patients who have otitis media. During this ailment, you can observe redness and leakage from the ear as well as pressure tenderness, in extreme cases – deterioration of hearing.
4. Otitis media (chronic or acute): This is common in children and is associated with pain. Patients experience hearing deterioration in the affected hearing and have a high temperature. Often otitis media is accompanied by an infection of the upper respiratory tract and a bulging and reddening of the eardrum. Pus may leak from the ear. Occasionally, otitis media may indicate Wegener’s granulomatosis.
5. Tumor of the middle ear (mainly glomeruloma): is usually benign, but can be malignant like all types of cancer. Ear cancer is accompanied by pulsating tinnitus, dizziness, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. Occasionally, middle ear pain may indicate mastoid neoplasm.

Causes of pain in the outer ear

1. Local trauma: it can happen when we clean our ears and damage the external auditory canal.
2. Otitis externa: may appear right after swimming or prolonged exposure to water. Inflammation is characterized by pain and itching in the outer ear. The discharge that comes out has a bad smell. The ear is swollen and red. Forms of otitis externa: auricle abscess, ear herpes zoster (it can even lead to paralysis of the facial nerve), eardrum haemorrhagic inflammation, auricle inflammation.
3. Obstruction in the ear, for example from a foreign body or earwax.
4. Hematoma of the auricle: Often caused by trauma.
5. Burns or frostbites in the auricle.
6. Malignant neoplasm of the auricle: characteristic is a thickening of the auricle, which often causes pain and hearing loss. It may appear as osteomas and tumors derived from the sebaceous and wax glands.

Causes of earache – other ailments:

1. spine cancer,
2. molars and periodontitis in the form of caries,
3. cancers of the mouth and throat (may be caused by smoking, pain or alcoholism),
4. trigeminal neuralgia,
5. infection of the tonsils, throat,
6. peritonsillar abscess,
7. reflux,
8. lung cancer,
9. myocardial infarction,
10. inflammation of the salivary glands,
11. inflammation of the temporal artery,
12. inflammation of the lymph nodes in the neck,
13. degeneration of the spine,
14. thoracic aortic aneurysm
15. thyroiditis
16. arthropathy in RA or gout.

Ear pain symptoms

Ear pain is a condition that is more common in children. This is because the Eustachian tube in young children is much narrower and shorter, therefore even the slightest trauma / swelling closes its lumen and forms an exudate in the middle ear, which is a good environment for bacteria.

What indicates otitis in children and infants?

1. problems with sleeping,
2. high temperature,
3. irritability,
4. cry,
5. discharge from the ear and nose,
6. lack of appetite
7. in adults: chills, fever, nausea, ear discharge, decreased hearing, feeling of fullness in the ear.

Ear pain diagnosis

The basis for the diagnosis of ear pain is medical history. The doctor collects information from the patient, on the basis of which he is able to find the cause of the ailments. Then it is performed otoscopic examination – it consists in magnifying the ear with the use of specialized equipment. Thanks to this method, a specialist is able to determine the condition of our outer ear, eardrums and the ear canal.

In addition, the throat and nasal patency should be examined. The doctor checks that the surrounding lymph nodes are not enlarged. Some patients are referred for an audiometry test of hearing or a tympanometric test of ear function. If there is a suspicion that the earache was caused by an injury, it is necessary to perform an X-ray or computed tomography.

Ear pain treatment

If you are diagnosed with earache, you should visit your GP or ENT specialist to find out the cause as soon as possible.

Note: You should never drip any liquids, oils or warming camphor spirit into the ear, because you never know if the patient has a damaged eardrum.

Ear pain in the initial stage can be relieved by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory preparations, e.g. ibuprofen or paracetamol. However, in the case of otitis media, it is most often recommended to take the antibiotic for about a week. Most inflammations resolve on their own after about 1-2 weeks, and treatment with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs is sufficient. If the earache continues and all measures are unsuccessful, consult your doctor.

The treatment of the outer ear involves the administration of ear drops containing an antibiotic (less commonly, an oral drug). Mechanical cleaning of the ear canal is important. If there is a foreign body in the ear – pull it out by checking everything in the mirror, otherwise we can push the foreign body deeper, which may damage the eardrums.

If you have wax plugs – remove them by rinsing the ear with the help of a doctor or nurse, absolutely not with cotton buds or other objects. Another way is to use earwax softening drops, which cause earwax to leak out of the ear canal by itself.

The best home remedies for earache

1. Onions: Has antibacterial and antiseptic properties, helps soothe infections. It is enough to grate the onion, warm the squeezed juice gently and use about 3 drops daily (several times).

2. Olive oil: It is an excellent moisturizer to help clear the infection. Place 3-4 drops of oil in the ear canal, or you can also do this with a damp cotton ball that is gently inserted into your ear.

3. Ginger: Has anti-inflammatory properties and is a natural pain reliever. It is best to use grated ginger as this has the best use.

4. Garlic: has antibacterial properties. Squeeze a few cloves and put the drops in your ear.

5. Hot water bottle: helps to relieve pain. Wrap the hot water bottle in a cloth and hold it against the sore ear for a few minutes.

6. Mint: we can use it to relieve pain, both in the form of mint oil and fresh leaf extract.

7. Hair dryer: use it after bathing instead of drying your hair with a towel. All you need to do is turn on the dryer at the lowest speed and direct the heat stream to the sore ear. Do not use this method in the event of perforation of the eardrum!

8. Chewing gum: it happens that we feel pain in the ear due to pressure changes (altitude change, air travel). The pain is sometimes accompanied by ear congestion, so chewing gum or wide yawning may be helpful (the Eustachian tube opens and the resulting pressure difference is equalized).

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