Earaches

Regardless of the cause, ear pain can cause severe suffering. Earaches in children are almost always from ear infection but adults often have other causes. For children it’s usually obviously one of two types. The first, external otitis (outer ear infection), is infection in the ear canal and occurs more in the summer with swimming and is called swimmers ear. It almost always makes the ear tender to pull on and unless it is severe enough to swell and block the ear canal, hearing is not decreased. Although sometimes severe, they rarely cause fever and usually respond rapidly to antibiotic eardrops. Moisture and Q-tips in the ears and are frequent causes and both should be avoided. Moisture problems can usually be PREVENTED by using drops of rubbing alcohol placed in the ear after swimming or showering. I often recommend a mixture of 50% alcohol with 50% white vinegar, which also works great for adults with itching ears. Never, never, never use any thing but prescription ear drops if you have PE tubes, a hole in the eardrum or a really tender ear without your doctor’s advice.

The second, otitis media, is an infection occurring behind the eardrum. It occurs often in preschool children and is frequently associated with sinus, tonsil and adenoid infections, which then spread to the ear. It can progress rapidly, cause fever and pain and usually decreases hearing because the middle ear fills with fluid or pus. The ear is usually not tender to pull on but has deep pain sometimes requiring narcotics for relief. This kind requires antibiotic pills or shots because eardrops won’t help. Most children will outgrow this but in some persistent or recurrent cases, PE tube insertion is required for cure.

While adults and children can both have the same causes for ear pain, adults more often can have other things making their ears hurt. Because each ear has four main sensory nerves with many branches going to other areas, problems in other areas can make the ears hurt! Pain from jaw joint (TM joint) arthritis or pressure is very common especially in people under stress who clench their teeth or if they have had dentures or dental work that changed their bite. You can usually feel joint tenderness in front of the ears with finger pressure. Teething, dental cavities or root canal problems are other common causes and the tooth is often tender to pressure. Mouth and throat ulcers can cause it and so can muscle tension in the neck from an old neck injury or arthritis. Neck tension can also slightly affect your balance. I have seen ear pain caused by throat cancer, heart attacks and even neurological diseases.

If you have persistent ear pain, get your doctor to find out why.