Extreme outer ear pain: What can it be?

Welcome @mdm1ttc. I'd like to tag fellow members like @nrd1 @nibor63 @tim100 @staceyhope @poco @cyndi30107 @ellienewfan who have found different methods for relief from outer ear pain.

I'm glad that the neck pillow is providing you some relief, however you mention that the relief is temporary. Is this because you can't sleep with the neck pillow for the night? Do you have the pain when not lying on your ear?

The problem with the ear pillow is it design; they have a pillow with the ear hole right in the middle of the pillow. Each person has a unique dimension between their shoulder and the ear. My numbers are 4.5 inches from center of my ear and my shoulder height. The pillow I have is 16” X 12”. The dimension from the edge to the hole center is 6”.
I don’t think we are all have the same dimension from the center of our ear to our shoulder height. If the ear hole were larger it would be better. But as it is it is not very useful to me. The neck pillow allows me to adjust it in various positions to be comfortable. The ear pillow is ridged and don't allow adjustment.

Definitely not crazy! Definitely not in your mind! Just thought I'd give you that bit of support.
I also have nocturnal excruciating ear pain episodes intermittently for years. I thought I figured it out when I read about relapsing polychondritis. I had a rheumatologist at the time and I presented it to her. She did not want to even consider it unless my ear was very damaged from the condition. I suspect part of the reason is the treatment of choice is long term oral steroids which creates all sorts of complications on their own. I suspect physicians prefer to offer palliative treatments such as pillows or lidocaine rather than high risk corticosteroids, unless you have a very advanced case.
I am a retired medical person, so I have some working theories as to why this even happens. Embryologically, the ear and the kidney have similar beginnings. I have a condition called idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH) which makes me prone to kidney stones. I recently had a high protein red-meat meal which put me at risk for making oxalate kidney stones, and I had an ear attack that very night. I normally do not eat this type of food so my body was not really used to consuming and digesting it. Someone else mentioned having relief from the syndrome after a colonoscopy. So that puts a connection to the GI tract out there.
So IH is just a variant and it is not particularly uncommon and not necessarily associated with diseases (although in some cases it is). People with IH tend to readily absorb calcium from their guts compared to the rest of the population.
Just putting a bunch of facts out there in case there's someone who can put it together (hint:medical researcher) and come up with a testable hypothesis as to the cause.
My guess is that it's dietary on top of a predisposition to certain mineral metabolism-based genetic variants, which may very likely include IH.

I've had this problem for many years. It is not due to some injury or nodule.... Nor do I think it to be infection. I do not sleep on pillows due to intense pain from anything even slightly touching my ears.. tried the pillow with a whole and that worked for some nights but generally I go pillow free. There is a gap between my ear and the mattress that allows me to sleep. I've given up on help from "doctors" long ago (I hope doctors realize they have lost credibility) opt to figure it out for myself. Recently I was unusually sick with flu and ended up with pillow under my head for some time with no pain. I think (if it lasts) the solution for me was my use of all homeopathic cell salts (for almost 1 year now) including calc flour to improve Elasticity!!! / I have varicose vains but believe this helped my ear cartilage) vit d3 supplements, k2 mk-7, magnesium spray on skin. Basically improved mineral levels and Vit D levels. Note I am not a doctor, but again most of them never helped me ...

I have had the same type of pain in my left ear cartilage. I have degenerative discs and bone spurs above and below my C5/6/7 anterior fusion done in 2006, and I believe it is caused by nerves being pinched. It comes and goes. I don’t sleep with a regular pillow either. I have a memory foam travel neck pillow I bought at TJMax that I use so my ears don’t touch anything during sleep. I also get jaw pain below my ear (TMJ?)
I haven’t sought treatment for it as I have other more serious conditions I’m seeking treatment for right now, but it is really uncomfortable when it happens.

NJ

@docless- I would like to commend your reply. You have tapped back into your own intuition and self reliance. You are giving examples of what it means to address the entire body as a whole, as an entire working system that all communicates together.
And to be in tune to what your body is trying to communicate.

What doctors will never admit is that they wish to be seen as regular human beings that don’t know it all. And that they wish their patients would take more ownership of knowing themselves. But this goes against what society has created, so they have to play the role of the Almighty.

Sometimes the best doctor is one who says “I don’t know”.

I did have the same problem for over a year i was suffering so much pain then i decided to change the type of my pillow i was using as i thought the best pillows Sheridan memory foam pillows it was so comfortable but not to my ears, To describe the pain. It is so intense that it wakes me.Pain is NOT inside the ear but around the edges of the entrance of it. It is so painful, I can’t touch it. It will be throbbing. It also hurts tremendously behind, towards the bottom back of the ear. & i would have the part of my ear feels bubbly it was getting worse every day, First time i thought maybe my pillow is getting old i ordered the same pillow my ear was getting worth instead of getting better the i decided to get cheap Tontine pillow ever since then i never felt the pain again i hope my experience will help you, Good luck. Mona

Hi Mona @monaarnaout and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am so glad to hear that your ear pain cleared up in switching the material of your pillow. It is definitely a testament that expensive is not necessarily better. It's all dependent on your comfort level and your body.
Can you tell us what your current pillow is made of? Did you speak with an allergist to see if perhaps you were allergic to the last pillows contents?

The pillow i was using Memory foam is made from polyurethane. This is a type of plastic you'll find in a variety of products, such as sofas, mattresses, insulation, and spray foam. It gets its name from the fact that it can change shape under pressure, but return to its original shape when the pressure is gone.
Tontine the pillow that helped me get better is made of Cotton Polyester,Ultrafibre pillows are usually easy to care for and are machine washable. These pillows give the benefit of being treated with an anti-bacterial or anti-microbial treatment so you can be sure your pillows will be dust-free. Its finest polyester filling prevents the growth of dust mites and bacteria.

I also have this and no doctors have helped either. When i wake the pain is so bad i literally have to force myself to pick my head up with my hands the pain is so unbearable once i finally sit up takes about an hour for relief. Need to know whats causing this.