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Extreme outer ear pain: What can it be?
Please....someone help me.
I’ve visited my allergist, an ear-nose-throat specialist and my own internist.
None of them have ever heard of my problem and don’t know how to help me.
Started approx 20 yrs ago, Every couple of months I would get an awful pain on one of my ears if I had been laying on it during the night. It would happen to either ear, whichever one I laid on.
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. Can’t touch that either. The only thing that will make it go away is when I then get up and stand and within approx 30 min it is gone. I even tested it by massaging behind the ear (once I could bear to touch it) and it seemed to make pain go away faster.
The last approx 3 years, I have no longer been able to even lay on either ear when in bed because now the pain will come every time. I have learned to sleep on my back. Sometimes I would still move onto my side during night, and wake up with pain.
For last 6 months, I’ve been having pressure and achy feeling around one of the ears, even while laying on my back. Then I started getting the pain even while sleeping on my back.
I am very much afraid that the day will come when I will no longer be able to lay down in my bed to go to sleep.
I am desperate to get to the bottom of this and perhaps for first time in 20 years be able to comfortably lay on my side in bed.
My ENT doctor said my ears are healthy .... i have no hearing loss.
This ear pain, however, is starting to affect my daily living, since I don’t seem to be able to get the restful sleep I need.
I will be forever grateful if someone could pinpoint this. thanks.
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I have had this same issue for probably 20 years, I ended up making my own 'ear pillow' and it makes life so much better
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2 ReactionsWelcome @donnamoore, Making your own 'ear pillow' is a great idea. Was it very hard to make one?
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1 ReactionActually it was not, I took the fleacy(sp) material cut the width of the material approx. 12 to 14" wide, then so it long ways and then, just roll it up and stitch the end down...the hole will be big enough for your ear and the edge is soft and supporting for your head. And you can just take out the stitching to wash it..
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3 ReactionsAfter thinking about what I had wrote, you would be better off to cut a piece 24", and fold it lengthwise into, and you will only have one seam to make..anyone wanting any further instructions please send me a private message.**
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1 ReactionHi @donnamoore, We removed your personal email address from your message above. We recommend not posting personal contact information in the public forum. You can use the secure private message function to exchange contact information with another member.
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1 ReactionGet checked for
Trigeminal neuralgia
Im not sure if thats what it is but I have tge same symptoms and from what it sounds like these symptoms may play a part.
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1 ReactionWelcome, @aberns. You may wish to connect with other members talking about trigeminal neuralgia in this discussion:
- Trigeminal neuralgia: What helps stop the pain? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/trigeminal-neuralgia-5/
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2 ReactionsI've had this condition for about 30yrs and I've taken atorvastatin for about 30yrs. It's so long ago, I have no recollection on which started first.
I doubt there would be any data on this as most people wouldn't stop and restart their statin AND get a side effect like this.
A puzzle to be looked into.
I have a similar painful condition - for 30+yrs.
So please excuse me while I get technical in describing what is happening. I have been researching this for a long time and I want to make sure it isn't confused with other conditions. Here I go...
I get acute, SEVERE parathesia like pain on any part of the cartilage of my ears (front and back) sometime after something puts a bit of pressure on them. For example, when I start wearing headphones, hats, earplugs, sleeping, or resting my ear on something, whether sitting up or lying down.
An example of my condition: when I wear earplugs, after a few minutes I experience severe pain of the tragus, anti-tragus, anti-helix, daith, intertragic notch, terminal incisor.
The pressure is not excessive (as these are all things that everyone else in the world use/wears) and it occurs when things are just sitting on my ears for a short time.
As far as my medical experts are concerned, there is no inflammation, no infection, no trauma, no wound, no skin irritation, no TMJ issue, no dental issue, no muscular issue, no nerve issue, no vascular issue, no piercings, no deformations, no mental issues, no immune problems, no hormonal problems, no osteo problems, no vitamin or mineral problems, etc, etc, etc.
It is similar to getting VERY painful pins and needles in your foot. But it takes very little pressure or time for it to occur, plus the ear is extremely painful to touch, it isn't numb.
Can't take pain killers, the pain is gone by the time they start to work. So far, no ideas by the medical professionals.
No one else I know has this problem (except the lovely people on this site).
My thoughts so far is that it is a pressure issue similar to sitting in your foot for a long time, but why? Why are my ears so sensitive. It wasn't always like this. It started in my late 20's.
It wakes me up all the time, I can't use headphones or ear plugs, and hats are limited. It's frustrating and I get very tired due to lack of sleep.
Any views?
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1 ReactionHi I hope I’m in the right place as I’d really like input from others with experience. For about two years I have had increasing outer ear pain (intense!). It started out periodically when I slept on my side, on my ears and that was painful (and I’ll have to get up) but it grew to become more often recently (4/week) and even during daytime when I’m sitting up. I can be reading at the end of the day and an ear can really start to hurt or even mid-morning at my work desk (when nothing even touching my ears). It’s really frustrating and painful. Usually one ear acts up at a time. They do become red and I have started taking photos…not lobster hot red but the painful ear will be bright pink and the normal one will be more whitish.
My family doctor says she doesn’t know what this is and asks me what I think it is. She is a newly certified doctor (sigh)…. Which kind of specialist should I ask to be referred to? How can I direct her to look into something appropriate for me?? Thank you 🙂