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Extreme outer ear pain: What can it be?
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) | Last Active: Aug 8, 2023 | Replies (402)Comment receiving replies
Hello, @jennyt and @gls58, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! Thank you for participating in our community. Sharing our personal medical stories and learning from each-other is our goal and looks like we are already off to a great start with the discussions you have both posted.
I would like to call back and introduce members @upartist, @ellienewfan, @bearylynn and @jfortinofish1 to reignite this topic of conversation. When this topic started in 2013 the posts that were made by our members have hopefully gotten some answers and relief. Can you all please give us an update? Have any of you had success with a diagnosis or do you have pain management in place that makes it now bearable to sleep at night?
@jennyt, sorry to hear you are having sleepless nights and pain, I bet that is really frustrating. When do you see your physician? Would you mind coming back and letting us know what they say about your condition? Can you also tell me- Do your ears feel hot and or flare up?
@gls58, so glad to hear you have found some pain relief! That is great news. How long did you suffer in pain before trying the calcium/vitamin D regimen? Was the post that you read stating to try the calcium/vitamin combo in Mayo Clinic Connect? If so, I could try and locate it for you. I would just need to know what group it was in.
Replies to "Hello, @jennyt and @gls58, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! Thank you for participating in our community...."
Found it! .steadyhealth /topics/severe-ear-pain-caused-when-i-lay-down-at-night?page=3 - won't let me post the link, so if you search for Severe Ear Pain Caused When I Lay Down At Night, it should lead you to the post. I love this person!
Just had biopsy of my ear for this same thing. Found increased white blood cells in tissue. Found swollen lymph nodes in neck just under ears. Going for ultrasound, biopsy of nodes. Doc says not related but I think it is.
May want to have lymph nodes in neck checked.
I've been experiencing this same condition, it comes and goes and varies in intensity, I brought it up to my family doctor whom said she would look into it but with that look that said she thinks I'm crazy! I found this thread tonight and will try the vitamin D and calcium regiment to see if it really works. I will post back at a later date!
Hello @klumetta. Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. There is a lot of good information in this thread about different ideas to tackle the pain.
I will look forward to hearing what helps you. How long have you been experiencing symptoms?
I can totally relate to almost everything I am reading. I have this too, but not only when I sleep. My pain has been on and off for over 20 years and can triggered at anytime. I am 48 today, and it has been more frequent and painful then ever.
Last week I resorted to an ENT after seeing a dermatologist. (My primary Dr. thought the symptoms I described could be skin related).
The ENT Dr. said my ears are perfect and he can’t see anything wrong. He had no answers. And dermatologist said the same.
In the beginning, I use to think my sunglasses were pinching a nerve. 20 years later, it can happen anytime to either ear. Sometimes it will swell and become red.
I try to keep track of what is happening before attack’s happen. After all these years, the only similarity I can relate to episodes is that; I am breathing! I doesn’t matter what time of day, mood, health food, climate etc. Most times I can feel when an episode is about to happen to prepare myself. They are intense and sometimes debilitating.
I’ve read most of the posts and I still can’t find an answer/solution as my symptoms worsen.
This is definitely a medical mystery I hope we can find relief for.
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I had the pain for over 2 years, and I resorted to sleeping with my hand under my cheek to keep pressure off my ears. It only helped a little and caused me to wake over and over every night. I come back and do a search every so often to see if there are any stories of relief, and I just can't remember where I saw the vitamin / calcium solution. I'll keep looking, because it's made such a difference in my life. I'd forgotten how it felt to actually sleep. I suffer from chronic neck and back pain too, and sleeping on my side is the only option I have, so this was a huge issue. This may not help all others suffering with this, but it's so easy to try. Give it a little time. Hope it helps.