Extreme outer ear pain: What can it be?

Nope. Had ear tissue biopsied and is showing inflammation in cartilage tissue.

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?

Hi,

I don't know if someone has already told you this but it sounds like you have TN, trigeminal Neuralgia. I say this because I have it, and last year (2017) I kept getting an outer ear pain on either ear I slept on, but one ear in particular would cause so much pain that I literally was woken up out of a deep sleep and had to remove my self slowly from the pillow and not touch my face for a while. It then would continue into the morning and throughout the entire day that this pain would still be there on the one side. My sensitive areas are around the ear, slightly above it, behind it near the neck, and somewhere in the center radiates all this pain, To be clear it is not an inner ear pain, I have plenty of ear infections to know the difference. So once I noticed the pain radiating down my neck, to the point where I couldn't move my head side to side or look up or down without feeling this pain, I went to see a primary care doctor. I couldn't get a full night of sleep because I tried to sleep on the side that was bearable, but I would end up getting ear soreness on the other ear, and then I would try to sleep on my back (face straight up) but I could still feel the ear pain, and the muscles in my face being pulled toward my pillow also made the ear pain worse. Once I was told it was TN, it all made sense. All the places that were causing me pain have the trigeminal nerve going through it. For me, it comes somewhere behind the ear and goes down my jawline and sometimes my cheeks or forehead if it's really bad. So, do some research on that, and ask your doctor about it (if they are aware of it). Most doctors don't know about this condition unfortunately, so a lot of people get misdiagnosed. I was told it was tmj and an ear infection when I was in my teens.
Hope this helps.
Deidra

Also, regular over the counter pain meds would not work for this type of pain, so if you've tried advil, Tylenol, motrin, anything of that nature, the pain will still be there. So if you notice nothing is working, that means it's nerve pain (usually tegretol or neurotnin) are prescribed for this type of pain. However, ask any person with TN, they will have their own concoction of pain regimen to help get them thru.

Found an anti inflammatory That's working for me.

It sounds like TMJ. See your dentist. You might also be grinding your teeth in your sleep. Maybe try a mouth guard when you sleep, but your dentist will be able to properly diagnose you.

Not TMJ. But thanks.

Hi Ellie. I’m hoping you found something that gives you some relief but otherwise I wanted to share something that might help. I’v been struggling with the same thing for over 10 years and doctors never had any idea other than “don’t sleep on your side.” I just discovered folding a blanket like an upside down U shape on the pillow to provide a opening for the ear is finally providing relief. I hope this helps.

Finally figured out a way to be able to sleep without waking up in excruciating pain. Hope this helps others too.