Medical expert of the article
New publications
Causes of ear pain
Last reviewed: 19.11.2021
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
The causes of pain in the ear can vary:
- inflammation of the middle ear or nearby organs;
- diseases of nerves, in particular, of the auditory nerve;
- diseases in which pain can be irradiated to the ear area (ENT diseases, vascular pathologies, brain disorders);
- malignant tumors.
Pain in the ear can be aching, shooting, standing, or intermittent, and may also occur against other symptoms. To determine the cause of pain, all available symptoms are taken into account, such as headache, dizziness,
[Probable causes of pain in the ear in a healthy person
Fortunately, pain in the ear can be transient and not a sign of any disease. Among the possible causes of such transitory pain can be noted the following:
- impact of a sharp cold or draft (there is a narrowing of the vessels, which can be manifested by a slight short-term pain, which occurs when exposed to heat);
- getting water in the ear canal;
- the formation of a sulfur plug, which presses against the walls of the ear canal;
- ingress of foreign objects, insects, etc. Into the auditory canal.
Such reasons are not signs of the disease, but if they are not eliminated in time, the consequences can already manifest themselves in the form of an inflammatory process.
Inflammatory processes - causes of pain in the ear
- External otitis is an inflammatory process with damage to the outer shell of the ear and external auditory canal. With this process, pain always appears. In addition to pain, there may be complaints about hearing impairment, a sense of noise, ringing, burning, stuffiness in the ear, an increase in temperature, hyperemia of the outer shell of the ear. Pain in the ear becomes unbearable if you try to massage the outer shell of the diseased ear.
- Perichondritis is an inflammatory process of the perichondrium (cartilage shell). Characterized by pain in the outer shell of the ear, its swelling, redness.
- Ear furunculosis - quite simply, an abscess. It is a conical convexity on the skin, red and painful, in the center of which you can see a purulent "crater". Such a boil should be opened, pus removed and rinsed with an antiseptic (only in a medical setting).
- Middle otitis media is an inflammatory process in the middle ear (in the space between the inner ear and the tympanic membrane). The middle otitis is divided into purulent, exudative, chronic, but all these forms are characterized, first of all, by severe pain in the ear, a feeling of stuffiness and noise. Pain can spread to the head, to the teeth, and also to increase with swallowing or coughing. In turn, the causes of otitis media can be infection from the environment and the nearest inflamed organs, or head trauma.
- Internal otitis (labyrinthitis) is an inflammatory process in the inner ear. It may be accompanied by a violation of the vestibular and sound-conducting apparatus. Labyrinthitis can be a complication of otitis media (both acute and chronic). Also, the infection can get into the inner ear with flu, scarlet fever, measles or tuberculosis, with direct injury to the ear by foreign objects when cleaning the ears, with meningitis.
The causes of pain in the ear area are usually determined on examination with an otolaryngologist. It is possible to use various diagnostic methods, such as CT or MRI, as well as blood tests and excretions from the auditory canal. In some cases, the patient is diagnosed and treated in a hospital.