Pain in the ear when swallowing: causes, treatment

If pain in swallowing gives into the ear, then it is logical to turn to the otolaryngologist, since most often this symptom appears in the inflammatory processes affecting the middle ear.

However, everything is not so simple, because there may be a simultaneous pain in the throat and ears when swallowing. Agree, the symptom is similar, but somewhat different.

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]

Causes of the pain in the ear when swallowing

So, the simplest option: pain in the left ear with swallowing can mean left-sided  acute otitis media  or chronic, and on the right, respectively, inflammation of the right ear (acute or chronic). Also, the causes of pain in the ear during swallowing can be in the inflammation of the auditory (Eustachian) tube or inner ear (labyrinthite).

But the pain in the throat and ears during swallowing in the majority of patients is pathogenetically linked either to follicular pharyngitis (bacterial or viral inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa and the lymph nodes in it) or to acute tonsillitis (angina), especially follicular and lacunar.

The pronounced symptoms of pain in the ear during swallowing can give inflammation of the submaxillary, behind-the-back or jugular lymph nodes (lymphadenitis). Irradiating in the ears of the pain when opening the mouth, chewing and swallowing are inherent in the inflammation of the salivary glands (sialoadenitis), and their tumors.

Pain in the ear in a child with swallowing, except for all the cases mentioned, may be one of the symptoms of measles or scarlet fever. And, as noted by pediatricians, the first signs of measles (about a day before the rashes on the skin) often manifest themselves inflammation of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract and the lymphoid ring located in the throat. And  scarlet fever  in many cases manifests as an angina-like acute inflammation of the palatine tonsils or similar acute laryngitis inflammation of the larynx, which can be felt in the ear when chewing and swallowing.

Another infectious disease - with characteristic bilateral swelling of the parotid salivary glands - causes pain in the ear in children with swallowing and yawning, as well as chewing and other movements of the lower jaw. And it's a mumps or an  epidemic parotitis.

In addition, there is a pain in the throat and ears when swallowing, as well as during the turn of the head in the presence of such a congenital anomaly as a  giant awl-shaped process. And in this case, the pathogenesis of pain is due to the fact that the defective process constantly irritates the glossopharyngeal nerve passing here.

The reason for complaints about painful clicks in the ear during swallowing is likely to lie in the age-related pathological changes of the temporomandibular joint - its deforming arthrosis or arthritis. But clicks in the ear without pain during swallowing are with an  incorrect bite  - distal or mesial. By the way, the violation of bite is not only congenital: the jaws can change the position (with increased load on the joints) as a result of unsuccessful denture.

[7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12]

Risk factors

With such a variety of reasons for the accompanying swallowing of pain in the ear, the risk factors for the appearance of this symptom are associated with all inflammatory diseases of the ears, throat and nasopharynx and their chronization.

Also, the risks are focal infections of regional lymph nodes and salivary glands, and to a large extent - childhood infectious diseases. And the common factor, of course, is the weakening of immunity.

[13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18]

Diagnostics of the pain in the ear when swallowing

If the pain in the ear during swallowing is associated with otitis or tonsillitis, then the otolaryngologists, examining the ear or throat, immediately determine this.

Diagnosis of pain in the ear when swallowing is designed to identify its cause. Pediatricians diagnose infectious diseases without difficulty on the basis of a child's examination and an analysis of the available symptoms.

Instrumental diagnostics with the help of visualization (in particular, radiography and ultrasound) allows dentists to determine the inflammation of the salivary gland or maxillofacial lymph nodes. And for accurate diagnosis of bite, joints and jaw muscles, orthodontists and maxillofacial surgeons, in addition to panoramic X-rays, can use computer and magnetic resonance imaging.

Complex examination and differential diagnosis - sometimes with the involvement of specialists of other profiles - should dismiss all assumptions and lead to the formulation of the correct diagnosis.

[19], [20], [21]

Treatment of the pain in the ear when swallowing

The pain in the ear that occurs when swallowing, chewing, or yawning is a symptom, so the basic treatment for earache in swallowing is etiological.

In this case, analgesic medications are only an additional remedy, and dull pain analgesics, without referring to a doctor, is unacceptable.

In inflammatory diseases of the middle ear apply:

• Drops with otitis
• Compresses in the ear with otitis
• Antibiotics for otitis

When the pain in the throat and ears during swallowing is caused by angina, then it is necessary to treat it. How to do it correctly, what medications to use, and what alternative treatment helps with inflammation of the palatine tonsils, read in the publication -  Inflammation of the tonsils: tonsillitis or tonsillitis?

Physiotherapeutic treatment also depends on the cause of this symptom; for more details, see  Physiotherapy for Otitis, and  Physiotherapy for Angina

All methods of treatment of inflamed submandibular and behind-the-back lymph nodes - in the article  Treatment of lymphadenitis

Prevention

Prophylactic measures can be taken only for diseases - provided that a set of such measures is developed (such as measles and epidarmacy vaccination) and introduced into clinical practice.

Prevent the occurrence of ear pain when swallowing due to otitis media or tonsillitis, as well as most symptoms of infectious inflammation of ENT organs, is not possible.

[22], [23], [24], [25]