Ear pain: causes, connection with diseases, how to get rid and treat. Ear pain: causes, symptoms, treatment

Ear pain can be sharp, dull, or cause a burning sensation in the ear that comes and goes or stays constant. Pain can occur in one ear or both at once.

When should you see a doctor?

Call your doctor if:

• You have a high temperature (38 º C or higher);
• you have other symptoms such as dizziness, severe headache, or swelling around the ear;
• Severe ear pain does not go away within 24-48 hours;

Common Causes of Ear Pain

• Infections in the ear canal (outer side of the eardrum)
• A scratch or other physical injury inside the ear caused by a cotton swab, ear bud, or similar means personal hygiene;
• Foreign objects stuck inside the ear;
• throat infection, such as tonsillitis or sore throat, which can affect the ear
• Fluid buildup deep in the ear (behind the eardrum). It mostly occurs in children.

Due to inflammation in the ear

Maybe it's otitis media. In which part of the ear (external, middle, internal) inflammation began, the ENT doctor can say.

What will confirm the guess? The diagnosis of otitis media will be confirmed by such a characteristic sign: if you press hard on the tragus - a protrusion in the auricle in front of the opening of the external auditory canal - you will feel pain. It is also possible to increase the temperature, noise and "shooting" in the ears, in advanced cases - purulent discharge from the ear.
Inflammation of the ear in adults is characterized by a mild pain of a pulling or stabbing nature in depth (“stings and passes”), as well as a feeling of being blocked. Ear as if filled with water. Pain is aggravated by chewing, talking. Since the anterior wall of the external auditory meatus delimits the joint mandible from the outer ear, when an inflammatory process occurs in it, chewing movements cause a sharp pain. And this, in turn, leads to eating disorders.

What to do? If the pain is pulling, not pulsating, if there is no temperature and purulent discharge from the ear (in these cases, you should immediately run to the doctor), you can heal yourself. To do this, twice a day (in the morning and at night) make a dry warming compress (heat a bag of salt with an iron and lie on it with a sore ear) or put a cotton ball moistened with boron into your ear, camphor alcohol or alcohol tincture calendula, eucalyptus. Also, always keep sore ear in warmth: any hypothermia is a step back for recovery. With minor inflammation, these measures are usually sufficient. But if after a few days you do not feel relief, consult an ENT doctor.

Garlic oil can help relieve ear pain.
It is necessary to mix equal volumes of garlic crushed into gruel and vegetable oil, infuse the mixture in a tightly sealed container for sunshine or in a warm place for 10 days, shaking occasionally.
Then strain, add a few drops eucalyptus oil or glycerin and instill the diseased ear with the prepared composition.
Warm up slightly before use.

What can't be done? Do not prescribe antibiotics for yourself. If pus flows out of the ear, if you feel a pulsation of pain in your head, in no case warm the sore ear!

Prevention. Most often, otitis media is a complication after SARS, influenza, tonsillitis, prolonged rhinitis. Therefore, any cold, not to mention infections like the flu, is important to “lie down” and cure to the end.

Due to caries in the tooth

"Ear" pain can be caused by caries of the extreme teeth in an advanced stage (i.e., with inflammation of the nerve or tissues located near the tooth).

What will confirm the guess? In favor of the dental origin of the pain in the "ear" will be the fact that the pain is throbbing, aggravated by pressure on the aching tooth and when eating cold and hot food. The pain can be given to the head, ear, temple, neck. And at night the pain is usually stronger than during the day.

What to do? It is very rare to completely recover from toothache on your own. Therefore, contact a dentist as soon as possible, who will accurately name the cause of the pain and begin treatment. Before a visit to the doctor, you can alleviate the condition by taking an anesthetic tablet (for example, nimesulide, ibuprofen, analgin). For a short time, rinsing with soda helps to soothe the pain: a glass of warm boiled water take 1 tsp. soda and a couple of drops of iodine. If you are a fan natural methods treatment, use the "grandmother's" recipe - attach chopped onion or garlic to the aching tooth. Cover the top with cotton wool. Onion and garlic - natural antiseptics, and if the inflammation in the gum is minor, they can deal with it. But all these measures do not cancel consultations with the dentist.

What can't be done? You can not put a warming compress on the jaw from the side of the diseased tooth - especially if swelling (flux) has already formed. You can not rub a sore spot, pick a tooth with hard objects, touch inflamed gum hands. All this can lead to the spread of infection.

Prevention. A tooth with a hole, even if it does not hurt, is always a potential source of infection in the body. Caries can cause problems with digestion, heart, kidneys. Therefore, do not delay the visit to the doctor if the problem already exists.

Due to a ruptured nerve

Neuralgia can radiate into the ear trigeminal nerve.

What will confirm the guess? The pain occurs suddenly, with attacks lasting 2 minutes. It is provoked by chewing, washing, brushing teeth, a gust of wind, a simple touch. By nature, it resembles a blow electric shock. May be accompanied by reddening of the face, spasms of mimic and masticatory muscles.

What to do? For typical trigeminal neuralgia, medical assistance, therefore address to the neuropathologist as soon as possible. He will appoint effective treatment. Usually, a course (about 10-14 days) of antispasmodics is prescribed - drugs that relieve spasm, for example, no-shpu, as well as a sedative - based on valerian, St. John's wort, lemon balm. To strengthen nervous system It is useful to drink a course of B vitamins.

What can't be done? For a while, you need to give up stimulating drinks (coffee, strong tea) and spicy dishes, spices. All this can contribute to an aggravation.

Prevention. To prevent neuralgia, it is important not to overcool. In some cases, it is difficult to prevent trigeminal neuralgia, because it can be the result of injuries or one of the manifestations of other diseases - a tumor, herpes, again a diseased tooth (by the way, it often appears after a poorly placed filling).

Pain caused by an ear injury

Ear pain can be the result of injury inside the ear - for example, by scraping earwax from the external auditory canal with a cotton swab, or by pushing cotton swab too far into the ear, which can pierce the eardrum.

The ear canal is very sensitive and can be easily damaged. The ear will heal on its own without treatment, but it can take six to eight weeks for a perforated eardrum.

Ear pain caused by earwax

If your earache is due to hard wax congestion, don't try to remove it with a cotton swab, as this will only push it further inward and you could damage your eardrum.

Instead, your doctor or pharmacist may prescribe ear drops to soften the sulfur so that it falls out naturally. In some cases, the doctor needs to remove the wax by irrigating the ear with water.

How about breastfeeding?

Not immune from pain in the ear and the smallest. “Mom, my ear hurts,” a two-year-old might say. But the baby is not able to talk about what causes him discomfort, he will simply cry, refuse to breastfeed, sleep restlessly at night, rub his ear against the pillow, reach out with his hand to his ear. You can find out the cause of the pain by intensely pressing on the ear tragus. If the baby is crying, it is probably otitis media. To avoid complications, urgently show the child to the doctor.

Prevention. Otitis in children is much more common than in adults and the likelihood of complications is greater. This is due to the structural features of the children's ear: their auditory tube is wider and shorter. It is important to prevent mucus from getting into it during a cold and milk during feeding. To do this: - teach your baby to blow your nose correctly: you need to do this without excessive effort, you can’t blow mucus from both nostrils at once, only alternately, - after feeding, hold the baby upright, so that he spit up excess milk and it does not get out of oral cavity into the nasopharynx, and then through auditory tube into the middle ear.

PS. The above information should not be used to self diagnosis your health condition, but can give you an idea of ​​what is causing your earache. It does not include all possible causes, but describes the most common causes of ear pain.

Pain in the hearing area can be caused by the most different reasons. The most common of them is an acute inflammatory process directly in the ear itself. This body consists of several anatomical departments- external, middle and internal. Depending on which department is damaged, inflammation - otitis media - has the appropriate name. If ear pain occurs, treatment depends primarily on the location and severity of the lesion. important diagnostic symptom while the nature of the pain is, it can be both aching and shooting or throbbing.

Aching pain in the ear, treatment

Otitis externa often develops due to hypothermia or mechanical damage auricle, as well as the beginning of the ear canal. Enough common cause inflammation becomes the ingress of water into the ear. characteristic feature malaise is aching pain in the area of ​​the tragus, which greatly increases when pressed. The disease is accompanied by redness and swelling of the visible outer part of the ear, slight increase temperature. There may also be purulent discharge bad smell. In this case, hearing, as a rule, does not deteriorate.

With the appearance of pain in the ears, treatment is aimed at relieving inflammation. If there is purulent discharge, an abscess is opened. After that, the patient is shown warming compresses, physiotherapeutic procedures, washing the ear canal with disinfectant solutions. As such means, a 3% solution is used. Boric acid or furatsilina solution. If there is no abscess, the signs of which are purulent discharge and heat, to get rid of otitis externa, a warming compress is often enough.

With the appearance of aching pain in the ear, treatment can be carried out folk remedies. One of them is the use of the well-known geranium. Freshly plucked, lightly rubbed with hands, a leaf inserted into the ear canal reduces inflammation and significantly reduces the feeling of pain. However, it is still necessary to see a doctor, since for pain in the ears, treatment should be supervised by a specialist.

Shooting ear pain treatment

With the appearance of shooting pains in the ears, treatment requires a more serious attitude. Feelings like this speak of development. acute inflammation middle ear. Most often it occurs against the background of diseases such as tonsillitis, influenza, laryngitis. The pain may radiate to the temple or teeth on the side of the affected ear. It feels congestion, noise, reduced hearing acuity. Often appears strong pain in the corresponding half of the head, the disease is accompanied by a fairly high temperature.

With shooting pain in the ear, treatment depends on the timeliness of contacting a doctor. If not purulent inflammation prescribed antibiotics and painkillers. After a stable decrease in temperature, warming compresses are applied and physiotherapy is prescribed.

In the case of a prolonged inflammatory process, the pain in the ear begins to pulsate, which indicates the appearance of pus. After some time, the purulent discharge breaks through the eardrum, starting to stand out from the ear canal. As a rule, this reduces the temperature, and the pain decreases. If there is no discharge, there is a risk of complications. This is a complete or partial hearing loss, brain damage is also possible.

If there is a throbbing pain in the ear, treatment involves, first of all, the removal of pus through the ear canal to the outside. To do this, in addition to the use of antibiotics, it is often necessary to make a puncture in the eardrum and install a special drainage. As a result, the patient's well-being improves, the likelihood of complications is significantly reduced. After recovery, the hole formed in the eardrum gradually tightens. With the appearance of throbbing pain in the ear, the treatment of which requires a fairly serious medical manipulation, it is necessary to seek help in a timely manner.

Quite often, the development of an inflammatory process in the body contributes to the appearance of pain in the ears, treatment similar condition should be carried out under the supervision of a physician. This need is due to the fact that the organ of hearing is located in close proximity to the brain. As a result of incorrect or untimely treatment serious complications may occur.

Severe pain in the ear can be compared with a toothache - it appears suddenly and is very difficult to endure. All the patient's thoughts are only about how to get rid of painful sensations. But before taking therapeutic measures, you should find out why the ear hurts. It is on this that the treatment program and its effectiveness will depend.

In addition to the lack of the desired result, wrong therapy can lead to severe complications up to complete hearing loss. Effective Methods treatments prescribed by a specialist will help to avoid undesirable consequences and quickly get rid of the pain in the ear.

Main causes of violation

The most common disease that almost every person has encountered at least once in their life is otitis media. Violation is an inflammatory process in the organ of hearing, in which acute pain occurs in the ear.

Otitis can occur on its own, but more often this disorder is a complication of colds. Otitis in acute form it is difficult - severe pain in the ear of a shooting character develops, pus forms, temperature indicators increase, worsens general state organism.

Another common cause of ear pain is mechanical injury ear canal. Experiencing itching in the ear cavity, many people try to cope with the problem with the help of improvised means - hairpins, toothpicks, matches. Using such items, you can not only violate the integrity of the inner shell of the ear canal, but also infect.

Due to the penetration of foreign objects into the ear, it may develop otitis externa. With such a violation, a boil forms in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe outer ear, which causes discomfort and pain.

If there is pain in the ear without temperature, caries may be the cause. Pain in carious teeth can radiate to the neck, temples, and ear. In this case, of course, you need to visit a dentist and cure bad teeth.

Also, if your ears hurt, the following conditions may be the cause:

• pinching facial nerve, in which there is a pulling pain in the ear;
• migraine attack, after stopping the attack, pain in the ear cavity disappears;
• sulfur plugs, in the absence of sufficient hygiene of the ears, accumulates in the ear canal a large number of sulfur, which can cause ear pain in adults and children.

If the ears hurt, naturally, you need to find out the cause of the pain. It is dangerous to use any medicines without the appointment of a specialist. This may further aggravate the situation.

In situations where the ear is very sore, first aid can be provided independently.

It is important to bear in mind that if the ear hurts and the body temperature is elevated, warming up the ear is strictly prohibited.

The effect of heat on the ear area is also contraindicated if the cause of pain is carious teeth.

If temperatures do not exceed normal values can be cooked dry warm compress- warm salt or sand, pour into a cloth bag and apply to the sore ear.

Good therapeutic effect gives lubrication of the skin around the auricle with warm camphor oil. You can also soak cotton turundas with oil and insert them into the ear canal. The procedure is recommended to be carried out before going to bed.

After cupping acute pain should contact medical institution to clarify the diagnosis and prescribe the necessary treatment.

If the ear hurts from the outside and there is a boil, the specialist will remove the abscess, treat the affected area antiseptic and prescribe Sofradex. This medicine should be applied locally - drip 2 drops into the ear 3 times a day for a week.

If the ear hurts in an adult or a child, medications are prescribed taking into account the underlying disease, its form and intensity of pain.

If there was sharp pain in the ear, to reduce pain, use Paracetmol (4 times a day, 1 mg each) and Otipax ear drops (instilled 2 times a day).

If there is pain in the left ear or in the right ear and swelling of the ear canal is observed, vasoconstrictor nasal drops are used (Tizin, Naphthyzin). This will improve the outflow of purulent masses from the middle ear cavity. Your doctor may also prescribe antihistamines to relieve swelling.

If expressed pain accompanied by suppuration, the attending physician will prescribe antibacterial drugs. Since in this case, pain is the result of exposure to infectious agents.

To cleanse the ear cavity from purulent masses, it may be necessary surgical intervention. After the operation in ear canal drops are instilled, accelerating the healing process of tissues and destroying pathogenic microflora.

It is important to consider what to bury medication directly on the eardrum is impossible. The medicine is applied to a cotton turunda and inserted into the ear canal.

Before using an antibiotic, you need to test for sensitivity to it. Although most often there is no time for such manipulations. When choosing one or the other antibacterial agent be aware that some medications can lead to hearing loss. This is more true for drugs of the aminoglycoside group. Even a single use of such drugs with otitis media can provoke deafness.

If there is severe pain in the right ear or in the left and it is necessary to use antibiotics, then it is better to opt for the drug Amoxycycline. Apply the medicine 3 times a day for 10 days. If after three days of treatment the necessary therapeutic effect is absent, instead of this medicine Augmentin or Cefuroxime should be used.

To completely eliminate the inflammatory process, the course of treatment antibacterial drugs should be at least 8-10 days.

Even if the patient's condition has returned to normal, the therapeutic course should not be interrupted. Otherwise, a relapse of the disease and the development of hearing loss are possible.

If a drug therapy ineffective, surgical intervention is performed. Depending on the location of the inflammation, the doctor may prescribe the following:

• myringotomy (during the operation, the tympanic membrane is punctured and the purulent contents are removed);
• anthrotomy (in this case, pus is removed from the inflamed area in the ear canal).

Operations are performed under anesthesia, so you should not be afraid of them. rehabilitation period also short - after 2 weeks a person will be able to return to their usual way of life.

Physiotherapy procedures

Physiotherapy is used today for many diseases. If your right ear (or left) hurts this method treatment will also help to get rid of discomfort.

A good effect is given by microwave, or microwave therapy (UHF), ultra-high-frequency inductometry (UHF), a solar lamp, inhalations, half-alcohol compresses on the affected ear area.

Physiotherapeutic methods of treatment effectively eliminate edema, stop the development of the inflammatory process, activate tissue regeneration, have a bacteriostatic and vasodilating effect.

Physiotherapy significantly speeds up the healing process. However, when using this technique, it should be remembered that physiotherapy treatment is not suitable for everyone. The above procedures are carried out with caution in people over 60 years of age, patients with chronic pathologies digestive and cardiovascular systems, as well as if there is a history of stroke, heart attack, disorders mental nature, surgical interventions.

In addition, physiotherapy treatment is prohibited at elevated temperatures, exacerbation of chronic pathologies.

If the aching pain in the ear arose at night, and the necessary medicines, you can use proven methods of alternative medicine.

Consider the most effective recipes:

aromatherapy

If there is a sharp or dull pain in the ear, eliminate discomfort, in addition to the above recommendations, essential oils will also help. You can use them in the following way:

• add 5 drops to 0.5 l of boiling water essential oil chamomile or lavender. Breathe over the steam for about 10 minutes.
• in 2 tsp. olive oil add 3 drops of lavender oil, the mixture can also be supplemented with St. John's wort or mullein oil. Drip the medicine into the ear canal, then close it with a piece of cotton wool.
• 2 tsp mix almond oil with olive oil. Rub the product into the skin in the ear area.

If suppuration or bleeding from the ear cavity is observed, it is impossible to instill it with any drops (both medicinal and self-prepared) - this can lead to a violation of the integrity of the eardrum.

Pain in the ear often accompanies colds and bruising of the head, such as from a concussion. The pains are sometimes so severe that they deprive a person not only of sleep, but also of everyday peace of mind. Without proper treatment, the pain is unlikely to stop, which in turn can lead to complications.

Pain inside the ear

The auditory canal is a whole multicomponent system. In case of malfunction of at least one of the components, symptoms appear that indicate the appearance of damage, inflammation, bruise.

Ear and jaw pain

This symptom is very common with lymphadenitis. Cause - inflammation of the parotid or submandibular lymph node. The pain can radiate to the temple and even the collarbone. The reason may also be toothache caused by caries or wisdom tooth growth. Also, pain radiating to the ear and jaw at the same time may appear due to inflammation of the trigeminal nerve.

Ear pain and swelling

If, in addition to pain in the ear, it also swells, this may indicate. It occurs most often after a cold on the legs. A bump that has arisen near the ear, the size of which ranges from 3 to 15 mm, may indicate inflammation of the lymph node.

Earache and discharge

Treatment

Therapy is carried out only after the diagnosis is made by a doctor. Appointed drug treatment. Also, the doctor can supplement it with some folk remedies that can serve as a prophylaxis and additional method maintaining the body.

Medically

A variety of medications can be prescribed, depending on the symptoms that torment the patient. Among them:

• . Needed to eliminate obsessive pain syndrome.
• . Necessary and integral means in the fight against not only otitis, but also other diseases of the ears, as well as lymphadenitis.
• . Indicated for patients suffering from inflammation and elevated temperature body.
• Enzymes. These drugs are administered through the Eustachian tube. Special nasal drops may be prescribed.

Surgical methods are used only in cases where drug treatment does not give the desired result.

Folk remedies

Folk remedies for pain in the ears best case will not give a result, at worst, will lead to an aggravation of the course of the disease. Worth using carefully habitual methods treatment of the disease, heating and instillation with a solution of hydrogen peroxide.

For any of folk methods you need to get the permission of a doctor and apply any of them only after establishing an accurate diagnosis.

What is possible and what is not

This question is rather ambiguous. With ear pain, you can do everything that a competent doctor prescribes. And there are several “no” at once:

• You can not warm the ear in case of pain. It is possible only if the doctor announced the diagnosis and recommended this procedure.
• You can not supplement the doctor's prescription with other, auxiliary components of your own free will.
• You can not leave the treatment before the passage full course therapy.

Read more about the treatment of ear pain in our video:

Prevention

Ear pain prevention includes a simple guide, following which, you will not return to the original problem for a long time:

• timely prevention of colds;
• hardening;
• proper nutrition;
• warm clothes in the cold season;
• prevention of dental diseases;
• timely visit to the doctor when the first symptoms of ear pain appear.

If you have got Ear ache, do not try to cope with it yourself if it does not pass within a day. Prompt assistance and proper treatment will eliminate unpleasant symptom already at the outset.