Ear pain has numerous causes.
Most are treatable, though some are serious.
Conditions responsible for ear pain can strike anyone at any age.
Illustration by Gary Ferster for Verywell Health
These are the nine most common conditions causing ear pain.
These infections are usually due to acold,allergy, orupper respiratory infection.
A middle ear infection can cause significant ear pain, which may get worse when lying down.
Any foreign object can cause pain.
If the object is pushed too far inside of the ear it canrupture the eardrum.
Depending on the condition, the valve may stay open or not open properly.
Ruptured Eardrum
Theeardrumis a thin membrane between the ear canal and middle ear.
It serves as a barrier that helps keep bacteria and dirt out of your ear.
Hearing begins when soundwaves make the eardrum vibrate and those vibrations activate structures in the middle ear.
The eardrum may tear from loud sounds, head trauma, and foreign objects in the ear.
However, excessive pressure is the most common cause.
A ruptured eardrum causes one or more of the following symptoms:
5.
Water from swimming may be contaminated with bacteria.
However, water from any source that’s trapped in the ear promotes bacterial growth.
Impacted Earwax
Earwaxprotects your ear by preventing dust, bacteria, and other microorganisms from getting inside the ear.
Your risk increases if your ears produce too much wax or you clean your ears using cotton swabs.
The swabs push wax into the ear, blocking the canal.
Ear Trauma
Ear trauma refers to any kind of injury to the outer portion of the ear.
This punch in of injury often occurs during athletic activities.
If an injury becomes infected, it can lead toperichondritis.
Perichondritis
Perichondritisis an infection of the cartilage that makes up the outer ear.
It’s usually the result of trauma to the ear from surgery, ear piercing, or accidental injury.
Symptoms include ear pain, redness, and swelling.
Early treatment is crucial to prevent the infection from spreading and causing tissue death.
The symptoms include:
10.
Secondary Otalgia
Secondary otalgia refers to ear pain that’s due to another health condition outside the ear.
Imaging
Imaging may be needed to diagnose ear pain.
Treatment
Treatment will focus on easing your pain and treating the specific cause.
In many cases, ear pain improves with over-the-counter medications and self-care.
Ear Flushing
Ear flushing is performed by a healthcare professional to remove impacted wax.
Many work in combination to reduce inflammation, treat the infection, and ease the pain.
Summary
Ear pain is often brought on by an infection or eustachian tube dysfunction.
Treatments target the underlying cause.
Your healthcare provider may recommend self-care, medications, office procedures, and surgery.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Ear infection (otitis media).
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Eustachian tube dysfunction.
National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Ruptured eardrum.
National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Ear wax.
National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Perichondritis.
National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Mastoiditis.
American Family Physician.Ear pain: diagnosing common and uncommon causes.
