Why can the ear hurt and what are the reasons?

The ear pain is almost always unbearable. Painful sensations in the ear area interfere with sleep, prevent concentration, interfere with full-fledged work or study. Despite the discomfort and disruption of the usual rhythm of life, few think about why the ear hurts. Most people try to cope with the discomfort on their own with ear drops. But pain in this area can be a manifestation of not only diseases of the ear itself, but also of other organs. What causes your ear to hurt? Let's take a look at this issue.

Painful sensations in the ear can bother a person in the following cases:

Ear pain in a healthy person

Consider the main causes of ear pain in the absence of any diseases:

• violation of the process of equalization of intracranial pressure through the Eustachian tube. Most people have faced this problem - it is the development of painful sensations in the ear canal during air travel and immersion in water at great depths. The appearance of such a symptom is possible in perfectly healthy people. Usually the pressure in the external environment and in the ear cavity is the same. Air circulates freely through the Eustachian tube, thereby maintaining equal pressure. With a rapid change in atmospheric pressure inside the ear cavity, the pressure does not have time to quickly equalize, as a result, pain appears.
• individual hypersensitivity of the ear canal to the effects of cold. Why do ears hurt in a healthy person? Sometimes, under the influence of cold or strong wind, pain appears in the ear cavity, while there are no signs of the disease. The exact reasons for this violation have not yet been established. There is an assumption that there are a very large number of nerves in the area of ​​the ear cavity, as a result of which the skin in this place becomes sensitive to the effects of negative environmental factors.

Diseases of the organ of hearing

The causes of ear pain may be associated with the development of pathological processes in the organ of hearing itself. Let's consider the most common violations:

• otitis externa. The disease is an inflammation of the outer ear. Most often it develops as a result of water penetration into the ear cavity. With the external form of otitis media, hyperemia and swelling of the inner surface of the ear develops, which is manifested by painful sensations.
• otitis media. With this disease, the tympanic cavity, located behind the eardrum, becomes inflamed. There are many nerve endings in this area, and with the development of the inflammatory process, pain in the ear occurs. Acute otitis media is accompanied by intense painful sensations. In chronic disease, pain is mostly absent or mild.
• internal otitis media (labyrinthitis). With such a violation, the inflammatory process develops in the inner ear cavity.

Labyrinthitis is the rarest and most dangerous of all types of otitis media.

Most often, the disease develops as a result of the penetration of infectious agents into the inner ear cavity. In addition to severe pain syndrome, internal otitis media is accompanied by dizziness, imbalance, nausea, and increased sweating.

• mastoiditis. If the ear hurts, the causes may be related to inflammation in the mastoid bone of the temporal bone located behind the ear. Often mastoiditis occurs as a result of otitis media, in rare cases, the disorder develops on its own.
• ear injury. Why does the ear hurt outside? Pain in this area can occur after trauma to the organ of hearing - impact or exposure to foreign elements. The pain can be of varying intensity depending on the strength of the blow or other damage.
• ear tumors. Tumor growths in the ears are very rare. For example, squamous cell carcinoma is determined in only 0.8-1 cases. out of 1,000,000. The development of the tumor is accompanied by painful sensations.

Diseases of nearby organs

What makes your ear hurt? The onset of pain in this area may be associated with the development of a pathological process in organs located near the ear or supplied with the same nerves as the organ of hearing. This condition is called otalgia.

Consider the disorders that are accompanied by painful sensations in the ear:

• diseases of the temporomandibular joint. The temporomandibular joint connects the lower jaw and the temporal bone. The joint is located behind the anterior wall of the ear. Possible arthritis, arthrosis, dislocation of the temporomandibular joint. With such violations, painful sensations in the ear, clicks, local pain in the front of the ear occur.
• dental diseases. This is the most common cause of otalgia. The occurrence of discomfort in the ear cavity against the background of dental diseases is explained by the presence of common nerves in these areas.
• disorders of the cervical spine. Against the background of osteochondrosis, myofascial syndrome, due to injuries of the cervical spine, ear pain often appears. This is because the neck and ear are also connected by common nerves.
• inflammation of the nasopharynx. Painful sensations in the ear cavity can be caused by the development of an inflammatory process in the pharynx. The discomfort results from the glossopharyngeal and trigeminal nerves passing through both the ear and the throat.

Ear discomfort often develops after tonsil surgery.

• sinusitis. In addition to nasal congestion and mucus discharge from the nasal passages, pain in the ear canal often occurs.
• mumps. With this disease, the salivary gland, which is close to the organ of hearing, becomes inflamed. Therefore, with mumps, pain often develops near and under the ear. Gambling sites try to attract the attention of customers as much as possible. One of the additional features of the portal is the ability to replenish slot machines https://slotsmoneypay.com/ with cryptocurrency. This is a profitable way to conduct financial transactions for those who mine digital currencies. Among competitors in the gambling field, this is a big plus, since not many sites allow using virtual money.
• intracranial tumors. The development of otalgia is possible against the background of various intracranial tumors. For example, pain in the ear cavity sometimes occurs with acoustic neuroma (benign neoplastic disease of the auditory nerve). With this disorder, in addition to pain in the ear canal, hearing impairment is noted.
• giant cell arteritis. It is a rheumatic disease. Many vessels are involved in the pathological process. If inflammation covers the ear artery, pain in the ear cavity occurs. Such pathology occurs most often in elderly women.

In order to make a correct diagnosis, the participation of many specialists is required - an ENT doctor, dentist, therapist, infectious disease specialist, neuropathologist, rheumatologist, and various diagnostic procedures - a clinical blood test, computed tomography, X-ray examination, audiometry, MRI. Only on the basis of the results of a thorough examination can an adequate treatment program be drawn up that will help get rid of the pain in the ear.