Can Ear Pain Be A Sign Of Something More Serious? Facts You Need to Know

Earaches are so common in adults and children; sometimes we don’t make a big deal out of it. But have you ever thought deeply and tried to understand the real problems, ear pain will cause? The chances are you haven’t. Most people think the same.

Commonly, earaches come and go often without being a pain in the ass, sometimes they stick too long like ur distant uncle who visited your house and give you nightmares. But where are all these adding up? What conclusions can we make about frequent ear pains? Let us discuss.

What Is An Ear Pain?

Ear pain mostly affects children, but it harms adults too. An ear pain starts with a simple sensation outside or inside the ear and it increases the intensity.

A pain that occurs inside the ear is known as Primary Otalgia and pain that occurs outside the ear is called secondary otalgia. Earache can develop gradually or all of a sudden in one of the ears or both ears.

Earaches are mostly seen as temporary ear sensations, but they can be continuing for a long period in some cases. The level of pain can be so minimal to high intensity, that your ears will feel like being ripped apart.

Symptoms

Symptoms of ear pain vary from time to time. It can accompany a mild fever, jaw pain, clicking, and popping, or headache sometimes to difficulty in chewing or drainage in the ear. In some cases, symptoms of temporary hearing loss and loss of appetite are recorded. In children, increased levels of crying, fussiness, and irritability are symptoms.

Causes Of Ear Pain

Ear pain is caused by the blockage in the passageway from the middle ear to the nasal cavity, which is known as the Eustachian Tube. When the tube is blocked, air and fluid cannot be transported through the passageway which results in the formation of pressure and pain in the ear.

Children are more likely to get an earache compared to adults because of the small structure of the Eustachian tube. It will become hard for the fluids to drain out from a small eustachian tube compared to an adult’s tube. Earache can also be caused by scratching your finger, cotton swab, or any other object inside your ear.

Other possible causes of ear pain include:

• Allergies
• Sinus infection
• Sore throat
• Tooth infection
• Buildup of earwax
• Ruptured eardrum
• Altitude pressure changes (barotrauma)
• Temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ, or problems with the joint that connects your jaw to the side of your head)
• Arthritis of the jaw

Diagnosis And Treatment

A doctor will diagnose your earache based on your medical history and overall health. They will also examine your nose and throat with an Otoscope to check for any major problems that cause an ear ache

The treatment of earache depends upon the cause of pain and symptoms. The major treatment of earache can be categorized into medication, surgery, and home remedies.

In medication, the doctor would advise you to use particular OTC drugs or OTC ear drops to relieve the pain. Sometimes antibiotics are also used to treat the pain. Most widely used home remedies and other temporary quick treatments include placing a cold pack or wet cloth on the affected area for some time and sleeping properly during the night instead of sleeping on your ear( putting your whole body weight on one ear while sleeping on one side.)

Finally, there are surgeries to treat long-lasting earaches or any deformities inside the ear. For this, you have to talk with your doctor and decide whether your condition requires surgery or not. Most ear surgeries are not that expensive compared to others.

Conclusion

Ear pain is a common disease that occurs in children and adults. People don’t take it seriously unless it’s become a major disease.

Pain can occur because of numerous reasons and changes that occur in our body, a better advice would be not to take it lightly and see the doctor if it’s occurring frequently. Because there are chances the ear pain is a continuous alarm that warns you about a dreadful condition inside your ear.