Health Information : Ear Pain

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What is ear pain?

An ear pain is a dull, sharp and burning pain that a person experiences either in one ear or both but majority of the times, it happens to be only in one ear. It can occur in both children as well as adults for constant durations or just come & go.

What causes ear pain?

There are number of reasons responsible for ear pain like injury, infection or irritation. However, you can also experience “referred ear pain” in which the pain actually originates somewhere else like in jaw or teeth but it is felt in your ear. Some common causes of ear pain are:

• Ear infection
• Injury caused due to pressure changes
• A foreign object stuck in the ear
• Building up of wax
• Perforated eardrum
• Eczema in ear
• Sinus infection
• Sore throat
• Tooth infection
• Arthritis affecting jaw
• Soap or water trapped in ear
• Irritation due to cotton swabs

What are the symptoms of ear pain?

The symptoms of ear pain in adults and children are different. Some ear pain symptoms in adults are:

• Pain in ear
• Temporary hearing loss or diminishing hearing
• Fluid draining from ear

Children experience some additional ear pain symptoms that include:

• Ear ache
• Fever
• Muffled hearing or facing difficulty in responding to sounds
• Difficulty in sleeping
• Constantly pulling ear
• Crying or fussiness than normal
• Loss of appetite and balance
• Headache
• Fluid draining from ear

How can Ear pain be treated?

If you have persistent fever of 104ºF or higher and your ear pain doesn’t improve in 24-48 hours, you must immediately seek medical attention.

• For ear infection, you may be given oral antibiotics or ear drops or both.
• For built-up earwax, wax softening ear drops are prescribed or your doctor may take out the wax himself using vacuum suction device or process called ear lavage.
• Sinus and other related infections that cause ear pain are treated by the doctor to help you give relief from ear ache.