What could it be?? It feels like nerve pain but I also have muscle spasms. The sharp pains come every 10-15 seconds.
I think it is related to bound up muscles in my neck or shoulder, but will see my PCP tomorrow for evaluation.
My PT doesn't want to touch me until she hears from my Dr.
The main area of pain is below the ear.. don't feel much pain in my neck or shoulders.
Any tips on what to do for pain? I really can't take pain meds. I've tried ice and muscle relaxants. I can't take those (relaxants) often either.
Has anyone had something similar before?
Thanks!
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
is it from neck nerves...trigeminal neuralgia...bells? neurontin works for me for that...but it doesnt help others
Posted by Jane2904 (Member # 15917) on :
Our daughter used to have pain in area behind ear.
Clove oil seemed to help.
Hope you feel better.
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
Ouch! Sounds awful!
Do you have any other symptoms?
Does massaging it help at all?
Posted by Judie (Member # 38323) on :
Yes, I've had that. It was a combo of muscle pain and clogged Eustachian tube (I've also been diagnosed with trigeminal nerve pain).
There are exercises you can do that can help relieve it, but I had to go to a facial pain specialist to learn them.
Gosh, I wonder if there's I way I could show them to you.
Here's a video that Kaiser (of all places) showed me on how to clear out my Eustachian tubes.
If you scroll down, there's a sinus rinse video. I use my rhino horn (similar to a netipot) and tilt my head way up to let gravity work. It's a different technique than the usual netipot instructions.
The demo is about 1.30 in (the first part is just about mixing sinus rinse with water, but I think you probably know how to do that, if not, it's just warm water and sinus rinse powder from any pharmacy).
I also slept on a heating pad under my neck for awhile too.
I made it with some cotton cloth stuffed with uncooked rice.
You can also just use a long, cotton sock and stuff it with rice (or flax seeds or even beans) then tie it at the end. Then pop it in the microwave to heat up.
Here's a video, I'd use a long sock so it can wrap up the sides of your neck when you lay on it.
Thanks, guys. I'll try the clove oil. I must have put 7-8 different oils on the area last night.
Thanks, Judie. I'll check it all out.
PS.. massaging doesn't help. It's extremely sensitive.
Posted by lax mom (Member # 38743) on :
Could be a trigger point that the nerve is passing over.
I would put a heating pad on it.
I know how bad nerve pain can be. So sorry you are dealing with this. I hope you get some relief soon!
Posted by Al (Member # 9420) on :
I use extra virgin olive oil for this ,A dropper in the affected ear then let it stay for several min and drain.
It has never failed to relieve the pain. One day or 2 is the most for treatment . Going on 5 years with this symptom, It happens every few months.
I don't know the cause, I can only guess. sometimes ABX will bring it on so my guess is fungal.
best
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
Lymetoo, there are saliva glands in this area. If they are inflamed, you may notice some swelling and get stabs of pain.
A simple first aid treatment for this would be hot compresses. 20 to 30 minutes every two hours. This improves blood circulation to the cells, to help them heal.
. Location of saliva glands:
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
People above covered some of the possibilities and some possible remedies. I hope you get answers and relief soon.
You might need to see an ENT, but it isn't clear what the cause is. It may be from a few causes at once, as people have suggested, i.e., nerve pain, ears/eustachian tubes, or glands, or muscles.
But it sounds too acute to be just muscles, unless it's a heck of a bunch of trigger points.
Hey, Carol, that's a great diagram of the glands!
The suggestion of neurontin for acute pain relief is a good one, if you can tolerate it, that is. If you don't know, you could ask for 100 mg capsules, so that you can titrate the dose to what you can tolerate.
The usual dosage is 300 mg 3 or more times per day. But if you are sensitive to meds, as I am, you probably couldn't take that much, unless it's before bed. And maybe can either take none in the day, or very low dose.
Oh, I think I remember that you couldn't tolerate it---although maybe at a lower dosage?
Hope they figure it out fast!
Posted by Judie (Member # 38323) on :
For me it was my ears, eustachian tubes, trigeminal nerve pain and muscles.
I had to approach the problem from multiple angles.
A PCP gave me the netipot suggestion I posted above.
The ENT was of no help, but who knows, you might get a good one.
The facial pain expert (she had a dental background, but was an MD), gave me the exercises. She worked at a pain clinic.
You might want to try to get in touch with a local pain clinic to see if they have someone on staff who specializes in TMJ.
It looks like the doc I went to is a member of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain.
Here's a link (there's a member search on the site):
Maybe they can help you get to the right specialist.
Your PCP or your dentist may know someone too.
Another thing I did was calm my outer ear canal by doing two things.
I used a product called "calm ear." They are drops to put in your ear (all natural). This was first but didn't completely clear the problem (worked for candida in my ear though).
The last thing I did was putting food grade aloe vera in my ear. This was the final thing that got rid of the pain (after doing the exercises and using the heating pad for awhile).
I heat the aloe up to warm it up (not too hot) and then put it in. You can use an ear dropper to drop it in like ear drops.
For me, I very carefully use a q-tip (saturating it with gel and gently dabbing in, not too deep), but I don't recommend this if you have any muscle control issues.
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
I've been using peppermint oil the last week on myself. It gets it flowing. My area is right below the ear lobe and into the bone of jaw.
I thought it was lymph node? I've had the saliva gland plugged up before. OMG, the pain was terrible.
Also I've been using rife on detox freqs which I think is helping a lot.
Pam
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
For me it was parasites (the same with jaw clenching). I like Al's suggestion too (olive oil).
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Well, doc says it's my C2 .. neck. So he recommended acupuncture, chiropractic or massage. I'm working on that now.
Hope I don't need another MRI.
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
How is it today, lymetoo? Any relief?
Posted by mlg (Member # 35383) on :
When I had swollen lymph nodes that started causing a lot of pain in my ear. Maybe Pekana lymph detox.
Posted by dbpei (Member # 33574) on :
I have developed very painful, stabbing sensations from outer ear to inner ear, Eustachian tube and throat. It seems to happen when I talk or move my head a certain way.
My hearing in this ear seems to be ok. (All hearing is gone in my other ear) I started chelating heavy metals 5 days ago. I had rife tx for Lyme and Babesia (this is new) 2 days ago. This included otitis sinus frequencies that I have been doing every week is nothing new.
The only new thing is babesia frequencies. It is a little better this morning. Any idea what this could be? I have read about Cogan Syndrome and am scared. Up until now, my left ear and jaw have been symptomatic, but not my right side!
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
I hope someone comes to help soon. I dont have a clue aboutt this. Hang in there
Posted by Ellen101 (Member # 35432) on :
I would not think this would be Cogan syndrome based on the symptoms you are describing. If talking or moving your head a certain way is triggering it I would wonder about TMJ as a possibility.
Can you reach your doctor?
Posted by dbpei (Member # 33574) on :
It seemed to calm down gradually overnight. I still had some jabs of pain this morning but nothing since then. I hope it is nothing to worry about and perhaps, just related to inflammation in that part of my body from die-off.
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
I just read the kindle sample of pam weintraubs new book...sort of an update on cure unknown
She talks about her second son.having severe ear pain dr h and many ear specialists couldnt figure out for a long time
Then they did...it took two surgeries and then abx from dr h
Ear surgeons said it was from.lyme
Hope someone can find it and post link for those having ear problems
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
dbpei .. Hope it continues to get better.
My issues were from an injury (of sorts) at physical therapy.
My neck is still a mess one year later. It gets better, then worse again. I lost my acupuncturist a few months ago and I NEED her!
Posted by Dogsandcats (Member # 28544) on :
TMJ?
I put heat on it and it helped.
I know your doc said C2.....
Are you clenching your jaw?
Sorry you hurt.
Posted by dbpei (Member # 33574) on :
I think the pain had to be nerve related. Certain jaw movements would trigger the pain, which was a stabbing, piercing pain that radiated all the way to my esophagus and neck. The most severe part of that pain was in the outer ear, though.
I think if it was TMJ, it would be a steady pain that does not radiate in the same way. I have had that in the past, along with a type of 'lock jaw' before I knew I had lyme. It lasted for just a day but the pain was so bad, I could hardly open my mouth! I made an appointment with my dentist, and then it went away and never came back!
What is it with this crazy disease? I had forgotten about that part of Pam Weintraub's book with her son having severe ear pain. Chances are, it is all related to Lyme. I'm so grateful that whatever it was has subsided. It was so scary.
Posted by LisaK (Member # 41384) on :
I ge tthis. no dr seems to be able to help, so they all say. it is , for me I think, Eustachian tube that soemthing happened to after a really bad "flu" years ago. never gotten better.
although , this ear has always given me trouble. when you put your finger slightly in your ear and push down, does it hurt then also?
Posted by unsure445 (Member # 15962) on :
I hope this is getting better Lymetoo!
Take good care! Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
Thinking about you droopy drawers. Lettuce no how you are doing!
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by unsure445: I hope this is getting better Lymetoo!
Take good care!
- It's way better than a year ago .. I nearly had to go to the ER back then. Escaped because my pain meds finally kicked in.
Now I just have to be careful not to lift anything or strain my neck. I'm sure my disc at the C2 is not looking good. I chose not to get an MRI. Tired of spending money on that stuff!
I think I just need someone to calm it back down. It was doing really well for about 3-4 months, then got bad again about 2 months ago.
Thanks for caring! Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
I had severe ear pain this year and it turned out to be from my atlas vertebra being out, which my chiropractor fixed and all ear pain went away.
Tutu, you mentioned C2 area - well, that's right next to the atlas, so I don't know if you want to see a really neck chiropractor for any eval.
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I'm so grateful that whatever it was has subsided. It was so scary.