Neck, Ear Pain and Vertigo

Hello, I have a chronic neck pain, however I was in a minor car accident back in 2015 and that was when my ear problems began. I have R ear, neck pain, fullness and vertigo. I believe that my problem is neck related. I have gone to 3 specialist and they were unable to help me. I don't know what to do, this is very difficult.

 

@freefalling Have you had a X ray of your neck? Is your ring in one ear or both and/or does it move from one ear to the other? Is the back of your head sore? I will try to help you if I can.

 

X rays and MRI are negative. I have pain and dizziness problem in only one ear. My neck is very stiff and with some pain. I appreciate any help I can get. Thank you so much.

 

Betahistine or proclorperazine will stop the vertigo and nausea and reduce salt intake.
Love glynis

 

I have taken that and it doesn't help, the only thing that helps me is anti inflammatory over the counter like Ibuprofen and Naproxen. By the way, this problem has not affected my hearing at all. I only have tinnitus once in a while or when I bend or pivot my neck. The ear pain and vertigo is what really bothers me sometimes is severe and it goes on for weeks.

 

@freefalling OK. Pain and dizziness in one ear is most often caused from mastoid pressure or from the mastoid emissary vein. This is an area between the back of ear and the top side of neck. Pressure needs to be taken off this area by gentle massage, but first focus to your C1 and C2 discs at the top of your neck. Trigger point injections should accomplish this. Trigger point injections are very successful for cervical neck vertigo.

Trigger point injections is mentioned under "What we do suggest doing for cervical vertigo" in this article.
http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/central/cervical/cervical.html

 

I think you are heating the nail on the neck here. I will see how can I get help with this because this is very disabling.

 

Consider investigating the epley maneuver for vertigo. However, it sounds like Greg has a better handle on things.

 

@freefalling The ears, neck, throat, mouth, head and face can all have interactions. Ear pain and/or dizziness and neck pain besides what I mentioned above about the mastoid can also be caused by the cranial nerves or tendonitis of the sternocleidomastoids.

Ear pain can have association with the neck and throat besides some of the obvious reasons such as allergies, ear wax, ear or middle ear infection, and ETD. I don't think that you have nerve problems because they would have shown up on a MRI. I would say that it's probably still a mastoid problem, but I would combine it with the sternocleidomastoids as a cause of ear pain.

Another possible reason is the parotid gland complex which does has a direct connection to both the mastoid process and the sternocleidomastoids. Read under LOCATION within this link. I would talk to your doctor about treatment with gentle exercise for the sternocleidomastoids and to have them look at your throat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parotid_gland