What Is This Ear Pain? Hyperacusis or Ear Infection?

Very worried about the state of my ears right now. For 6 months I've had intermittent ear pain, ear fullness, feeling of warmth. All of these symptoms have been mild and most of the time not even present, until today.

Now my right ear gets a stabbing pain for just a second, a few times every hour. It's painful enough for me to say "ouch!". Ear has feeling of warmth and feels slightly clogged.

Is this a chronic ear infection or hyperacusis?

What should I do? I'm scared I'll have to take antibiotics. Seeing a doctor will take weeks in Sweden, and they are incompetent and unhelpful when it comes to ear problems.

 

I would not see a doctor in Sweden tbh. Listening to the doctors has only worsened my tinnitus. If you use earplugs a lot, the ear canal can get irritated. I only use earmuffs now.

 

see a ENT and tell them you experience "noise induced pain"

If you have a history of loud noise exposure, make sure they know.
Just so the problem gets documented. Don't expect a cure.

 

Weeks to see a doctor? I guess you are on your own then. Good luck.

 

Go see a doctor at your earliest convenience. They can often spot infections with a simple otoscope.

If I had an infection, I'd be more worried to leave it untreated.

 

Suspecting noise trauma is more important then assuming an infection. They need to know if you had a history of loud noise exposure.

 

Welcome to Sweden!

 

Could you go to a Chiropractor, or Osteopath, Naturopathic Doctor, or even some kind of Nurse Practitioner outside of the normal Dr. appointment channels? I don't have a regular doctor at the moment, but my Osteopath is very adept at telling me what's going on inside my ears. -- Just a thought.

 

It's something to consider, I've tried osteopathy for other problems but was underwhelmed. It's also expensive here compared to normal healthcare which is almost free

 

Maybe call them, and before setting an appointment, ask if they would be able to determine whether or not you have an ear infection. If they say no, then you don't have to pay for a pointless appointment.

 

Sounds kinda similar to my left ear problems as some of those symptoms are exact or very similar.

I don't know if it's hyperacusis because I had the pain suddenly and could not attribute it to noise exposure. I live in a noisy area but I don't have this ear pain all the time (fortunately). However, when it comes, it lasts a long time and with severe loud tinnitus, the combination is hell.

All I can say is that it went away or reduced in symptoms and severity. I think it's unexplainable although some posters think it's hyperacusis or a related condition.

I was grinding and clenching in my sleep a lot previously and I wonder if it plays a part. I dunno but that is my experience.

 

ENT appointments in Canada take months. A general physician appointment might take weeks. It depends. Sweden doesn't sound much better.

I have ear pain problems with both ears although the left has been a worse problem compared to the right. I honestly don't think a dr or ENT will help him. They are useless if you have a problem like this.

Suggestions: using magnesium bisglycinate, NAC and St. John' Wort. Using alternating heat and cold to the cheek bone closest to the ear and that area near the ear.

Using ear muffs instead of plugs when you can - as someone else suggested.

Using a mouthguard at night/bed time.

I don't know how much these things will help but I had similar symptoms and no Dr helped me. I think the issue is difficult to explain, diagnose and treat.

 

It sounds like an ear infection to me, but I stayed at a Holiday In Express last night. (Joke)
You should be seen by someone, since if it is an ear infection it could perforate your ear drum.

In the US we have many options to see someone sooner... and many people would like that to change to a Canadian or Sweden system... but the doctors aren’t any better...that is for sure.

 

I expect the Swedish healthcare to be mostly privatized in the near future because of our reckless immigration policy and other factors. It's already changing to a system where people need a health insurance to get proper healthcare. Many things like checking for Lyme disease, checking your general health and nutrient levels, certain pain clinics and so on are things we have to pay out of pocket for

I did some searching and there's a chance a doctor can take a look at my ears if drop in at 8 am tomorrow. Might sacrifice sleep for that if there are no other options. Although my ears feel "normal" again now. I honestly don't know what this could be if not some kind of chronic infection or inflammation.

 

Saw what I guess you would call a general practitioner today for 3 minutes. Had a lot of earwax in both ears, only a small part of the eardrum visible. Doctor thought this was the cause of my problems, not an ear infection

 

Do not use Revaxör and syringe bulb or microsuction to get it out. I would be very careful with manual tools as well. I think ear wax removal is as dangerous as a rock concert without earplugs for tinnitus people.

 

I use private healthcare and there are no answers or treatment for hyperacusis either.. it is just faster to get an appointment. Basically you can just go to the doctor on the spot if you want, and it is possible to see a good doctor, with lots of experience, a specialist, very fast, but nothing else.

The answer to a new condition or to rare diseases depends on pharma companies and they are not willing to invest much on hearing problems because they are already selling expensive drugs that do not exactly tackle this, but sell anyway, and really expensive hearing aids.

 

Well, I'm going to think about which method is the best one but I have no choice but to remove the wax one way or another

 

I've never heard of hyperacusis behaving like this, I think it could be something else. I have mild hyperacusis but that's another issue probably

Earwax or some kind of mild infection lasting several months seems likely, but who knows

 

@HeavyMantra -- I recently read A POST which gave a very positive testimonial for using a curette for cleaning out earwax. She didn't mention using drops in the ears for 3-10 prior to having it done, which appears to be very important. I generally don't seem to have problems with earwax, but if I were to have it done, I'd probably lean toward using a curette after several days of using drops of some kind of oil to soften it up.

 

Has anyone experienced ear pain that comes and goes? Not a constant pain, it hurts for half a second several times an hour. And only on some days. The pain is not induced by sound

I've never heard pain hyperacusis described like this, but I am open to the idea that my new speakers could be the problem. However, listening to them feels fine so I don't know.

 

Yep, I have this pop op every now and then. A half a second or a couple second where I get a sharp pain in one of my ears (never two at the same time). The pain is not too bad though. I think I had this before tinnitus though.......as far as I can recall. Highly probable that it's because of blasting my ears with headphones in my case, I think.

 

A few days ago some of the pain also appeared in the left ear, after 6 months of only having it in the right. I guess this could mean that it's not related to infection...?

Can this be hyperacusis?

Waiting to see an ENT. The GP prescribed me ototoxic eardrops without seeing any signs of infection, what a surprise... I haven't used them yet

 

What you described in your last 2 posts feels like the same as me in terms of the short pains in my right ear (had about 11-15 in the past 4 hours) and the other ear (the left one) seemingly also starting to having them (they don't feel as painful/uncomfortable though, more of an itch).

Some days it feels like there are either little needles pricking in several places inside the ear or boiling water suddenly spreading, followed by itching. Other days it feels like pressure pain usually felt when travelling in an airplane (this one does not seem to be followed by itching).

They happen erratically and seemingly independent from sound (if not then it's a delayed reaction).
They usually take about 30 minutes in-between but can take as little as 2-5 minutes or as long as 1 hour (the ones I can truly feel anyway).

I also have TTTS in my right ear. It flutters/vibrates constantly especially when relaxing in relative silence on a couch or laying in bed (consequently it's always there when falling asleep and waking up).

Oh and as for my recent past background (in case you're interested):

Spoiler: Past background

I'll try to keep my case as short as possible, but basically I started noticing sound distortions in my right ear on the 28th of December 2018 (music sounded out of tune and people's voices sounded robotic).

It then progressed during the first weeks of January with:
Feelings of fullness/sounds reverberating inside/pain similar to when you're travelling in an airplane > different tones of tinnitus (morse-code and static noise) > ear fluttering/spasming constantly, especially when relaxing in a couch/bed (which I eventually found out is probably TTTS) > whistling noises accompanying certain sounds when they went over a certain volume threshold.

- Last half of January the constant burning/scratched feeling started, which seemed to be exacerbated by noise.
- The constant burning/pain eventually became intermitent pain (random stab/burn/acid feel), every few minutes.
- The low-pitched morse code tinnitus became just a single slightly high pitched noise noise.

- Since late February until today the distortion became less noticeable. All I notice is the right ear seems to register certain voice frequencies louder.
- The TTTS spasms became less frequent, but always start when relaxing in relative silence on a couch or when laying in bed.
- The whistling noises when hearing certain sounds disappeared.

- Eventually, during late May, it seemed like I would only notice the pain once or twice per day as a slight burn or painful scratch.

- During August-September I don't even remember if I was still having pain everyday or not.

Unfortunately since late October until today I seemed to have relapsed to how I was in Spring. I started a job with a 1-hour commute during which I travely the subway and walk noisy streets. Sirens are somewhat frequent and got caught unexpectedly. I started wearing plugs/muffs during the commute since then.

 

Thanks for the info. The pain started more than 6 months after my tinnitus got worse. If it really is hyperacusis, I guess speakers on low volume is to blame.

I guess I have to take a break from all music for a while, again, and see if the pain becomes better

 

Thanks! I haven't experienced any other of your symptoms except for the intermittent pain and tinnitus. The pain is primarily in my "good" ear that only has very low morse code tinnitus.

Well, seems like my new speakers could be the problem. I was expecting that this could happen but I had to try before yielding my one passion in life to tinnitus. Perhaps the pain will settle down in the future.

 

How many people here experience this kind of pain? Please help me understand what's happening. Is hyperacusis a pain felt when sounds are heard, or can it also be intermittent sharp pain that happens regardless of sound?

If this pain was caused by music on low volume, is it likely to be what, nerve damage?

Since it has spread to both ears I no longer suspect infection.

Exhausted

My other symptoms are itching ears, slight feeling of fullness.

 

Well, here I'm still experiencing the odd pain every hour or so even though I've limited the daily sounds I'm exposed to for more than a month now.

It's annoying how sometimes when I wake in the middle of the night during silence I may feel the odd sizzling pinch... What, is even my snoring too loud for my ears??

Lately the pain has been feeling less of the usual pricking needs and more like something gnawing at the insides of my ear.
I notice no fullness though, only had that for the first 2 months last year.

 

I'm going to continue monitoring this, but so far these observations seem relevant:

If inhale steam and then use a neti pot, the pain seems to go away for the rest of the day. I hope this could mean that this is an ETD issue or otherwise. Also, when I use the neti pot (pouring salt water into my nose) my right ear hurts sometimes for a few minutes when I blow my nose to get the water out. It's the same ear that I experience 95 percent of the pain in.

My ears pop, get blocked an so on every day.

 

Is it atypical that my hyperacusis primarily consists of a *delayed* reaction to sound instead of an immediate reaction? Certain sounds, like clanging dishes are slightly uncomfortable but bearable and don't really cause pain.

When out and about, e.g. walking down a street, I don't really have problems with loudness or even immediate pain but a few hours later when at home is when I tend to experience the symptoms of a delayed spike - stuffiness, tender ears that feel 'bruised', liquidy/menthol sensation. There's no one thing that I can pinpoint that causes it, it just seems to be general irritation as a result of noise exposure.

I feel like my progress is stagnating - whilst I don't feel it's getting any worse, it's not really getting markedly better either. Improvement seems to come in the form of two steps forward, one step back and is difficult to measure. At the same time, I'm trying to strike a balance between protecting my ears and using earplugs when out and avoiding developing phonophobic tendencies and becoming a hermit.