Earache usually occurs in children but it can also cause issues with adults. Earache may affect both ears. It may also be constant or come and go within time intervals. It can also be sharp, burning, or dull. There are many ear pain reasons. Earache can also be the cause of ear infection, fever or can lead to partial hearing loss. This may inculcate irritability and fussy behavior in young children. This is because young children often play with things. They tug or rub the ears while poking the painful ear.
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What are the symptoms of ear pain in adults or children?
There are many ear pain reasons. This can lead to an ear infection or permanent injuries. The symptoms of ear pain may be different in both children and adults. Talking about adults, the earache symptoms are:
- ear pain
- impaired hearing
- fluid drainage from the ear
There can be additional symptoms in children. This is because they often develop the habit of poking different things into their sense organs like eyes, ears, and playing with skin while writing on it with a pen or pencil. They may develop additional symptoms, such as:
- ear pain
- difficulty responding to sounds
- fever
- sense of fullness in the ear
- The ear pain may resist the night sleep
- The child may develop the habit of tugging or pulling the ear for the cause of comfort
- The feeling of irritability or discomfort
- headache
- loss of appetite
- loss of balance
Common ear pain reasons
Earache can be the cause of irritability in-ear, ear infection, injury, or any referred pain that may connect with the ear. Referred pain is the kind of pain that is felt somewhere other than the sites of infections and injury. For example, the pain felt in the jaw or teeth may transfer to the ear and may create irritability. Moreover, the common ear pain reasons are:
Ear infections
Ear infections are a common cause of earaches or ear pain. It can occur in any part of the ear including the outer ear, inner ear, or middle ear. Outer ear pain can develop because of swimming, wearing hearing aids, or the excessive use of headphones or earphones. These audios at high volume often damage the ears or ear canal. This causes the fingers to poke into the ear canal. This may further increase irritability leading to infections. Also, water softens the skin around the ear canal. This later becomes the breeding ground for bacteria, becoming one of the leading ear pain reasons.
Respiratory illness or infections often lead to a middle ear infection or inner ear infection. The fluid build-up inside the respiratory tract causes the eardrums to develop infection and the breeding place for bacteria.
Other common ear pain reasons
- change in pressure, such as flying on a plane or going deep inside the water bodies
- earwax buildup
- Poking a foreign object in the ear
- strep throat
- sinus infection
- Shampoo, soap, or water that may accidentally dip into the ear
- use of cotton swabs in the ear
Less common ear pain reasons
- temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome
- perforated eardrum
- arthritis
- infected tooth
- impacted tooth
- eczema in the ear canal
- chronic facial nerve pain
What are the remedies for treating ear pain at home?
You can follow homemade remedies to fight ear pain. Try to adopt these methods to ease the ear pain:
- Apply a clean cold washcloth. This will avoid the development of bacteria breeding place
- Prevent your ear from getting wet
- Sit upright to prevent or relieve ear pressure
- Use ear drops common for ear pain
- You can also take over-the-counter pain relievers
- Chewing gum is also an activity that helps to relieve pressure from the ears
Follow the proper medical treatment for ear pain reasons
If you have an ear infection, consult a doctor. he/she will prescribe you an oral antibiotic or ear drop medicine. Do the complete course of your ear pain. It may also create infection if not treated properly. Do not underestimate the cause of pain. If the pain goes within one or two days after taking a few doses of medicine, consult your doctor and do not immediately stop taking your medicines.
Your doctor may check the condition or may ask you a few questions. If the buildup of wax is causing you pain, they may prescribe you wax-softening ear drops. This may cause the ear wax to fall out of the ear on its own. In other cases, your doctor may recommend you test for sinus infection, TMJ, or other causes of earache that may impact your ear pain.
When to see a doctor
If you or your child is having a fever that is above 40 degrees, seek medical help. In the case of infants, the body parts get affected immediately if the child is having a fever higher than 38 degrees. Seek immediate medical help instead of trying for any other option.
Also, seek medical help if you have ear pain that doesn’t go by itself or stop. This can also be a sign of eardrum rupture. Help your child or the adult to watch out for symptoms. If any of the following symptoms appear, try to seek a doctor’s appointment:
- severe ear pain
- dizziness
- bad headache
- swelling in the outer or around the ear
- Pain in the facial muscles
- blood or pus draining from the ear
What preventive measures can you take for your ear pain reasons?
Some earaches are preventable. You can try out these preventable measures:
- Avoid smoking or any kind of exposure to secondhand smoke
- Do not poke any foreign object into the ear
- Dry out your ear using a dryer immediately after swimming or a water bath
- Avoid triggers like allergy-causing objects or pollen or dust
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