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Causes of ear pain
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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The causes of pain in the ear area can be different:
- inflammation of the middle ear or nearby organs;
- diseases of the nerves, in particular the auditory nerve;
- diseases in which pain can be felt (radiated) to the ear area (ENT diseases, vascular pathologies, disorders in the brain);
- malignant tumors.
Pain in the ear area can be aching, shooting, constant or periodic, and can also occur against the background of other symptoms. To determine the cause of pain, all existing symptoms are taken into account, such as headache, dizziness, etc.
[ Probable causes of ear pain in a healthy person
Fortunately, ear pain may be temporary and not a sign of any disease. Possible causes of such temporary pain include:
- exposure to sudden cold or draft (the blood vessels constrict, which can manifest as mild, short-term pain that goes away when exposed to heat);
- water getting into the ear canal;
- formation of a sulfur plug that presses on the walls of the ear canal;
- foreign objects, insects, etc. getting into the ear canal.
Such causes are not signs of disease, but if they are not eliminated in time, the consequences may already manifest themselves in the form of an inflammatory process.
Inflammatory processes are the causes of pain in the ear area
- External otitis is an inflammatory process with damage to the outer auricle and external auditory canal. With such a process, pain always appears. In addition to pain, there may be complaints of hearing loss, a feeling of noise, ringing, burning, congestion in the ear, increased temperature, hyperemia of the outer auricle. Pain in the ear becomes unbearable if you try to massage the outer auricle of the diseased ear.
- Perichondritis is an inflammatory process of the perichondrium (cartilage shell). It is characterized by pain in the outer ear, its swelling, and redness.
- Ear furunculosis is, simply put, an abscess. It is a cone-shaped bulge on the skin, red and painful, in the center of which you can see a purulent "crater". Such a furuncle must be opened, the pus removed and washed with an antiseptic (only in a medical facility).
- Otitis media is an inflammatory process in the middle ear (in the space between the inner ear and the eardrum). Otitis media is divided into purulent, exudative, chronic, but all these forms are characterized, first of all, by severe pain in the ear, a feeling of congestion and noise. The pain can spread to the head, teeth, and also intensify when swallowing or coughing. In turn, the causes of otitis media can be the penetration of infection from the environment and nearby inflamed organs, or head injuries.
- Internal otitis (labyrinthitis) is an inflammatory process in the inner ear. It may be accompanied by a disorder of the vestibular and sound-conducting apparatus. Labyrinthitis may be a complication of otitis media (both acute and chronic). Also, an infection can get into the inner ear with influenza, scarlet fever, measles or tuberculosis, with direct trauma to the ear with foreign objects when cleaning the ears, with meningitis.
The causes of ear pain are usually determined during an examination by an otolaryngologist. Various diagnostic methods may be used, such as CT or MRI, as well as blood tests and ear canal discharge. In some cases, the patient is diagnosed and treated in a hospital.