Ear pain when swallowing: causes, treatment

If the pain when swallowing radiates to the ear, then it is most logical to consult an otolaryngologist, since most often this symptom appears with inflammatory processes affecting the middle ear.

However, it is not that simple, because there can be simultaneous pain in the throat and ears when swallowing. Agree, the symptom is similar, but somewhat different.

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Causes swallowing pain in the ear

So, the simplest option: pain in the left ear when swallowing can mean left-sided acute otitis media or chronic, and on the right, respectively, inflammation of the right ear (acute or chronic). Also, the causes of pain in the ear when swallowing can be inflammation of the auditory (Eustachian) tube or inner ear (labyrinthitis).

But pain in the throat and ears when swallowing in most patients is pathogenetically associated with either follicular pharyngitis (bacterial or viral inflammation of the mucous membrane of the pharynx and the lymph nodes located in it), or acute tonsillitis (angina), especially follicular and lacunar.

Pronounced symptoms of ear pain when swallowing can be caused by inflammation of the submandibular, postauricular or jugular lymph nodes (lymphadenitis). Pain radiating to the ear area when opening the mouth, chewing and swallowing is also characteristic of inflammation of the salivary glands (sialoadenitis) and their tumors.

Ear pain in a child when swallowing, in addition to all the above cases, can be one of the symptoms of measles or scarlet fever. Moreover, as pediatricians note, the first signs of measles (approximately a day before the skin rash) often manifest themselves precisely as inflammation of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract and the lymphoid ring located in the pharynx. And scarlet fever in many cases manifests itself as acute inflammation of the palatine tonsils similar to angina or inflammation of the larynx similar to acute laryngitis, in which pain in the ear can be felt when chewing and swallowing.

Another infectious disease - with characteristic bilateral swelling of the parotid salivary glands - causes ear pain in children when swallowing and yawning, as well as chewing and other movements of the lower jaw. And this is mumps or epidemic parotitis.

In addition, there is pain in the throat and ears when swallowing, as well as when turning the head in the presence of such a congenital anomaly as a giant styloid process. And in this case, the pathogenesis of pain is associated with the fact that the defective process constantly irritates the glossopharyngeal nerve passing here.

The reason for complaints about painful clicking in the ear when swallowing is most likely hidden in age-related pathological changes in the temporomandibular joint - its deforming arthrosis or arthritis. But clicking in the ear without pain when swallowing occurs with an incorrect bite - distal or mesial. By the way, malocclusion is not only congenital: the jaws can change position (with increased load on the joints) as a result of unsuccessful dental prosthetics.

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Risk factors

With such a variety of causes of ear pain accompanying swallowing, ENT doctors associate the risk factors for the appearance of this symptom with all inflammatory diseases of the ears, throat and nasopharynx and their chronicity.

Also, risks are posed by focal infections of regional lymph nodes and salivary glands, and to a large extent by childhood infectious diseases. And the general factor is, of course, weakened immunity.

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Diagnostics swallowing pain in the ear

If ear pain when swallowing is associated with otitis or tonsillitis, then otolaryngologists, examining the ear or throat, immediately determine this.

Diagnosis of ear pain when swallowing is intended to identify its cause. Pediatricians easily diagnose infectious diseases based on examination of the child and analysis of the existing symptoms.

Instrumental diagnostics using visualization (in particular, radiography and ultrasound) allows dentists to determine inflammation of the salivary gland or maxillofacial lymph nodes. And for accurate diagnosis of bite, pathologies of the joints and muscles of the jaw, orthodontists and maxillofacial surgeons, in addition to panoramic X-rays, can use computer and magnetic resonance imaging.

A comprehensive examination and differential diagnosis – sometimes involving specialists from other fields – should eliminate all assumptions and lead to the correct diagnosis.

Treatment swallowing pain in the ear

Ear pain that occurs when swallowing, chewing or yawning is a symptom, so the main treatment for ear pain when swallowing is etiological.

In this case, painkillers are only an additional remedy, and it is unacceptable to dull the pain with analgesics without consulting a doctor.

For inflammatory diseases of the middle ear the following are used:

• Drops for otitis
• Ear compresses for otitis
• Antibiotics for otitis

When the pain in the throat and ears when swallowing is caused by angina, then it is precisely this that needs to be treated. Read about how to do this correctly, what medications to use, and what folk remedies help with inflammation of the palatine tonsils in the publication - Inflammation of the tonsils: tonsillitis or angina?

Physiotherapy treatment also depends on the cause of the symptom; for more details, see – Physiotherapy for otitis, and also – Physiotherapy for angina

All methods of treating inflamed submandibular and parotid lymph nodes are in the article Treatment of lymphadenitis

Prevention

Preventive measures can only be taken in relation to diseases – provided that a set of such measures has been developed (such as vaccination against measles and mumps) and introduced into clinical practice.

It is not possible to prevent the occurrence of ear pain when swallowing due to otitis or tonsillitis, as well as most symptoms of infectious inflammations of the ENT organs.

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