Ear Pain Causes When NOT Due to an Ear Infection - The Mystery Ear Pain!

Ear pain, or otalgia, is one of the most common complaints when presenting to a doctor’s office. Often, the pain is due to an ear infection, but what if the ear exam is normal with no obvious problem of the ear canal or eardrum seen?

In such situations, the pain likely is being triggered from non-ear locations which the ear shares common neural pathways.

About two thirds of such referred ear pain ends up being due to some type of regional musculoskeletal issue whether stemming from the neck or jaw joint. Another 15% is found to be due to a tonsil or back of tongue problem.

Video goes over some simple maneuvers that may help localize where the ear pain is coming from in the absence of an ear infection.

More info: https://www.FauquierENT.net/otalgia.htm

References:
Cervical spine causes of for referred otalgia. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008 Apr;138(4):479-485. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18...

Temporomandibular disorder and new aural sympoms. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008 Apr;134(4):389-393. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18...

Applying the Ts of referred otalgia to a cohort of 226 patients. Clinical Otolaryngology, 2018 Jun;43(3):937-940. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29377...

Video created by Dr. Christopher Chang:
https://www.FauquierENT.net

Presenter: Janine Collins
https://www.janinecollins.com

Actor:
MJ Gordon @marinjayden
Certified Yoga Alliance Instructor (RYP500, RPYT, Yin)
Certified Fitness Instructor NCEP
https://www.MJ-Gordon.com

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#earpain #earpainrelief #otalgia #tmj