Shoots In The Ear, What To Do? Causes And Treatment

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Shoots in the ear, what to do?

Ear pain is often compared to a toothache. It is very difficult to endure her. This is due to the fact that there are many nerve endings in the organ of hearing. Painful sensations may indicate the development of the disease. Ear holes cause severe discomfort and reduce the quality of life. This pain may indicate damage to structures in the ear, such as the eardrum. It can shoot in the ear with inflammation of the ear process.

You cannot ignore the lumbago. You need to go to the doctor and find out the reasons for the violation. Sometimes they are very serious.

Content:

• Causes of shooting ear pain
• The main symptoms
• How to recognize if a child's ear is shooting?
• When should I see a doctor if I have ear pain?
• Diagnostics
• Shoots in the ear, what to do?
• Complications and consequences
• Prevention

Causes of shooting ear pain

Causes that can lead to shooting pain in the ear:

• Pressure drops.
• Water in the ear.
• Diseases of the teeth.
• Otitis.
• Streptococcal ear infection.
• Mastoiditis.
• Prolonged exposure to the wind with the formation of a "painful bruise".
• Earwax deficiency.
• Foreign body entering the ear.
• Ear burns or frostbite.
• Violation of the integrity of the tympanic membrane.
• Angina or sinusitis.
• Penetration into the ear of an insect. This leads to the formation of edema and intense pain.
• Ear injury. If it is severely damaged, blood may flow from the ears.

Pain is not always a sign of a hearing disorder. Sometimes it occurs against the background of tooth inflammation. When you press on it, the pain radiates to various areas: to the neck, to the temple, to the ear.

Sometimes the pain in the ear is accompanied by itching. The man begins to comb it with various objects. This leads to increased inflammation. If the cause of the pain was an infection, then under such conditions it can penetrate into the deep structures of the ear.

The main symptoms

Earache may get worse with eating. If the pain becomes intense while swallowing food, then this is an alarming sign.

Shooting ear pain is often combined with symptoms such as:

• Congestion.
• Decreased hearing.
• Ear pressure.
• Dizziness.
• Ringing in the ears and other extraneous noises.
• Lumbago in the temple.

Shooting ear pain cannot be called the same type. It has different characteristics in different situations.

According to these features, the doctor can make the correct diagnosis:

• The nature of the pain. Most often, it starts shooting in the ear unexpectedly for a person.
• The circumstances in which the pain occurs. If this happens during the flight, then this phenomenon can be considered a variant of the norm. However, under normal conditions, shooting in the ear should not be.
• Previous diseases. If a person has just had the flu or other infectious disease, then ear pain may indicate the development of a complication.
• Associated symptoms. This includes high body temperature.
• Hearing impairment.
• Worsening sleep.
• The appearance of purulent discharge from the ear.

How to recognize if a child's ear is shooting?

If a child is too young, he cannot tell adults that his ear hurts. The kid will just cry a lot. Therefore, parents need to know how to recognize when a child is shooting in the ear.

Children with ear pain cry all the time. They refuse to eat, cannot sleep, and are capricious all the time. If the child is over 6 months old, he will bring his palm to his ear. With severe inflammation, the body temperature rises, hearing deteriorates. You can gently press on the notch behind the lobe. If this leads to increased crying, then the child has ear pain.

When the child already knows how to speak, he will point out to the parents the place of concern. Ear pain requires an emergency visit to a specialist. It is impossible to delay the treatment.

When should I see a doctor if I have ear pain?

If, in addition to pain in the ear, there are symptoms of inflammation such as a runny nose, sore throat or toothache, you should consult a doctor. Signs such as hearing loss, fever, lumbago in the temple, increased pain while eating, and the appearance of pus or blood from the ear canal are considered especially dangerous. All of these symptoms can indicate a serious illness.

Diagnostics

It is impossible to diagnose on your own. This should be done by an otolaryngologist.

After collecting the anamnesis, the doctor will take the following steps:

• Examination of the patient.
• Carrying out otoscopy with examination of the relief of the ear mucosa and its membrane. If it is pulled in, the person is diagnosed with otitis media.
• X-ray of the skull. It is prescribed for suspected damage to bone structures.
• Assessment of hearing acuity. Research is performed using a tuning fork or audiometer.

Shoots in the ear, what to do?

Treatment options depend on the severity of the disease. If the pain is not too intense and the inflammation is mild, then therapy can be done at home. When pus appears from the ear, with sharp pains and other serious symptoms, medical correction is required.

First aid. If the pain is severe, and you cannot visit the doctor immediately, you can take Paracetamol (17 rubles), or Ibuprofen (30 rubles). These drugs can reduce body temperature, relieve inflammation and temporarily reduce the intensity of pain. However, they do not affect the cause of the pathology.

Antibiotics. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are prescribed for bacterial infections. Biseptol (40 rubles) or Amoxicillin (55 rubles) can be used. If they do not allow achieving the desired effect, then macrolides are prescribed. The patient is given injections with drugs. This allows you to achieve a speedy recovery.

Glucocorticoids. Corticosteroid hormones can control inflammation, but they are prescribed in an emergency, as they have multiple side effects.

The drugs are available in the form of tablets, gels, and injection solutions.

These can be drugs such as:

• Hydrocortisone (130 rubles).
• Triamcinolone (110-550 rubles).
• Dexamethasone (price for tablets - 40 rubles, for solution - 145 rubles).
• Betamethasone (160 rubles).

Vasoconstrictor drugs. The ear canal is connected to the nose, so vasoconstrictor nasal drops are often prescribed for pain in the ear. This reduces the amount of mucus and prevents clogging of the Eustachian tube.

Drops that are prescribed more often than others:

• Nazol - 200 rubles.
• Galazolin - 40 rubles.
• Naphtizin - 55 rubles.

Ear drops. The most commonly used ear drops are Otipax (350 rubles) and Otinum (210 rubles). They contain an anesthetic and anti-inflammatory component. Otipax contains lidocaine, which quickly relieves pain.

Analgesics. To reduce pain, Paracetamol, Ketonal (240 rubles), Analgin (50 rubles) can be used. These drugs help to lower body temperature.

Video: Elena Malysheva will tell you what to do when "shoots" in the ear?

Complications and consequences

If there is no treatment for ear pain, it can lead to serious complications. It must be remembered that the brain is located next to the organ of hearing.

Possible consequences of ear pain:

• Mastoiditis (mastoid suppuration, bone inflammation). The complication often develops in children.
• Meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain). This condition is life threatening.
• Hearing loss. Chronic otitis media often lead to this complication.
• Sepsis, that is, blood poisoning. This is fatal.

Prevention

Preventive measures to prevent shooting ear pain:

• Avoid swimming in dirty or cold water. Dirty water can get an ear infection. When bathing an infant, its head should be kept above the surface of the water to prevent it from entering the ear canal.
• When cleansing the nose, blow out each nostril in turn. This will help prevent blockage of the ear canal. Do not sneeze with your mouth closed.
• You can't be in the wind. Close windows while driving. This will prevent the development of inflammation.

The author of the article: Lazarev Oleg Vladimirovich | ENT

Education: In 2009, he received a diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" at the Petrozavodsk State University. After completing an internship at the Murmansk Regional Clinical Hospital, he received a diploma in Otorhinolaryngology (2010)