It Hurts

[MasterShortpants]

My right ear has been hurting for about a week now, it was minor for the first few days, mostly just pressure/ mild discomfort, but today it's actually pretty painful. I get random sharp pains every 10 minutes or so. I went to the doctor and he gave me some drops for an external ear infection but it's been two days and it's only gotten worse. I personally blame an excessively loud concert in early July that left both of my ears ringing for a few days. Since then I have invested in a pair of downbeats to protect my ears. You guys probably have more experience with this than I do, any words of advice? It's truly a horrible feeling

 

[Briann]

Hi MasterShortPants,

That sounds like it could be TTTS as that can cause some pressure sensations and pain. Do you get pain from sound or is it just pain in general? When I get pain like that (sharp, random, not from sound), I assume it's tensor tympani related and it tends to resolve in a reasonable amount of time when I relax. I don't know if it actually is TTTS, but it's what I've been assuming lately. It's the dull ache or burning pain directly triggered by sound that seems like it may be something else. If it's tensor tympani related, then anxiety and worry about the ears actually can make things worse (and relaxing and gradually reducing anxiety can make it better).

-Brian