problems with my ears- Should I go back to the doctors.. AGAIN.?

[little.miss.worry]

Hey everyone.

Well i've been suffering with ear pain, jaw pain, head pain etc. for a few days now. Today I saw a nurse (I would have rather seen a doctor) and she looked in my ears and she said nothing was there? I said could it be sinisitis and she said no? Even though I have the pain where my sinus's are. What I failed to mention, and I only realised this when I was half way down the road going home, I have a lump under my chin (a presumably swollen gland of some sort) I totally forgot about it for some bizarre reason while I was in there. And now I don't know whether to go back tomorrow because it is causing me pain occasionally too.

I'm just a mess at the moment. It's one thing after another and i'm tired of going back the doctors all of the time. So yeah, I just need some advice. Because I want to go because I'm no wiser as to what it is. But I don't want to keep wasting time. So any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. :)

[Gary A]

If it were sinusitis you'd have a runny nose and pretty intense headaches above your eyes so I can see why the nurse would say it wasn't that. You may just have some built up tension in your jaw, this can cause pain the the head and ears as the nerves are all interconnected in that area. I used to suffer terribly with tonsillitis and the pain in my ears was unbearable, all from an infection in my throat. Try heat pads or something similar on your jaw, it should relax the muscles and might very well ease all of your symptoms.

[snowflake293]

I have had similar ear problems, along with nose problems and jaw pain and neck/shoulder stiffness. To me I feel it gets worse when I am anxious. Sometimes if I get a massage or someone to rub a particular area on my shoulders I can actually feel my ears open up! Another NMP user explained once that there are loads of tiny structures in our ears and sometimes when we tense it can affect our ears. Makes sense.

My ears get totally blocked sometimes and I get pain and tinnitus. I am a keen swimmer so I'm in the water 3 times a week and I notice it gets worse if any water gets in. Should really buy some ear plugs!

Have you tried inhaling steam? It can really help if you are having ear and sinus problems x

[little.miss.worry]

Hey, thanks for the advice guys!

I went back today.. and saw an actual doctor this time. Turns out, I have tonsillitis! I found it odd because I couldn't see any white spots (because I checked yesterday) and he told me they're right at the back where I couldn't see them. Typical! But I've been given penicillin for 10 days. Hopefully I'll be okay :)