View Full Version : Ear pain, no infection. Scared!
So my ears hurt all day yesterday most the right one. A deep stabbing, inner pain so I just thought no big deal it must be an ear infection or something similar. Literally was not concerned. Today, I GOOGLED and read all over that adults ear pain is NOT usually due to a simple ear infection and is suspect for something else....could have a ton of casues some being very serious like head / neck cancer / tumors and others just sinuses but need to be investigated. Because the ears have so many nerves it could be anything. Everyone is sick and tired of my panic and crazy ideas but they feel so real to me.
I am currently experiencing pain in my left ear. I have a friend who’s an ENT and it was time for my dental check up, so I asked both about it. They both said it was from tension in my neck and face muscles.
I didn’t even know my the right side of my face was hurting until they touched it. Ouch!!! This side’s pain doesn’t include my ear, but it very likely could.
Since you have anxiety, I bet you might have the same issue - tense muscles.
I hope you feel better soon.
Best,
Debbie
Hi Debbie, thank you for your response. Makes sense and I had an awfully stressful week last week in which my anxiety was worse than it has been in 6 months so I know I do have some tension. However, I’ve palpated my face, jaw and neck - no tenderness at all. Just this deep ear ache intermittent on each side. I’m very scared as I’m sure it’s not an ear infection so then what? An ENT? And bunch of tests? I wish I had never googled but I did and know I know. In fact my research was no even far fetched it was right in the American Academy of Family Practice that adult ear aches are worrisome it’s secondary (no infection).
I take a flight this weekend and I’m nervous about 1 making ears worse 2 being a sick nervous mess on this trip I am taking.
(For the record I’m fully vaccinated and staying with 2 family members who are also fully vaccinated :)
I’m so sorry Lily. It’s amazing how scary the Internet can be. Sometimes my doctor gives me a blank look when I tell him what the Merck Manual or whatever “reputable” online source I’ve consulted says. Then he gives me a whole different take on the subject at hand.
A really awesome doctor once told me to trust in my body’s power to heal itself. He said to give non-critical things two weeks to work themselves out. He told me that, in his experience, most physical issues go away in two weeks.
I usually suck at this advice, but sometimes it really has helped me. I keep a list of things to talk to my doctor about. I see him every three months because I have diabetes. Most of the time, when I review my list before my appointment, I can take almost everything off my list. All my quirks and worries have resolved.
Maybe that might work for your ear? Get some chewing gum, go on your flight, and ignore your ear the best you can. I bet it’ll stop hurting. If not, I’m thinking of going to doctors based on how sexy they are. LOL. Maybe there’s a super sexy ENT in your area that would be delightful to see on occasion. :)
Well I could not stand it. I went to Dr.
saw a well respected local Urgent Care Dr. my ears are perfectly clear (I was hoping they would have fluid or something to explain the off and on pain). I told him my fears and ended up crying. He was so calming and even told me to repeat after him
“I am okay. I do not have a tumor. I am prefect” :)
It was a little awkward but I appreciated his certainty. I asked him what to do if it doesn’t resolve and he said give it several weeks. Also told me to try Claritin.
Praying I can let these obsessive thoughts of having a neck / throat/ ear tumor go. Plus wouldn’t that be pain on one side? I have it on both but mostly right.
I’m glad Lily. Sometimes it all gets to be too much. A little reassurance really can be soothing.
In my area, I can’t pick who I see at Urgent care. It’s so frustrating. Sometimes you get a real jerk. I’m glad you got a great doc. Was he sexy? LOL.
I have quite a few reasons to see doctors. My friend told me to try and make it fun. That’s how I came up with the sexy thing.
Keep hanging in there.
Best,
Debbie
I get this a-lot, often when hayfever starts to ramp up. Weirdly, my ears get itchy/painful in March and end of the summer. Mine is almost always on one side (right hand side) and it sometimes even gets blocked up for a few hours which i've been told is due to fluid in the ear. The left ear does get a bit *weird* too but not as noticeable as my right. I remember googling (!!) and was convinced I was going deaf. It may not be the same as what you have but just so you know that someone else does gets ear pain/weirdness, annually which always goes away eventually. I put it down to seasonal allergies now. The main thing is you have been seen by a specialist who says there is nothing to worry about which is very reassuring!
Well he was not a speciality - an urgent care doctor not an ENT. The stabbing pains are gone but I do have this fullness and intermittent pain. The anxiety is really messing with me- making me feel light headed and tingling on face. I have been praying that all of this just goes away so I can live my life.
Debbie- LOL so funny. No he was not sexy at. All. But he kind demeanor was helpful!
Still really scared and would like to get through the day without anxiety and war pain. It’s like every sensation makes my anxiety sky rocket.
I just want it all to go away so I can focus on being a mom and this upcoming trip that we have. My family is all sick and tired of this because it’s a pattern I always think I’m dying of some thing but each time it feels so very real to me.
Been in an anxious state for 2 weeks. Spiraling. Googling. One thing leads to another. I’ve been to 2 doctors for the same thing which is on “watch and wait”/ not concerned. In my desperation for help I came across a lot of people posting about Pulsitile Tonnirus and now convinced it will happen to me at any moment! Can one self create? Would i still see a doctor for a self created symptoms? I’m listening for it at night but also scared to hear it so play songs on my phone to drown out my own sounds. I have had what I believe was pulsititle tinnitus once about 2-3 years ago. I didn’t googled and dismissed it and it never happened again. I just recall talking to a family member about it and then letting it go. Now I know how serious it is and I’m terrified it will happen.
Okay so I’m WAITING for a symptom that doesn’t exist! Is this the definition of crazy?!?
I’m truly afraid I’m going to hear it at any moment. Then what? Tell my doctor I made it him? He/ she will still have to send me for an MRI right? THAT terrifies me. I’d literally rather die than get a brain MRI. I have never once had any imaging come back normal. Always incidentals and unnecessary scares.
Health anxiety is awful 😢
utrocket09
25-03-21, 16:08
Been in an anxious state for 2 weeks. Spiraling. Googling. One thing leads to another. I’ve been to 2 doctors for the same thing which is on “watch and wait”/ not concerned. In my desperation for help I came across a lot of people posting about Pulsitile Tonnirus and now convinced it will happen to me at any moment! Can one self create? Would i still see a doctor for a self created symptoms? I’m listening for it at night but also scared to hear it so play songs on my phone to drown out my own sounds. I have had what I believe was pulsititle tinnitus once about 2-3 years ago. I didn’t googled and dismissed it and it never happened again. I just recall talking to a family member about it and then letting it go. Now I know how serious it is and I’m terrified it will happen.
Okay so I’m WAITING for a symptom that doesn’t exist! Is this the definition of crazy?!?
I’m truly afraid I’m going to hear it at any moment. Then what? Tell my doctor I made it him? He/ she will still have to send me for an MRI right? THAT terrifies me. I’d literally rather die than get a brain MRI. I have never once had any imaging come back normal. Always incidentals and unnecessary scares.
Health anxiety is awful 😢
It doesnt mean anything other than ringing on the ears. I have had it for years due to hearing loss.
ankietyjoe
25-03-21, 17:02
Health anxiety is awful
Stop Googling then. Health anxiety is just a self created boogey man.
It's like drinking too much and then complaining about a hangover. Stop the cause, not the symptom.
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