Ears hurting - Is it panic?

[chop]

HI all,
Great forum.
I have had anxiety and severe panic disorder since my first attack in 2000. I was terrible and stayed indoors for almost two years (mainly due to not being diagnosed etc and had no idea what was wrong with me).
I then got fairly well and started work again and eventually started to feel ok overall with small steps.

Recently I have had 3 panic attacks and I now have constant general anxiety again. I think I am scared of attacks again as I had rid them fairly well for so long and now maybe I feel like a failure etc.

I felt so lost and depressed on the way to the doctors about my ears hurting the other night that I literally broke down and cried my eyes out in the middle of the street as I cannot work out what is wrong and was afraid that if this is as good as it gets then I may harm myself as it is just not worth living. I was very down after 3 months of my ears hurting and doctors cannot find anything wrong.

I went to psychologist and talked and got a few things off my chest. That helped and so did the crying. I have not cried for so long and always thought I would never stop if I started. This was WRONG. I felt a million times better after crying.

my question is really this: Could my ears hurting inside be a symptom of anxiety? Can general anxiety make your ears hurt inside? I have never heard of this but am thinking maybe anxiety can do anything.

What do you think please? Need more doctors opinions or could it be anxiety? I am on some allergy medicine as they think maybe it is a pollen/seasonal allergy etc and it may help. I also feel good and forget about my ears hurting when I think positive but it is always there to a degree. What do you think?

Cheers
Paul

[clickaway]

Hi Paul and welcome to No More Panic,

How do your ears hurt exactly?

Some people suffer a pulsing feeling in their ears and you can read about their experience here

Is this normal? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5005)

Cheers,

Ray

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers

[chop]

Thanks,
It is not the same. Mine hurt inside the ear but it does go away with positive thinking to a degree. Doctors cant find anything at all apart from maybe swollen tubes from an allergy (hopefully the nasal spray helps).

That makes me feel better though as now at least I know anxiety can do almost anything. I did have an ear infection a few months back and it went away with anti biotics and I had anxiety from the ear then.

I think maybe my anxiety now is making my ears hurt again as I have experienced slight pain before with this and now relate the two together.

Doctors says nothing bad can come from it and I am not going deaf so I gues I will stay positive and think it is anxiety. If it does not disapear eventually I think I will go to a ar nose throat person (3 month wait) and have them look too.

I just started boxing (excercise) again and I think that will help me (once I get over the soreness the day after and making that into anxiety as well lol).

I got over and beat this once and I can do it again!

I think the best thing I have read so far is to go with the anxiety. Hardest thing to do but I think it really works and then the anxiety goes (or doesnt come).

Thank you
Hate to say this but I am glad other people have anxiety as well as it helps me a lot to know I am not alone and I am not losing control.

Pretty much any thought scares me right now and I am afraid I will never be the same again. But I will beat this again.

Thank you :)

[chucklehound]

Hi Paul and welcome to NMP where you will get lots of support and make some great friends too!:D



Take Care

Chucklehound

xxxx

[Meg]

Hellp Paul,

Well done for figuring it out...

Yes have a good howl when you need one. Its natures safety release valve and very beneficial, as is dancing.

Increased tension in your head can exert extra pressure towards the ears.

Is there a woodpecker in my ear? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1454)
Buzzing sound in right ear (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3635)
Tinnitus? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4316)

Is this normal? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5005)

Tinnitus? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4874)

Ear problems/hayfever? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4142)
Ears (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4137)
panicky !! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4125)
Hay fever and panic attacks (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4216)

You did really well last time to overcome this and will do as well again this time but you know you need to do it steadily and gently, being kind to yourself. Look at your basics first eg lifestyle


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[wobily_lin]

hello paul.

welcome. yes i would say it is anxiety. i feel the tension most in the left side of my neck and in my left ear. iv had it checked so many times. and nothing wrong, i kiind of kept a mental diary of the neck, ear and headache and notice that it was only there, which could last for days of weeks, when my anxiety had risen for what ever reason. i have it at the moment but instead of thinking the worst i put it down to the anxiety.
a good cry can help. i am feeling so low myself at the moment and the tears are flowing. which is odd as i havent done that for bout over a year. but im off my meds now for 6 days so i m trying to put things down to that.

take care.

ptsd sufferer

lin x

[feege]

Hi Paul

I too suffer ear pain but only in one side and have 'odd' feelings in that ear too... I know that at night I clench my teeth and if you do that you can feel the muscles even in your ear - if you are anxious sometimes at all your muscles are clenched and can cause pain literally anywhere!! Once you have become sensitise to it instead of relaxing the tendency is to tense even more and so it goes on!

Sometimes when I wake up one whole side of my face is hurting and numb - used to really scare me but after 20 years if it was anything serious I reckon it would have got worse!!

I hope it passes soon - I bet it does! But don't be afraid to get it checked out if it really bothers you.

Good luck,

Fee



fee

[Piglet]

Welcome to the site Paul and well done for figuring things out.

We all have these blip times but what you've overcome once you can do again!!!

Love Piglet :)

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

[Meg]

TMJ can cause sore ears too .

Pain in Jaw,cheek bones and around eyes (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2475)
Another little question (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3787)


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[ferber]

late post,
just wanted to say I've been searching the net for this, and finally found this thread.
Yep, I have that ear-thingey too.
Noticed how stress/anxiety caused my ears to hurt, kinda strange, I guess it is just a normal 'self-defense' reflex the body has.

I had a panic attack just a few days ago, milder one this
time...going in the right direction, hehe :)

I'm certain it is caused by the stress and lack of self asteem. I've always been 'the quiet guy', need to stop that, and start to speak back but at the same time be includeing. 'Yatting along' and having a 'sheethappens' attitude also helps.

Lately I've found that I've had this in situations I've felt stressed and threathened somehow. I try not to care, a panic attack is actually a normal thing. Yep, 'normal', something becomes 'normal' when many people have it. So don't be afraid of a small panic attack, I'm not.

A strong side, if I saw anyone having a panic attack I would understand. (and help)

(humour, 15+min exersise, less sugar, self-ironi, helps)

[maz67]

Hi

Yes my ears seam as if they are blocked but it soon clears!!

So many symptoms !!

But being on here has helped a great deal for me.

Hope it helps you too.

Mandy x:yesyes:

[jojo2316]

Yes - anxiety causes my ears to hurt too. It is quite a deep pain, and i feared it was a symptom of throat cancer. But i discovered that whenever i had the pain the ligaments and muscles in my neck behind my ears were rock hard. I think tight muscles in the neck and jaw area must affect the ears. I eventually realised that forcing myself to relax those neck and jaw muscles caused the pain to ease.

[ferber]

Huh, you're right, it could be the cause... never noticed...
I'm testing massaging the area using the thumbs.

[Chant]

I get that too. And the doc said it happens with anxiety and I also have a sinus problem which contibutes.

[Lissy43]

Yes I get lots of sinus/ear problems but ENT found nothing wrong so suggested TMJ.

[PanicAttacker]

Hello,
I also get a very strange feeling in my ears (maybe it is considered pulsating, I am not sure because it is nearly impossible to explain). Sometimes I wonder if I am afraid of silence? I know that may sound weird, but when I notice that it is very quiet I get a weird feeling in my ears (kind of like a "rush").
:shrug: I wish I understood what was going on.
-Danielle