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What Causes Inner Ear Pain?

Posted on Wed, 23 Jul 2014

Question: I am currently experiencing, what seems to be, pain in my inner ear. The pain feels like more of a dull swelling around my inner ear and behind my outer ear. Occasionally it just feels warm and I can feel fluid moving around. I also have a constant clicking. This is mainly in my left ear but Ill sometimes notice just the clicking in the right ear. In addition, every so often I will feel pain aching in one of my lower molars which makes me wonder if this is tooth related. Lastly, I will get these tingling sensations in my head that seem to cause episodes of derealization and anxiety. My PCP has given me xanax for the anxiety and suspects I have some type of inner ear disorder. I went to go see an ENT who initially diagnosed me with a sinus infection. He had me on 2 2 week rounds of antibiotics and prednisone. This did not help at all. I just completed a CT scan and an MRI and my sinuses look fine. Also there does not seem to be any aneurysms or anything like that. I am wondering if this is more of an inner ear thing or could this be tooth related. I have been fighting this since January which is about 6 months now and would really like to know what I can do to start treating this.

Answered by Dr. Naveen Kumar Nanjasetty (18 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Impacted tooth or TMJ dysfunction

Detailed Answer:
Hi

Thanks for posting the query

The elaborate history described you has made my work easier.

In the absence of any sinus related conditions, the other probable causes of earache are impacted molar tooth or TMJ Dysfunction. The dentist is the right person to help you out with this issue.

I doubt any inner ear problem. The inner ear problems are usually associated with dizziness, hearing loss, tinnitus, etc.

Till you consult your dentist, you can try the following measures:
1. Avoid taking hard food
2. Try to chew on the unaffected side
3. Apply analgesic gel around the affected ear
4. Try taking OTC pain killers such as Ibuprofen
5. Avoid clenching your teeth

Hope I have answered your queries. I'll be available for the follow up queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj