HI, this is my first time on this message board. About a month ago, when I was out walking, I started getting a bad pain right behind my left ear, and it only felt better when I applied pressure with my finger. Recently, the whole outside of my ear has gotten very painful, my ear is not plugged up at all, but rather the whole outside of the ear feels as if there is pressure on it, and also it feels the same behind the ear. Has anyone else ever had the same problem? I have yet to see my doctor, as it is hard to get an appointment right away. I would appreciate any feed back I can get. Thanks in advance
This could represent a neuralgia (irritated nerve) which can cause intermittent severe pain. You could ask your doctor about this possibility, and also ask if an MRI of the brain to exclude structural abnormalities in this region would be reasonable. Also, an MRI of the cervical spine to exclude "pinched nerves" would be reasonable. A consultation with a neurologist may be helpful to better define the area involved if your doctor does not feel comfortable with the evalaution. Good luck.
A related discussion,
Pain Behind Left Ear was started.
A related discussion,
pain to lower head and behind ear was started.
A gulf war vet had an experimental procedure in which a needle was put behind his left ear & they ground around to try to stop the headache pains.
Needless to say, it didn't help him. In fact it hurt him, as now he (who needs to avoid any and all chemicals) now has to take medication for the effects of the 'procedure'
He said it did no good.
In his case, however, he was poisoned from the solvent in gun cleaner and jet fuel: 2-butoxyethanol and that does cause various central nervous system damages and endocrine system damage and BLOOD damage (that will be where the commonality of provable harm is: premature destruction of one's red blood cells by the immune system, most likely) do a retic ratio & CBC with differentials. Ask for the size and shape of the red blood cells and do the white count by microscope, not computer. Check kidneys and liver, which this chemical targets, too
I would just like to say that I've had pain and swelling behind my left ear, tingling in the face, head and neck and associated lightheadness and headaches for two years now, and they have only just recently got anything near a proper diagnosis.
They've also now found some other problem - with my nerves - too that I've been suffering with, so I would say not to be fobbed off, make sure you get this looked at because it's not funny to have it lasting longer than necessary.
I've had the same thing happen to me, the burning sensation that kinda throbs behind my left ear. I've had to put an icepack on that area and it usually helps. It usually happens when I am getting my depression medication (Effexor XR)adjusted either up or down. It has to do with the seritonin level, whether its too much or not enough. I also experience muscle rigidity in my neck and shoulders. I don't really understand all of this but, I know that when I start coming down on doseage it usually gets worse.
READ THIS! it floored me..
... well, my doctor looked at it again, and seems pretty confident it's nothing serious. He told me to take ibuprofin for a week, and call hom back. Should I go back and ask for an x-ray and MRI, or is it safe to wait and see. Would the pinched nerve/irritated nerve be the most serious thing you'd suspect it could be?
Just wondering whether this could be some part of the endocrine system. People who have headaches from the chemical of oil spill cleanups and the gulf war vets (may be same chemical - ethylene glycol monobutyl ether also known as 2-butoxyethanol) describe pain and horrible headaches not like normal and often they are at the back of the head and running down the neck. Since this chemical is also classified as a pesticide, endocrine disruption seems to occur.
Could this be in the area of the pituitary gland or the hypothalamus? If there were harm to one of these, how can it be determined?
Now, I would not suspect the chemical I mentioned unless you have many, many other symptoms going on at the same time: fatigue and a whole lot more.