I have sort of a strange problem with my ears. I am a side sleeper. Whatever side of my head I am sleeping on, that ear starts hurting in the middle of the night. I mean really, really bad, almost bad enough to make me cry sometimes. The pain is in the outer part of my ear and not the inner part. It is even painful to the touch. This happens every night. I will roll over and then my other ear starts hurting in the same way. This has been going on for about 6 months. It used to only happen every once in a while but now it is every night. I have tried different pillows and sleeping positions. Sleeping on my back makes my back and neck hurt so this is out. I can't sleep with half of my head hanging off of the pillow either. Has anyone ever had this happen? What causes it?
Thanks everyone. I will definately see a doc about it. It sounds like I may have a cartiledge problem or maybe a sinus problem.
A., I found this on the internet where a man had the same problem.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Family-Internal-Medicine-969/e...
I would have the doctor to check it to be safe and maybe consider trying one of those neck pillows that wrap under your neck it might help. Best of luck to you.
Hi A.,
I have had this happen before also but it is ALWAYS when I am overtired, absolutely dead to the world tired. (You know the difference when you baby is sleepy and dozing in your arms and then when he's completely out it feels like he's gained 10 pounds, well we as adults do that too, just no one holding us to prove it, lol)I think sometimes when my position changes the pressure changes also. This may not be what's happening for you but if you're a heavy sleeper versus a light sleeper you might consider it.
If it hurts your back and neck to sleep on your back then you need an orthopedic pillow and maybe a better mattress. Before I went to an MD, I would consult a chiropractor as this may be a simple misalignment that can be fixed quickly...
Hope you're feeling better soon!
M.
A.,
Do you grind your teeth at night or clench your jaw? This can cause jaw and ear pain. Perhaps a simple night guard from the drugstore. If this resolves the problem, your dentist can have a custom night guard made for you.
K.
It's possible you have picked up an external ear infection of some kind. This is definitely not something to play around with, so you should get it checked out by your physician as soon as possible.
I have had this problem and know exactly what your talking about. It's basically due to the top of your ear being bent down or back for hours while your sleeping.It can be really painful.Maybe sleeping with your forehead and face more into the pillow rather than sleeping directly on your ear will help. Just keep switching positons unil you find the best one.
A., I used to get this. I think my problem was a pillow that was too hard. Years ago, I bought a side sleeper pillow from Select Comfort (it wasn't cheap though). This pillow is really soft and "gives". It seemed to solve the problem as I forgot this used to happen until I read your post.
This used to happen to me all the time when I was pregnant. My doctor told me it was allergies- that the fluid in my sinuses was causing pressure on the eardrum that I was laying on. She recommended I take sudafed every night before bed.
Good luck.
I'm not sure if this will apply to your situation...
I experienced pain in the outer portion of my ear after sleeping & realized after a couple nights that my ear would somehow end up bent. It happens when I sleep with my hands curled up too. I have to make sure that when I go to sleep I'm in a comfortable position and my ears & hands are flat. Usually it is fine, but on rare occasions I still wake up to the pain & I just straighten myself out & go back to sleep.
Hope whatever it is gets better...
it happens to me sometimes too. I don't know what causes it, but I try to sleep on two pillows so my ear is between them- not on either one. and if it happens every night- you may want to check with and MD. there may be some other porblems there besides just head pressure on your sensitive ears.
also try placing a few drops of sweet oil in your ear and the pain will go away.. Use it for maintenance purposes until you see whats going on. i have a 5 yr old daughter and it works great when she has ear aches due to her pneumonia. you can even place a cotton ball in the sweet oil then heat it up in the microwave and place it in your ears(like you would do an ear piece to a walkman radio) and the pain will go away!
It happened to me as well, but I noticed it was because I folded my ear over when I arranged my pillow. My arm does the same thing if I fall asleep with it somehow over my head. Its miserable!
If you mean the part of your ear opening where you would stick a q-tip in, then I'm thinking maybe swimmers ear. It is an ear infection but bacterial and it's in the outer ear drum. I'd check with a DR to be on the safe side though!
Hope you get it figured out soon!!
Have you changed laundry detergents or fabric softeners since this problem began? Could this be some type of allergic reaction to something?
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Hi A.! This used to happen tome every night and then got better eventually. On occasion it still happens. I have concluded it only happens when I am overly tired. Hope it gets better for you. Verlie
Have you ever heard of ear candles? You can get them at most natural health food markets. I suggest Harvest Moon Natural market. They can explain what the candles do better than I can. But it's worth a try.
Harvest Moon Natural Market ###-###-####
address is 3725 Sixes Road Canton, GA 30114
