Shoots in the ear: what to do at home?

Ear pain, along with toothache, is considered one of the most intense and unpleasant. The thing is that in the ear canal there are a large number of nerve endings. If inflammation has begun in the ear, it may give aching and viscous, irritating pain. But often the pain in the ear has a sharp, shooting character. Today we’ll talk about such pain - how and why it occurs, how to determine that a child is suffering from pain in the ears, and how to provide first aid at home.

Why shoots in the ear

Ear pain can occur for various reasons - from simply getting water in the ear, ending with serious inflammation of the ENT organs.

1. Otitis. Most often, the cause of pain in the ear can be otitis media - both external and medium. Inflammation of the ear canal can develop as a result of moisture ingestion, as a complication after a cold, allergies, and other inflammatory processes. As a rule, otitis media is accompanied by fever, backache in the ears, itching and burning.
2. Eczema. Often lumbago in the ears is not associated with ENT diseases. If shooting in the ear, pay attention to the skin of the auricle. Eczema is characterized by damage to the skin, itching, severe flaking, fever. And the lumbago itself is provoked by inflammatory processes.
3. Boils. Since the ear canal is small and the skin there is very delicate, a boil may form inside. In this case, pain during palpation intensifies, swelling and redness are visible with the naked eye, the ear shoots very often.
4. Mastoiditis and Labyrinthitis. This is an inflammation of the organs of the middle part of the ear, mastoid process or membranous labyrinth, respectively.
5. Water in the ear. This happens very often, especially in young children. If there is water left in the ears after bathing or diving, after some time the eardrum begins to respond to the moisture with lumbago. This condition even has its name “swimmer's ear,” since pathology often occurs in athletes.
6. External diseases. Backache in the ears may not be associated with diseases of the ENT organs. For example, with neuritis of the facial nerve, acute paroxysmal pain and backache occur, which intensify when chewing, brushing, and touching them with a finger. It can shoot in the ear during caries of chewing teeth, since the focus of inflammation is very close. Angina and inflammation of the gums after tooth extraction can also be the cause of lumbago in the ears.
7. Low pressure. High in the mountains or on an airplane, many have their ears laid down, and in some cases they can also be shot. This is due to low atmospheric pressure. In this case, you just need to chew something (you can take chewing gum with you), yawn, use vasoconstrictor drops for the nose.

Only a doctor can make a correct diagnosis, and this is not always an otolaryngologist. It’s quite easy for adults to talk about their feelings and symptoms. But what if you suspect lumbago in a child’s ears?

How to recognize that a child shoots in the ear

As a rule, a child with lumbago in the ears often cries, moreover, sharply and intensively, sleeps poorly and eats, is naughty.After six months, the baby intuitively brings the pillow to the sore ear - the mother usually understands that discomfort is associated with this. With more serious inflammation, the baby rises in temperature, and even hearing loss can be observed. Try to gently push the notch in the back of the child’s earlobe. If the baby cried out or cried, it means that it hurts him - no doubt, it is the ear that bothers the baby.

Older children may experience pressing or throbbing pain. If you notice the symptoms described above, show them to your doctor. Confirm inflammation in the ear can only otolaryngologist. Fortunately, in large cities there are round-the-clock ENT clinics that work around the clock. Because everyone perfectly understands that it is impossible to tolerate pain in the shooting ear. But what if you can get to the doctor only tomorrow? How to alleviate your condition?

What to do if shoots in the ears

If your ear hurts, and you can only go to the doctor the next day, you need to take measures that will help you get rid of the pain at least for a while.

1. First you need to clean your ear from possible pus or sulfur. To do this, drop a few drops of hydrogen peroxide into your ear - it perfectly corrodes and softens sulfur, disinfects the surface of the skin.
2. Next, you need to drip any alcoholic infusion into your ear. It can be pure alcohol, tincture of calendula or propolis. Boric alcohol suppresses inflammation very well. If there is nothing like this in the medicine cabinet, plain vodka will do. Children should not drip liquid directly into the ear, they need to make a small turundka out of cotton wool, drop alcohol on it and place the flagellum in the ear. Leave cotton wool for 3-4 hours or until it falls out. Alcohol not only perfectly heats the ear canal, but also disinfects the skin, eliminating all germs and bacteria. Remember, all liquid compounds before instillation need to be heated by placing in hot water or just hold in your hands for a while.
3. If there are drugs in the house to get rid of earache, that's fine. Otipax, Otinum, Anauran, Otofa, etc. can be effective.
4. Camphor oil has an excellent warming effect. It must be warmed up in a water bath to disinfect. And only after that it is possible to drip in each ear two drops of pure oil and close the passage with a cotton swab.
5. If the inflammation is quite serious, instill the alcohol tincture every hour, since the alcohol evaporates quickly. Otherwise, the pain will return.
6. In no case should you warm your ear with a heating pad or apply warm salt. If otitis media is purulent in nature, such heating will only increase inflammation.
7. Along with this, vasoconstrictive drops for the nose should be used. They will help relieve swelling of the Eustachian tube, which connects the nasal and ear passages. This is done in order to prevent the spread of inflammation.
8. If there is a temperature, be sure to take an antipyretic agent - Ibufen, Paracetamol, Nurofen, etc. This will not only lower body temperature, but also have an anti-inflammatory effect.
9. With severe swelling in the ear canals, you can take antihistamines, which also suppress any manifestations of allergies.

If after all these measures the pain does not go away, but only intensifies, most likely you have purulent otitis media. In this case, you need to rinse the ear with a solution of baking soda. Doing this at home without proper preparation and experience is undesirable, otherwise the pus can go deeper. Be sure to consult a doctor to make the correct diagnosis and conduct adequate treatment. Remember, all of the above measures are only for temporary relief, after which you should definitely consult a doctor, even if you feel better. Along with local treatments, the doctor usually prescribes antibiotics to suppress inflammation faster and more efficiently.It is very dangerous to self-medicate in this case, since backache in the ear can lead to serious complications, including hearing loss and meningitis.

How to protect yourself from painful backache

In any case, prevention is important. If you are often tormented by pain and backache in your ears, you need to carefully monitor your health.

1. Dress for the weather, especially in cold and windy weather. Even long hair will not save you in winter - be sure to wear a hat!
2. In the vast majority of cases, drafts become the cause of pain in the ears - beware of them.
3. If water gets into your ear, you must definitely get rid of it in a day, otherwise after a while it can cause the onset of the inflammatory process. Try jumping on one leg, slowly turn your head to the side while lying down. If this does not help, be sure to visit a doctor to get rid of water.
4. Before swimming, wear ear plugs and a swimming cap to protect yourself from water entering your ears. Do not swim in stagnant waters - they contain a lot of infection and bacteria that become the trigger for the inflammatory process.
5. Regularly clean your ears from sulfur, do not allow tooth decay and chronic diseases of the throat and oral cavity, do not allow strong stress when blowing your nose.

In order for the inflammation not to defeat you so easily every time, and the body could withstand overcooling and infections, it needs to be tempered. To do this, you need to eat right, spend more time in the fresh air, raise immunity with vegetables and fruits, take a contrast shower, etc.

Ears are the second most important organ for perceiving information. It is with the help of hearing that we get acquainted with pleasant melodies, hear the voice of a loved one, enjoy the laugh of a child and the singing of birds. Backache in the ear is not only very painful, but also really dangerous. If the ear is not treated, hearing may be lost in whole or in part. Avoid complications, consult a doctor on time!

Video: what to do when “shoots” in the ear