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Severe ear pain caused when I lay down at night.

By mumdonna66401 | 483 posts, last post
Dhruv Gupta, MD answered this Severe Ear Pain When You Lie Down At Night
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Guest

Sounds like me.
I have had to swtitch from med- firm pillows to stacking 3 very soft pillows at night.
What is so weird is that when I lift my head up to switch to my other side the pain in the ear I was sleeping on is so excruciating!!!
Uggg.
Thought I was crazy , & only person with this problem.
Tryin to become a back sleeper, but find it very difficult!
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Guest

My symptoms are the same as yours no one can figure out why and what is causing the pain. The ENT feels it could be TMJ
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Guest

I am interested in knowing if this pillow helped.
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Guest

I don't know if this will help for anyone, but someone suggested ear pkugs or cotton balls...IT WORKS. I put a bit of cotton in both ears to go to sleep now and since the first time I did it, I've had no pain. Pain was unbearable before and I was desperate to try anything. Made holes in pillows, oil on neck and in ears, ibuprofen, neck roll pillows, foam pillows, went to ENT, went to dentist...who knew the cheapest, easiest thing would work.
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Guest

Has your problem since gotten better?
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Guest

I use a travel neck pillow rotated as a sort of "donut" for my ear.
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Guest

So how did it work? Please let me know, this might be a good solution to my ear pain problem. Which pillow was it? They have a lot to chose from. Thank you so much for your post.
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Guest

I am having this problem with both ears. Whichever side I have slept on, I wake up with severe pain in that ear. It started with just the left ear several years ago, and I saw a great dermatologist for it, and he knew immediately what the problem was. My ear actually developed a small sore area. He put an injection of medication directly into the ear cartilage of my left ear, and it healed up and stopped hurting completely for a long time. Now that I am having it again in both ears, I will be contacting this same doctor for additional treatment. Once I have seen him, I will let all of you know what the diagnosis is, and what the injection is that heals it. I fully understand how this affects your sleep and how painful it is. He is very good and stays really busy, so I probably won’t be able to get an appointment for awhile, but plan to call his office tomorrow. There is help, and at least one doctor who knows how to treat it!
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Guest

I’ve been having the same problem for years. I noticed that it always comes after being outdoor with ‘cold’ windy weather. I know the pattern now and can recognize first symptoms and I found Tea Tree essential oil helping to prevent the pain at night and it works quite quick. I only massage the oil to earlibe, never put it inside of the ear.
The doctor I consulted said that it must be a sensitive nerve so I just need to protect my ears from cold wind. I hope it helps.
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Guest

I have suffered with this problem since I was pregnant with my first child 21 years ago. I decided enough was enough and went to seek advice from a craneosteopath/osteopayh It turns out it is all to do with my posture (or lack of) which traps blood circulation to the neck and ear. Three appointments later and alot of exercises to work on my core muscles, the problem is almost gone. RESULT!
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Guest

Did you try a donut pillow? That helps to release pain in my ears.
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SoloP

CURED: Hi so I've had severe ear pain for the last couple years. Every night if i were to lay on the side of my head I'd end up with excruciating pain. When laying on my ear, as i'd lift my head the pain would shoot to intolerable levels. Then eventually subside. But it was very traumatic. I feared sleeping on my sides. I purchased pillows with holes in them, read through this very blog and couldn't find any solutions. I resolved to just sleeping on my back with my head straight.

Recently the pain has completely gone away, and i think it was a result of the following. I had needed a root canal on one side of my mouth and a filling done on an old cavity on the other. I finally got the procedure done. And right away the pain began gradually disappearing, over a period of a 6-8 weeks the pain has now completely gone away. At first i didn't see the connection, but the timing of the procedure coincides exactly with the improvement. The only other thing i did during this period was removed my cell phone from my nightstand right next to my bed. From 2 feet away from my head, my cell is now 15ft across the room on my dresser. I don't want to move the phone next to my bed to test because i don't want to jinx myself. :)

I'd recommend anyone with this ear pain to visit a dentist, identify any needed work, and get it done. Your mouth is right next to your ear, so maybe it can be the cause. And try moving your cell phone away from you if you sleep next to it at night. I hope this helps anyone, because i know what you are going through and it is horrible. Best wishes, and if it works please share your report back here for the sake of everyone else!

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Guest

Me and my mum both get this. It seems to be the cartilage getting squased against the pillow and it is excruciating!. I am now in the habit of sleeping with my fingers either side of my ears and slightly cupped which definitely helps but isn’t particularly comfortable. You can buy piilows online that have a hole cut out for your ear so obviously a common problem. I really want one!
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Guest

Glad to know someone else has same problem.
Taking some curcumin caps before I go to sleep, & anti-inflammatory essential oils on my ears with a carrier oil or little bit of water.
For me, it comes & goes.
I also use a neck pillow & wrap it around my neck so my ear does not touch the pillow.
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Guest

Glad to know someone else has same problem.
Taking some curcumin caps before I go to sleep, & anti-inflammatory essential oils on my ears with a carrier oil or little bit of water.
For me, it comes & goes.
I also use a neck pillow & wrap it around my neck so my ear does not touch the pillow.
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