Severe ear pain caused when I lay down at night.

Just an update on what i thought above was instant relief using a hot compress. I'm afraid it didn't cure the problem - it's now 36 hours since i woke up in pain and it goes on!

My ear gets sore if I sleep with my head on a cushion in the daytime, it's made of the same material as the sofa and is a bit rough, if I cover it with a fleece jacket it stops it hurting.

I don't have problems at night with my pillow, I use a flannelete pillowcase, cotton ones can give me a sore ear.

This post started over a year ago but I just finally sought answers to this pain and here I am. Same problem, same pain. One thing I have not seen mentioned is the issue wrestlers get when the friction on the ear. Have you seen that ugly growth on the ears of a wrestler who does not wear head gear? In our case it could be polychondritis, inflammation of the cartilage, but not sure if they are related. Here's an explanation of Polychondritis: 

I am so relieved to find others that have this problem, I have for years thought that I was just strange. One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here though, that I have and believe is the number one cause of the pain, is that the cartilage in my ears is much harder than most peoples. As most peoples ears bend easily, mine do not and it can actually cause pain when I attemp to bend them. Is that a symptom that we all share? I had found that sleeping on a memory foam pillow was helpful but in the last few months I have noticed that not even that is helpful anymore. Maybe I just need a new pillow? I have not asked a doctor about this, as I assumed and you all have verified, that they can't help me. I find as most of you do as well that when I wake from the pain if I lift my ear from the pillow the pain is excruciating, I usually rub the back of my ear just behind the lobe and that helps with the pain. I find it hard to get a good nights sleep because of this. When I was younger the problem was that my ear folded over in my sleep causing the pain as it would with people with what I call "normal" ears, but now that I am older just simply laying on the side of my head causes this terrible pain. And though the pain does subside my ear still aches for the rest of the night and the next day.  I have tried sleeping in new positions but I always end up on my stomach with my head turned to the side. It's something that I assume will get worse with age, but I am glad to see that I am not the only one that has this issue at night. Good luck to you all and if you find something that helps, please share!

Supasumma I don't think it necessarily gets worse with age. I've been suffering from almost exactly the same symptoms as you describe for about twenty years, but although i've just come out of my longest bout of it, the previous occasion was about 2 years ago. So for me, at least, it happening less frequently.
I posted above about using a hot compress. Alas, although there was some improvement it took a full two weeks for the problem to go. But the biggest improvement came last weekend, when i got fed up and gave up trying to avoid the pain and decided to let my head rest on the painful ear. I had a suspicion that, since the pain was apparently caused by bending the ear awkwardly in sleep, perhaps the ear (or the cartilage or whatever it is that's causing it) needed to be "clicked" back into place (much like chiropractors reportedly do for patients with neck problems), and that perhaps this might happen by chance if i let my head rest on the painful side. Although I would not recommend this course of action for anyone else in case it causes more pain, seems to have worked.
Final thought, I am amazed that, despite so many people reporting similar problems, doctors don't seem a clue. Good luck everyone!

I initially thought that the memory foam pillow would help but it didn't and it took me a year or more to try something else. Thanks to this blog I got 2 helpful ideas and the combination is really working. 1) a mushy feather pillow, and 2) a flannel type of pillowcase (in hindsight I have been getting cotton pillowcases with tighter and tighter weaves thinking they were better and I think they made the problem worse).
Hope this helps somebody.
FYI - my symptoms besides the at night pain is that I cannot wear a tight headband or hat that goes over my ears for long. Also in the cold (below 50) i need to keep my ears covered.

Initial family doctor post partially got it right, but let me describe what is causing your problems, for some of your situations.

When you sleep, some of your body's fluids are redistributed due to a force of gravity. Around your ear, you have several nerves that when you irritate them, they can become exquisitely tender. Now, if you are sleeping on one side, you are causing a slight (and usually undetectable) increase in fluid pressure on the affected side. As the fluid builds up on the affect side, it irritates those nerves, and you wake up with a painful ear.

When you walk around, the fluid is redistributed once again due to the force of gravity, and your ear stops hurting.

This type of situation of fluid-versus-gravity can also explain the following:

   1. When you wake up your face is slightly puffy but goes away.
   2. When you stand on your feet for a long period of time without moving, your feet swell slightly.

Now, if someone is pregnant, there is a larger demand on the heart and a larger volume of fluid in the body, hence it is the pregnancy that is causing such a problem (or at least worsening it).

Second, think about what pushes a lot of fluid around in the body (your heart). For many of you, I would keep an eye on your blood pressure, and the amount of salt you take in. Both contribute greatly to redistributing fluid.

Focusing on your heart and diet can solve some of your situations.

There are a few other problems that a doctor will be looking for: obviously an ear infection, a canal obstruction, or something called tic dolaureux. But to consider any of these by simply talking about it on a forum would not be helpful.

Secondly, simply trying to find a treatment to the symptom (with pillows and so forth) is not targetting the main issue which is going on here. The main issue is 'Why is fluid building up in my ear' - and the answer will resolve around your heart and your diet.

Some pretty major concerns.

I have been suffering this pain for a while now and would just like to ask if anyone else think's it's their glasses? It has just occurred to me that my glasses are too tight and have left an indent behind my ears... making me wonder if this is the cause of my pain. 

HA! I do that too!

DEFINATE improvement when i got my glasses widened! This has absolutely helped me, glasses too tight, think it's time to get contacts...  8-|

omg i am relieved to know other people feel this too! i thought i was going crazy because i knew it wasnt an earache that I was thr queen of when i was little... now that i really think about it this started when i became pregnant.... only happens on my right side.... is this something to tell the doctor about? should i just get a special pillow? thanks everyone for your info.

do you wear glasses? I found mine were too tight, have to keep them off now. Pain only comes back if iv'e had them on!!

In my current experience as with more than 20yrs of this same issue, its been realized that our PILLOWS simply SUCK!! They really are NOT made as well as they could be and there are soooo many out there, which is right for you or me or another...I recently came across  ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** web
addresses not allowed*** i bought one last week and unfortunately it bugs me just the same as the one i made for myself, but my husband likes it and it has reduced his snoring sum lol, we may keep it, we may not...I guess i need to play doctor on my pillow and see if reducing the fill will make it better for my neck and ears...The mypillow concept is an interesting one and i think they really are onto something BUT the exterior fabric even tho its 100% cotton there is just something about different woven cottons that are NOT the same or comfortable...I used an old t-shirt 100% cotton to make myself a pillow & it feels sooo much nicer to my entire face and I am mostly a side sleeper with the occassional back sleeping, i have whiplash and was told several years ago NOT to sleep on my stomach anymore boohoo, that was a huge challenge...Well, best of comfort to all seeking it, u may find value in mypillow or in HOW to better make your own...Mista

My story reads much like all of yours…
In 2009, I had a couple of occurrences of what I thought to be “swimmer’s ear” in my right ear. As the occurrences became more frequent, I went to see my family practitioner who said that everything in my ear looked wonderful.
Once during an episode, I went to an emergency care, and the MD said that everything in my ear looked wonderful, but suggested that I might want to go get Claritin D and take it as prescribed until the box was empty.
In 2010, as I continued to have episodes of pain, I went to an ENT who diagnosed Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. At this time he did take an x-ray and said everything looked wonderful. His treatment was for me to take Nasonex morning and night. When the pain occurred, to follow up with Afrin, Sudafed, and Claritin D, but not to take the Afrin for more than three days in a row.
At this point the pain was debilitating and occurring on average five days a week. The best explanation I can give of the pain is that it felt like someone was pushing a hot poker in my ear. The pain would radiate down my neck/shoulder and into my jaw. I found that to move my head I would have to apply pressure to my lower jaw, almost like supporting the area. If I touched my ear/the area, moved my head, swallowed, touched my teeth together, talked, chewed, etc., the pain would intensify. Even to have my hair brush across my ear would intensify the pain. The episodes would last several hours, and on a couple of occasions, several days. Then, all of a sudden, the pain would severely heighten and then be completely gone altogether. Depending upon the duration, I would be left feeling exhausted and sleepy.
I sought out an allergist who tested for allergies and found that I was allergic to dust mites, animals, and in his words, “pretty much everything that pollinates in Utah.” He also diagnosed Eustachian Tube Dysfunction and Vasomotor Rhinitis. The regimen was the same: Nasonex twice a day with the Sudafed, Claritin D, and Afrin as needed.
I began washing all of my bedding in hot water, quit wearing perfume, avoided cigarette smoke at all costs, immediately left a room entered if I could smell a florally scent, quit burning scented candles, and began watching the weather...if a storm was predicted, I pre-medicated with Sudafed and Claritin D. I also began tracking what I ate, what activities I did, and any odd occurrences in correlation with the ear pain.
I found that I was able to decrease the number of occurrences and the severity by making these few changes. At this point, I felt that milk and ice cream were also factors. I completely quit having either.
In an attempt to see if the effects of eating healthier and exercise had an effect on my ear, I completely quit drinking any caffeinated or carbonated beverages. I decreased my intake of sugar and began exercising. This did not appear to affect the pain.
I sought out a second ENT as the first had made me feel as if I were crazy. This ENT again diagnosed ETD and suggested Magnesium and physical therapy on my neck. Despite my reservations, I gave both a try without any positive results.
In 2011, out of desperation, I made an appointment with a third ENT. He too felt like I had ETD as a result of allergies. He put tubes in my ears and after another allergy test, began administering allergy shots. The tubes were in for about 8 months, while they did not appear to affect the occurrences or duration, the pain did not get as severe. For the first time, I had a physician listened to me and had helped find me some relief.
Now in 1012, I continue to have ear pain. I notice it primarily if I sleep on my right side, if a storm is moving in, if I drink milk or eat ice cream, and on occasion if I have been in the room with a smoker or strong fragrance. It is not as severe as it used to be, but still affects my ability to live normally. If I wake up and the pain has began, I know that I have to quickly get ready for the day before the pain heightens, otherwise the movement required to get ready will hurt.
Things I have noted: The pain always come on in the morning. It always happens when I sleep on my right side. (How can you control how you sleep?) When I have the ear pain, my eyes and nose are often puffy and swollen. I occasionally feel like there is a liquid in my ear, and sometimes have a gold-ish runny discharge. The pain always worsens severely prior to the immediate relief when it goes away. It averages in duration of 6 to 8 hours. Naturally, all of this is ridiculous, so why would this next comment make me feel any crazier, but it does. When the pain is coming on and I “wiggle” my ear, it “pops”, “clicks”, and “cracks”. On days that I have no pain and “wiggle” my ear, there is no sound at all.
Beyond the medications listed, pain medication does not touch the pain. I found that Claritin D was making me wake up after a couple of hours of sleep and making me feel drugged. I began using Zurtec D and have found better results with it. I researched that Stinging Nettle was an antihistamine and that Vitamin C was an anti-inflammatory and have began taking doses of both.
Interesting: When the ENT put the tubes in my ears, he asked how often I cleaned my ears because they were so clean. The answer would be never. (With these symptoms, would you chance putting anything in your ear?) and when he made the incision to put the tube in my ears, fireworks (the popping, cracking, and clicking) went off in my head and he commented, “That isn’t suppose to sound like that.” I do have Hypothyroidism and High Cholesterol. My maternal aunt has this same problem with her ear.
If I ever find something that works, I will post…
Going to try the Vitamin D and look at purchasing a pillow, I am a restless sleeper and don’t know it I would stay on the pillow though! ;)

Thanks eveyone! I guess I am not weird, after all !