What causes swelling and pain in the ear?

From the clinical point of view, ear pain is largely caused by inflammation. Common diseases include ear neuralgia, external otitis, ear herpes, ear tumors, external auditory canal furunculosis, acute otitis media, etc. Except for ear tumors, other diseases are very common and can be treated with general therapies, but ear tumors must be treated surgically, and you must pay attention to your diet afterwards to avoid postoperative complications.

1. Ear neuralgia: There are many nerves around the ears, and ear pain will occur when the ears are exposed to too strong or too long noise or unexplained stimulation.

2. Otitis externa: When the ear feels uncomfortable or itchy, some people like to dig blindly in the ear with fingernails, hairpins, knitting needles, short wooden sticks, matchsticks, etc. If you dig too hard or if you are bumped into by someone, it is easy to puncture the skin of the ear canal and cause skin infection and inflammation. This disease not only causes ear pain, but may also be accompanied by bleeding.

3. Ear herpes: This is related to viral infection. It is more common on the auricle, and the ear pain it causes is like a needle prick or burning, which is very uncomfortable. A few people may also have symptoms such as facial nerve paralysis, hearing loss, nausea, and vomiting.

4. Ear tumor: When a malignant tumor grows in the ear canal or middle ear cavity, as the disease progresses, the malignant tumor infiltrates into the surrounding tissues. In addition to symptoms such as bleeding in the ear canal and hearing loss, there will also be ear pain of varying degrees.

5. External auditory canal furuncle: When external otitis is not treated in time, or when the person is old and weak, suffers from diabetes, or the ear canal skin is soaked in water for a long time and the skin surface resistance is weakened, ear canal furuncle is likely to occur. The boil will gradually swell and fester, blocking the ear canal and causing gradually worsening pain.

6. Acute otitis media: When a bacterial suppurative infection occurs in the middle ear cavity, the pus continues to increase and directly compresses the pain-sensitive eardrum, causing intermittent pain in the ear, which may present a pulsating pain with the pulse beating.