They treated it with antibiotics then ear drops, but the pain remains. What could they be looking for?
Money?
My thought too, but if the pain wasn’t cleared up with antibiotics, then it must be something else, correct?
Maybe they are concerned about malignant otitis externa, an invasive ear infection. Is your friend diabetic?
I know when I had an ear infection for several months after a long standing ear drum perforation, I had a scan (head only) to check for skin growth in the ear (cholesteatoma - Ear and Hearing Surgical Services — California Ear Institute)
I had an MRI for ear pain last year. Basically looking to see what was there, rather than anything specific. They couldn’t find anything that might be causing the pain or the dizzyness that had already mostly passed. They ended up saying it might be connected to the hayfever, even though they didn’t always appear at the same time.
Apparently, they were expecting narrowing of the inner ear canal or some kind of grit (I want to say precipitated calcium, but I honestly don’t remember). My father had a similar dizzy phase that was caused by a loose bit of membrane altering the movement of fluid in there.
Ears is weird and complex.
Funny thing, I lost a filling and the ear pain stopped.
I don’t think this is funny. When my brother was little my mom brought him to the doctor because he had terrible ear pain…and was then advised to bring him to the dentist instead which sorted the problem. We’re not all that good at determining where our pain comes from.
Yeah, and the interconnectedness of stuff in there. The doc (specialist) thought it was to do with hayfever because swollen sinus tissues can affect the pressure within the inner ear canals.
I remember my whole jaw hurt when I had my ears pierced, but they were different parts of ear and jaw than this current thing. The family doc, way back then, said she must have hit a nerve, hahaha. Pun and fact, you see. He was an asshole in many ways.
A friend of mine has macular degeneration, which causes extreme jaw pain and blindness. Comparitively, I’m ok with the earache.
Heads is weird.
I always know I’m getting a sinus infection when my teeth start to hurt. Not just one or two, but the whole row of 'em. I have excellent teeth, but the nerves are apparently close and the building pressure hits the tooth nerves before the sinus cavity nerves. Makes it feel like I’ve got popcorn skins between every single tooth on top.
I have the same problem. The thing is, sinus pain is the only dental pain I feel. I went to a dentist some time ago after a 10-year absence, and he found I needed 11 fillings and 2 root canals; I hadn’t felt a thing until one of my teeth collapsed. The slightest congestion, though, and I’m reaching for the ice pack.
My excruciating ear pain was dental-related – I was grinding my teeth so much I wore away the cartiladge. My MD sent me to an Ear-Nose-Throat guy because he thought it was a persistent ear infection; lucky for me the ENT doc knew exactly what it was and sent me to a dentist. One x-ray later and it was obvious what the problem was – TMJ.