What Causes Pain In Tragus Part Of Ear?

Posted on Sat, 23 Aug 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 23 Aug 2014 Answered on

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I am an otherwise healthy 55 year old woman experiencing pain (at times pretty severe) in the tragus part of my outer ear. Should I just treat with Advil or run over to urgent care? This is day two of this pain.

Answered by Dr. Shoaib Khan (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
?? otitis externa

Detailed Answer:
Hello ma'am and welcome.

Thank you for writing to us.

I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. If you cannot recall any possible injuries or trauma to the region, then there are only a handful of conditions that can cause pain on and around the tragus.

I would like to know if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms ma'am:

-Itching and/or irritation around your ear canal
-Swelling of the tragus
-Pressure inside the ear
-Feeling of fullness in the ear
-Jaw pain
-Scaly skin or dried wax around the ear
-Stiffness of the jaw
-Alteration of hearing (mostly reduced)
and a few others.

Looking forward to your kind reply ma'am. In most likeliness, this is an infection called otitis externa and if you have any or all of the above mentioned symptoms, you should visit a doctor for appropriate management.

I hope you find my response helpful. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help.

Best wishes.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar