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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

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Exp 50 years

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What Causes Severe Pain In Ear After Blowing The Nose Hard?

I blew my nose real hard the other day and felt the pain/pressure on my left ear. I can feel a small amount of pain in my ear, but have no symptoms of a popped eardrum (based on what I ve read online) - my hearing hasn t changed and no fluids from the ear. However, there is an intermittent moderate to severe pain that throbs on the outer area of my left ear (~2 inches on the top and behind ear). I ve taken some advil and acetominophen for it and the pain won t go away. What do I need to do?
Tue, 5 Jan 2021
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General Surgeon 's  Response
Hi,

The sequence of events that occurs are as follows:
* Blowing of the nose too hard pushes air and sometimes nasal fluid through an Eustachian tube to the middle ear cavity which has eardrum as outer wall.*The forced air and fluid causes build up of pressure within the close cavity of middle ear causing pain, fullness, pain around ear as you have explained.
* The pressure within middle ear can cause referred pains as you have.

I would advise you the following in such a situation:
* Stop blowing the nose.
* Consult an ENT Surgeon for ENT endoscopy to see what exactly is going on, whether there is congestion, fluid build up or perforation of the eardrum.
* Start taking oral decongestant and nasal drops like Otrivin
* Prescription based antibiotic and any other medications as needed
* Do not instill anything in ears.
All these will give diagnosis and a specific treatment needed in such cases.

Take care.

Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. T. Chandrakant, General Surgeon
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What Causes Severe Pain In Ear After Blowing The Nose Hard?

Hi, The sequence of events that occurs are as follows: * Blowing of the nose too hard pushes air and sometimes nasal fluid through an Eustachian tube to the middle ear cavity which has eardrum as outer wall.*The forced air and fluid causes build up of pressure within the close cavity of middle ear causing pain, fullness, pain around ear as you have explained. * The pressure within middle ear can cause referred pains as you have. I would advise you the following in such a situation: * Stop blowing the nose. * Consult an ENT Surgeon for ENT endoscopy to see what exactly is going on, whether there is congestion, fluid build up or perforation of the eardrum. * Start taking oral decongestant and nasal drops like Otrivin * Prescription based antibiotic and any other medications as needed * Do not instill anything in ears. All these will give diagnosis and a specific treatment needed in such cases. Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. T. Chandrakant, General Surgeon