does anybody else have this symptom and found something that helps?
Hi
@bad1080 -- Back in 2018, I was given a drug called Promethazine that gave me terrible tinnitus after just one dose. In the ensuing weeks, I did several acupuncture sessions to see if it would help, which it maybe did marginally.
My ears stayed very reactive in the following months, and at one point my ears started to get hot, and then it became a burning sensation. And it was getting progressively worse.
I thought of the acupuncture sessions I had done, and recalled the points around the ear that we had tried. I did some self-acupuncture with some needles I had gotten from my acupuncturist, and did the same points we'd tried months earlier.
To my astonishment, most of the burning went away after one treatment. And almost completely disappeared (for good) after a couple more treatments. Since that time, I've gotten into the habit of massaging my ears daily, and think it's possible that has helped keep my ear burning in remission.
I entered your post into an AI query, and got the following reply, which you may find helpful:
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That's a really interesting post, and honestly, it fits into a bigger pattern I've seen discussed around ME/CFS, dysautonomia, and nervous system dysregulation.
Here are a few thoughts on it:
- "Hot ear" symptoms like sudden sensitivity, pain, or a burning feeling — without infection — do get mentioned sometimes, though they aren't the most common top symptoms. They're often reported alongside things like facial nerve pain, tingling, burning sensations, or weird localized inflammation, usually when someone's system is flaring.
- The vagus nerve idea the poster mentions is actually pretty smart.
The vagus nerve sends branches into the ear through the auricular branch (sometimes called Arnold’s nerve), and when the vagus is irritated, dysregulated, or inflamed, you could absolutely get sensations like pain, burning, or abnormal sensitivity in part of the ear.
- Another possibility could be small fiber neuropathy (SFN), which a lot of people with ME/CFS and POTS have without realizing it. SFN can cause localized burning, stinging, or hypersensitivity in seemingly random places, sometimes flaring for no obvious reason.
- There's also a theory involving mast cell activation (MCAS). When mast cells destabilize, you can get weird, sudden localized inflammation or nerve irritation — even in the skin or superficial nerves like around the ear.
Have other people found solutions?
- Some say gentle vagus nerve stimulation helps (like slow breathing exercises, humming, or lightly massaging around the ear or jawline).
- If mast cells are involved, mast cell stabilizers (like quercetin or antihistamines) can sometimes reduce these random inflammatory flare-ups.
- Magnesium (especially magnesium glycinate) sometimes helps calm nerve sensitivity for some people.
- A few people with SFN-like symptoms benefit from meds that calm nerve pain (like low-dose gabapentin, or natural things like lipoic acid).
