Painful ear cartilage anyone ?

[Oswestry]

After almost twenty years with M.E this is a new syptom for me.

The cartilage in one ear is sore, and the ear slightly warm to the touch. Not the earlobe, and not the inside of the ear, just the hard cartilage of the top half of the ear.

Doctor says no sign of an infection - so I'm just taking ibuprofen and wondering if this something that anyone else with M.E has had ?

 

[andyguitar]

Not come across it before.

 

[rel8ted]

After almost twenty years with M.E this is a new syptom for me.

The cartilage in one ear is sore, and the ear slightly warm to the touch. Not the earlobe, and not the inside of the ear, just the hard cartilage of the top half of the ear.

Doctor says no sign of an infection - so I'm just taking ibuprofen and wondering if this something that anyone else with M.E has had ?

I do have that from time to time, but assumed it was EDS related

 

[Wolfcub]

Yes I have had that and it lasted a few days. In my case it was a passing thing with no logical (obvious) explanation. In my case, there was nothing observable -no redness, swelling etc -on the ear.
No infection, no trauma and no general ear trouble. I figured out it was probably a nerve-related pain/sensitivity. I do get those in different parts of my body at times, but they always pass.
It hurt so much I used to wake up if I accidentally turned on my right side in bed. (right ear)

 

[Wishful]

I vaguely remember having occasional painful ears, but maybe it was just infected follicles (painful zit). PWME can develop non-ME disorders, but it's good to ask whether others have the same thing too. I keep expecting that one of these days someone will ask such a question, and most people will answer "Yes, I have that too." It'll probably be something silly, like extra hairiness on the third toe of the left foot.

 

[Judee]

I used to get this sometimes but I found out that I was sleeping on the ear in a weird way and causing it myself. Not saying yours is from that but you could try watching your ear sleep position to make sure you aren't inadvertently folding the ear (or part of the ear) underneath your head when you sleep.

I sometimes slide my hand under my head before I go to sleep to make sure everything is where it should be and sometimes find it folded.

It really hurt when I slept on it that way.

 

[Shoshana]

I do have that, often, as you describe, @Oswestry

I think what @Wolfcub wrote , above, about nerve endings, might be the cause, but of course, I have no idea. Just guessing. Quite painful and persistent, for me.
That explanation seemed like the most similar to mine, from reading the posts responding here.

 

[marlunette]

I used to wake up with sore ear cartilage fairly frequently. It was one of those things I thought happened to everyone so I never pursued it.

This blog post lists it as a possible symptom of histamine intolerance (https://mainstreetvegan.net/histamine-connection-victoria-moran/) but I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere.

Since starting some MCAS treatments it has gone away for me, but that could all be a coincidence.

 

[Timaca]

My ear cartilage on both ears got sore this past year. I had an appointment with my dermatologist (yearly exam) and asked her about it. She gave it a name (don't remember what that is) but said mine case was mild. Apparently some can ulcerate! I don't think it is connected to CFS as other people get it (apparently). I've pretty much solved the problem by buying an travel pillow (the kind that go around your neck), putting a pillow case on it, and sleeping on it. My ear goes in the hole and there is no pressure on the cartilage now, which is what caused the irritation. I actually kinda like this more than regular pillows!

 

[valentinelynx]

Yes, if I sleep an ear, it will be excruciatingly painful when I move off of it. Probably reduced blood flow from the pressure, followed by pain from reperfusion (like when your arm or leg falls asleep).

 

[Oswestry]

Really helpful to hear all that. Thanks people!

 

[Moof]

Yes, if I sleep an ear, it will be excruciatingly painful when I move off of it.

Me too. At one point when I was a kid, my Dad had to sleep with a sponge over his ear, as he developed a sore lump on the side he slept on. He emerged sleepily from the bedroom early one morning with the sponge still attached, causing my sister and I to melt into helpless hysterics...I'd forgotten all about it till I read this thread!

 

[gbells]

Do you have any other painful areas? Please list. Cold skin? Twitching muscles? Sore throat?

 

[bertiedog]

The cartilage in one ear is sore, and the ear slightly warm to the touch. Not the earlobe, and not the inside of the ear, just the hard cartilage of the top half of the ear.

I have been diagnosed originally with perichondritis but when this didn't clear up after double antibiotics the diagnosis is now chondrodermititis nodularis. Its an extremely painful condition and looking back over the past year I had episodes of very red painful cartilage of my right ear that would come and go. The condition usually affects the right ear because that seems to be the favoured side for sleeping.

I have been prescribed steroid cream on its own and also one with an antibiotic. I find I need the one with the antibiotic plus steroid or my ear is extremely painful when touched or when I put jumpers over my head and accidentally touch the ear. Also I have invested in a pillow with a hole which I bought online here in the UK. This is brilliant and allows me to sleep at night without pain but it is expensive at £50 however it is worth every penny because I don't get the huge amount of pain I had been suffering from each night which made it impossible to sleep. The pain comes in huge stabs which last for a relatively short amount of time but made me catch my breath they were so strong.

The Consultant Dermatologist I saw privately said I might need an operation where they scrap the cartilage off which sounds horrendous to me. Its because there is an ulcerated section which just doesn't heal. She suggested I keep the NHS appointment I have for the 22 October to see how it goes.

BTW It was misdiagnosed as a skin cancer by 2 separate NHS doctors.

I think I do have a mild form of EDS and believe this might be something to do with this problem.

Pam

 

[gbells]

Pam,

Do you have periostitis over your scalp and feet also? Does it hurt to walk? Are hats tight?

 

[Timaca]

Also I have invested in a pillow with a hole which I bought online here in the UK. This is brilliant and allows me to sleep at night without pain but it is expensive at £50 however it is worth every penny because I don't get the huge amount of pain I had been suffering from each night which made it impossible to sleep.

I bought a travel pillow (for the neck) but I sleep on it with my ear in the opening where the neck goes. I use a pillow case over the travel pillow. The pillow cost me about $9.00 at a discount store. You might consider something like that when / if you have to buy another pillow!

It's nice to know I'm not the only one with this problem! But I wish none of us had it!

Best,

 

[Wishful]

Its because there is an ulcerated section which just doesn't heal.

I occasionally get what may be a related condition. I develop abscesses in the ridge of skin alongside my nails (fingers and toes). That tissue is thick and transparent, so my guess is that it gets an inadequate supply of blood and lymph, which allows bacteria to grow. Maybe some of the tissue dies from lack of blood and becomes necrotic. If that tissue gets its blood supply from microcapillaries, maybe ME's problem with RBC deformability is involved. That might apply to ear cartilage too. "cartilage's intrinsically poor blood supply predisposes transcartilaginous piercings to potentially devastating infections."

Also, blood flow through capillaries is controlled by precapillary sphincters, which are smooth muscles, and as we are well aware, ME affects muscle function.

Hmmm, I wonder if treatments that increase blood flow in capillaries would work. Heat is suggested for treating abscesses, but that also boosts bacterial growth, so maybe not so good. I'll have to check for other methods. I can't remember if the frequency of my abscesses has increased since developing ME.

 

[bertiedog]

@Wishful Very interesting, I had also read about the poor blood flow in that area being a problem with the condition I have. It was very inflamed and painful this morning on waking but I wasn't really aware that I had slept any differently last night. I had a couple of painful stabs on moving my position but it wasn't much worse than normal.

I do find the Fucibet cream which contains an antibiotic and steroid is more helpful at setting down the pain once I am up than a steroid cream on its own which really didn't seem to do much at all.

Pam

 

[Wishful]

Sleeping with pressure on the ear would worsen blood flow, hampering the immune system's ability to fight an infection. Antibiotics, oral or dermal, would help fight the infection, but if there's a physical flaw (damage, or an area that resists growing new capillaries), the infection will probably reoccur. If it reoccurred frequently, surgery might be worthwhile, since it's possible for the infection to grow out of control, or develop resistance to antibiotics.

 

[Wishful]

I just posted about painful ear cartilage in a new thread: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/ear-cartilage-pain-and-proline.85790/ As I clicked 'save', I noticed this thread listed. I think @Oswestry and some other respondents here have different causes (inflammation), but maybe reducing proline will be useful for someone.