Effective solutions for managing ear and neck pain

Ear and neck pain could be due to cervical spine conditions. The cervical spine refers to the first seven vertebrae in your spine. When you start having issues with your cervical spine, ear pain and neck pain can often occur.

A common cause of cervical spine problems is wear and tear of your neck as you age. This is called cervical spondylosis and can be caused by issues such as a herniated disc, osteoarthritis or cervical degenerative disease. Cervical degenerative disease is one of the most common neurological disorders that affects the elderly population.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders cause jaw pain. TMJ disorders are usually related to muscle tension. Because the muscles that run to your ear and down your neck are connected to the TMJ, ear and neck pain can be a result.

You’ll likely feel tightness and tension in your jaw or neck if you have dysfunction of your TMJ, and ear pain will usually be present in front of or below the ear. You might also experience jaw clicking, difficulty chewing and/or facial soreness. 

Ear infections can also cause ear and neck pain. Ear pain from infection is common, but neck pain can be another symptom, especially if the infection is severe. Other ear infection symptoms to watch for are hearing loss, discharge from the ear and a fever.

Ear infection causes can be a result of viruses, as well as bacteria. These can affect your inner, middle or outer ear. Otitis media, or a middle ear infection, is extremely common in children, with about 80% of children experiencing a middle ear infection in their lifetime.

If you’ve been experiencing ear and neck pain, it could also be possible that you have a throat infection. Symptoms of a throat infection include a sore throat, specifically while swallowing, as well as swollen tonsils.

Throat infection causes are usually the result of a virus, but they can also result from a bacterial infection, known as strep throat. Two common types of throat infections are tonsillitis and pharyngitis. Pharyngitis affects the whole throat while tonsillitis affects just the tonsils. With tonsillitis, neck pain can be common due to the tonsils being located within the neck.

Another cause of ear or neck pain may be strained neck muscles or muscle tension. Ear pain and neck pain can be a result of prolonged poor posture, carrying something heavy or sleeping in an awkward position.

Muscle tension causes ear pain due to the fact that the neck and ear muscles are connected. You may notice behind the ear, specifically, is where you feel muscle strain. Neck pain may be felt down the side of the neck and into your shoulder.

For short-term TMJ pain relief, you can use over-the-counter medications, such as ibuprofen, to help manage the discomfort. Treating TMJ pain in the long term, though, may involve finding ways to manage stress as well as stretches and exercises to strengthen the TMJ.

Treatment methods may also involve prescription pain or anxiety medications. Types of intraoral appliances that fit over the teeth, such as night guards or splints, may be recommended by your doctor. However, there is not a lot of evidence to suggest that these will help improve pain.

Ear infection treatment depends on what is causing the infection and what part of your ear is infected. Middle ear infection, or otitis media, treatment may involve antibiotics or ear drops.

However, these infections usually clear up on their own, so your doctor may have you wait to see if this is the case. Outer ear infection, also called swimmer’s ear or otitis externa, treatment usually involves using ear drops to clear up the bacteria. 

Similar to ear infections, throat infection treatment depends on what type of infection you have. If you have a bacterial infection, a doctor may prescribe antibiotics.

However, if your throat infection is viral, it will often clear up on its own. For a sore throat, pain relief, such as over-the-counter pain relievers, may help you while your body fights off the virus. Treating tonsillitis may also involve drinking fluids, using throat lozenges and gargling with warm salt water. It’s rare that tonsils will need to be surgically removed. This is only done if severe tonsillitis keeps returning.