Ear Ache

[Sky]

A few weeks ago I came down with my first ever ear infection. Now it is flaring up off and on when I ride. Anyone else ever have that happen?

[DrBadger]

How long was your antibiotic treatment for the ear infection? I have found that some Drs will only perscribe a 7 day course of antibiotics instead of a full 10 and then it is pretty easy to have an ear infection linger and come back. Also, is it pain in your ears when you ride or just a kind of plugged feeling? That plugged feeling can hang around a while after an ear infection, but if it is actually pain I would call your Dr again. You might not have gotten rid of the infection entirely the first time around.

Sorry... ear infections are the worst! Hope you are feeling better soon.

[Sky]

Thanks. My doctor perscribed a z-pack which was four days I think it was. Then I was still having pain mostly at night and kept playing phone tag with the office and they ended up perscribing prednisone. I haven't taken it though. The pharmacy clerk kind of scared me away from it with talk of jitters and maybe not being able to sleep at night. Anyway I mostly started feeling better, but sometimes when I ride, the wind makes it start aching and once in a while it wakes me up in the night with pain. It doesn't feel plugged up, just pain and sometimes pain shooting down to my jaw, teeth, or neck. I never knew ear infections hurt like that. I thought at first that I had a tooth ache and went to the dentist. I'll call again or take the prednisone if it continues.

[Dianyla]

Agreeing with previous posters that the infection may not be fully resolved. You have to get that resolved first and foremost.

I'll call again or take the prednisone if it continues.

If you do decide to take the prednisone, be advised that you can't just pop an occasional pill as you feel pain. Steroid medications need to be ramped up, continued steadily, and then gradually tapered. Otherwise you'll wreak a lot of havoc.

[Tuckervill]

The pain with the wind and the pain down in your jaw reminds me of the problems I have with my TMJ (temporomandibular joint-which is the jaw joint).

I have found that wind causes me to tense in a certain way which I presume compresses the nerve which causes the pain. I tense my jaw that way when I'm stressed as well. It can make my whole ear and/or the whole side of my face and neck feel inflamed when it is at its worst. It even hurts when my hair moves. It appears most frequently right before my cycle.

Of course, since you DID have an ear infection, maybe the wind is actually hurting your eardrum, and you are tensing to protect that ear and causing the jaw pain. It seems like an ear infection that had been treated wouldn't hurt that much, all the way down into the jaw and neck, but it can.

Karen