What Causes Earaches?

What Is Otitis Externa? What Is Otitis Media?

There are a number of common causes of earches.They include a variety of disorders, diseases and conditions. Here is a quick list of what causes earaches.  

An ear infection is the most common cause of earaches. An earache often occurs when moisture becomes trapped inside the ear. This usually happens in the the outer ear. The resulting earache is often known as "swimmers ear," even though the moisture doesn't always get to the ear during swimming. It could be caused by sweat from vigorous activity.

What is otitis externa? An earache that occurs in the outer ear is called otitis externa. Acute otitis externa can also be caused by a minor injury such as a scrape to the ear canal skin (usually from a cotton-tipped swab or an object like a paper clip). There can be a break in the skin allowing bacteria to get inside the ear and start an infection. Acute otitis externa is just one of the bad things that can happen if you try to remove excess ear wax with a sharp object.

There's another form of earache known as chronic otitis externa. This is a chronic inflammation of the outer ear canal leading to the ear drum. Chronic otitis externa may be caused by a number of problems including bacterial or fungal infections, chronic skin disorders like eczema or seborrhea, allergies, chronic skin irritation from hearing aids, or chronic middle ear disease. Some people get chronic otitis media because they have an obsessive habit of scratching their ears or putting objects inside their outer ears (like fingers or Q-tips). In most patients, more than one of these factors combine to cause an earache.

Swimmers ear is a form of otitis externa ear infection.

What is an otitis media infection? Many parents of infants and toddlers are all too familair with an otitis media infection, which is an infection that causes an earache in the middle ear. Otitis media is usually caused by bacteria, fungus, or some other pollutant or toxin that gets into the middle ear. These can cause parts of the ear to become inflamed and filled with mucus or in some cases, pus.

Here is a list of what else causes earaches.

• Pollutants, toxins and circumstances that are considered risk factors for earaches include
• Allergies
• Germs from other children at schools or daycare centers
• Exposure to a lot of second hand smoke
• In infants, bottle feeding rather than breast feeding.
• Family history of ear infections

Some people who have malformations of the head and neck area seem to be more prone to earaches.

See our section on ear infections for more detailed information on ear infections.