U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

Ear pain

MedGen UID:
8521
•Concept ID:
C0013456
•
Sign or Symptom
Synonyms: Earache; Earaches; Otalgia; Otalgias
SNOMED CT: Pain of ear (301354004); Ear ache (301354004); Earache (301354004); Otalgia (301354004)
 
HPO: HP:0030766

Definition

Pain in the ear can be a consequence of otologic disease (primary or otogenic otalgia), or can arise from pathologic processes and structures other than the ear (secondary or referred otalgia). [from HPO]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVEar pain

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Evaluation and Management of Otalgia.
Hwa TP, Brant JA
Med Clin North Am 2021 Sep;105(5):813-826. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2021.05.004. PMID: 34391535
Ibuprofen in the treatment of children's inflammatory pain: a clinical and pharmacological overview.
Barbagallo M, Sacerdote P
Minerva Pediatr 2019 Feb;71(1):82-99. doi: 10.23736/S0026-4946.18.05453-1. PMID: 30574736
Panel 7: Otitis Media: Treatment and Complications.
Schilder AG, Marom T, Bhutta MF, Casselbrant ML, Coates H, Gisselsson-Solén M, Hall AJ, Marchisio P, Ruohola A, Venekamp RP, Mandel EM
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2017 Apr;156(4_suppl):S88-S105. doi: 10.1177/0194599816633697. PMID: 28372534

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Intratympanic corticosteroids for sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
Plontke SK, Meisner C, Agrawal S, Cayé-Thomasen P, Galbraith K, Mikulec AA, Parnes L, Premakumar Y, Reiber J, Schilder AG, Liebau A
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2022 Jul 22;7(7):CD008080. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008080.pub2. PMID: 35867413Free PMC Article
Topical antibiotics for chronic suppurative otitis media.
Brennan-Jones CG, Head K, Chong LY, Burton MJ, Schilder AG, Bhutta MF
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2020 Jan 2;1(1):CD013051. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013051.pub2. PMID: 31896168Free PMC Article
Otitis Media: Rapid Evidence Review.
Gaddey HL, Wright MT, Nelson TN
Am Fam Physician 2019 Sep 15;100(6):350-356. PMID: 31524361
Panel 7: Otitis Media: Treatment and Complications.
Schilder AG, Marom T, Bhutta MF, Casselbrant ML, Coates H, Gisselsson-Solén M, Hall AJ, Marchisio P, Ruohola A, Venekamp RP, Mandel EM
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2017 Apr;156(4_suppl):S88-S105. doi: 10.1177/0194599816633697. PMID: 28372534
Otitis media.
Schilder AG, Chonmaitree T, Cripps AW, Rosenfeld RM, Casselbrant ML, Haggard MP, Venekamp RP
Nat Rev Dis Primers 2016 Sep 8;2(1):16063. doi: 10.1038/nrdp.2016.63. PMID: 27604644Free PMC Article

Diagnosis

Intratympanic corticosteroids for sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
Plontke SK, Meisner C, Agrawal S, Cayé-Thomasen P, Galbraith K, Mikulec AA, Parnes L, Premakumar Y, Reiber J, Schilder AG, Liebau A
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2022 Jul 22;7(7):CD008080. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008080.pub2. PMID: 35867413Free PMC Article
Cranial Neuralgias.
Robertson C
Continuum (Minneap Minn) 2021 Jun 1;27(3):665-685. doi: 10.1212/CON.0000000000000962. PMID: 34048398
Otitis Media: Rapid Evidence Review.
Gaddey HL, Wright MT, Nelson TN
Am Fam Physician 2019 Sep 15;100(6):350-356. PMID: 31524361
Panel 7: Otitis Media: Treatment and Complications.
Schilder AG, Marom T, Bhutta MF, Casselbrant ML, Coates H, Gisselsson-Solén M, Hall AJ, Marchisio P, Ruohola A, Venekamp RP, Mandel EM
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2017 Apr;156(4_suppl):S88-S105. doi: 10.1177/0194599816633697. PMID: 28372534
Otitis media.
Schilder AG, Chonmaitree T, Cripps AW, Rosenfeld RM, Casselbrant ML, Haggard MP, Venekamp RP
Nat Rev Dis Primers 2016 Sep 8;2(1):16063. doi: 10.1038/nrdp.2016.63. PMID: 27604644Free PMC Article

Therapy

Intratympanic corticosteroids for sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
Plontke SK, Meisner C, Agrawal S, Cayé-Thomasen P, Galbraith K, Mikulec AA, Parnes L, Premakumar Y, Reiber J, Schilder AG, Liebau A
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2022 Jul 22;7(7):CD008080. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008080.pub2. PMID: 35867413Free PMC Article
Otitis Media: Rapid Evidence Review.
Gaddey HL, Wright MT, Nelson TN
Am Fam Physician 2019 Sep 15;100(6):350-356. PMID: 31524361
Ibuprofen in the treatment of children's inflammatory pain: a clinical and pharmacological overview.
Barbagallo M, Sacerdote P
Minerva Pediatr 2019 Feb;71(1):82-99. doi: 10.23736/S0026-4946.18.05453-1. PMID: 30574736
Panel 7: Otitis Media: Treatment and Complications.
Schilder AG, Marom T, Bhutta MF, Casselbrant ML, Coates H, Gisselsson-Solén M, Hall AJ, Marchisio P, Ruohola A, Venekamp RP, Mandel EM
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2017 Apr;156(4_suppl):S88-S105. doi: 10.1177/0194599816633697. PMID: 28372534
Otitis media.
Schilder AG, Chonmaitree T, Cripps AW, Rosenfeld RM, Casselbrant ML, Haggard MP, Venekamp RP
Nat Rev Dis Primers 2016 Sep 8;2(1):16063. doi: 10.1038/nrdp.2016.63. PMID: 27604644Free PMC Article

Prognosis

Safety of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS): a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kim AY, Marduy A, de Melo PS, Gianlorenco AC, Kim CK, Choi H, Song JJ, Fregni F
Sci Rep 2022 Dec 21;12(1):22055. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-25864-1. PMID: 36543841Free PMC Article
Are Throat Pain and Otalgia Predictive of Perineural Invasion in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx?
Fahmy MD, Clegg D, Belcastro A, Smith BD, Eric Heidel R, Carlson ER, Hechler B
J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2022 Feb;80(2):363-371. Epub 2021 Sep 6 doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2021.08.265. PMID: 34606767
Sinister sinusitis.
Brighouse JR, Shepherd K, Santos R, Shivamurthy V
Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed 2022 Apr;107(2):113-115. Epub 2020 Sep 15 doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2020-319887. PMID: 32933929
Efficacy of topical isoconazole nitrate in the treatment of otomycosis.
Gülüstan F, Abakay MA, Demir E
Am J Otolaryngol 2021 Jul-Aug;42(4):102961. Epub 2021 Feb 13 doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2021.102961. PMID: 33621764
Middle ear pain and trauma during air travel.
Basu A
BMJ Clin Evid 2007 Sep 1;2007 PMID: 19450303Free PMC Article

Clinical prediction guides

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Threatened Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy Flaps: An Adjunct for Flap Salvage.
Nasr HY, Rifkin WJ, Muller JN, Chiu ES
Ann Plast Surg 2023 May 1;90(5S Suppl 2):S125-S129. Epub 2023 Mar 8 doi: 10.1097/SAP.0000000000003441. PMID: 36913565
Safety of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS): a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kim AY, Marduy A, de Melo PS, Gianlorenco AC, Kim CK, Choi H, Song JJ, Fregni F
Sci Rep 2022 Dec 21;12(1):22055. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-25864-1. PMID: 36543841Free PMC Article
Influence of Age and Sex on Clinical and Therapeutic Features of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux.
Lechien JR, Carroll TL, Bobin F, Muls V, Rodriguez A, Horoi M, Dequanter D, Crevier-Buchman L, Hans S, Saussez S
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2022 Mar;166(3):468-476. Epub 2021 Jun 22 doi: 10.1177/01945998211020284. PMID: 34154447
Otitis Media: Rapid Evidence Review.
Gaddey HL, Wright MT, Nelson TN
Am Fam Physician 2019 Sep 15;100(6):350-356. PMID: 31524361
Middle ear pain and trauma during air travel.
Basu A
BMJ Clin Evid 2007 Sep 1;2007 PMID: 19450303Free PMC Article

Recent systematic reviews

Autoinflation for otitis media with effusion (OME) in children.
Webster KE, Mulvaney CA, Galbraith K, Rana M, Marom T, Daniel M, Venekamp RP, Schilder AG, MacKeith S
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2023 Sep 26;9(9):CD015253. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD015253.pub2. PMID: 37750500Free PMC Article
Safety of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS): a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kim AY, Marduy A, de Melo PS, Gianlorenco AC, Kim CK, Choi H, Song JJ, Fregni F
Sci Rep 2022 Dec 21;12(1):22055. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-25864-1. PMID: 36543841Free PMC Article
Intratympanic corticosteroids for sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
Plontke SK, Meisner C, Agrawal S, Cayé-Thomasen P, Galbraith K, Mikulec AA, Parnes L, Premakumar Y, Reiber J, Schilder AG, Liebau A
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2022 Jul 22;7(7):CD008080. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008080.pub2. PMID: 35867413Free PMC Article
Topical antibiotics for chronic suppurative otitis media.
Brennan-Jones CG, Head K, Chong LY, Burton MJ, Schilder AG, Bhutta MF
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2020 Jan 2;1(1):CD013051. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013051.pub2. PMID: 31896168Free PMC Article
Middle-ear pain and trauma during air travel.
Wright T
BMJ Clin Evid 2015 Jan 19;2015 PMID: 25599243Free PMC Article

Supplemental Content

Table of contents

    Clinical resources

    Practice guidelines

    • PubMed
      See practice and clinical guidelines in PubMed. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.
    • Bookshelf
      See practice and clinical guidelines in NCBI Bookshelf. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.

    Consumer resources

    Reviews

    Related information

    • MeSH
      Related Medical Subject Headings
    • PMC Articles
      Related information in PubMed Central Links
    • PubMed
      Related literature resources in PubMed

    Recent activity

    Clear Turn Off Turn On

    Your browsing activity is empty.

    Activity recording is turned off.

    Turn recording back on

    See more...