Facial palsy
Facial palsy is a paralysis of the facial nerve. This cranial nerve mainly supplies the muscles of the face, resulting in paralysis of the face and loss of facial expression. Such a facial nerve paresis can have various causes.
It can be congenital, acquired, infectious or occur as part of inflammation. A sudden occurrence without organic cause is also possible. A facial nerve palsy can become noticeable a few days before the onset of the disease by a sudden stabbing pain behind the ear.
The pain usually occurs behind one of the two ears one to three days before the paresis. Pain in the jaw and neck is also typical. Gradually, paralysis symptoms such as drooping corners of the mouth appear.
Such pareses must be treated differently depending on the cause. If the paresis is without organic findings, it usually goes away by itself after some time. The pain usually occurs only at the beginning as a harbinger. Painkillers and cortisone preparations can additionally relieve the pain. In the case of organic causes such as an existing infection or a malignant underlying disease, a causal therapy (e.g. with antibiotics or cytostatics) eliminates the symptoms.
Muscular causes
A quite common cause of pain behind the ears is muscular tension in the neck and throat muscles. Such tensions can sometimes be felt as hardenings. Tilting or turning the head can cause additional pain.
Tension in the jaw muscles can also cause pain behind the ear. The close proximity of the jaw to the ears explains why the pain can be felt there. It can help to massage the muscles and do stretching exercises.
If the pain is very severe, physiotherapy may be necessary. Pain-relieving medications such as ibuprofen or diclofenac can also effectively relieve the pain. For very persistent tensions, there are also active ingredients that relax the muscles.
Such drugs are called muscle relaxants.Nevertheless, it is important to strengthen your muscles through exercises so that the complaints do not recur. Inflammations of the teeth, especially the wisdom teeth, can sometimes spread to behind the ears. So if you have wisdom teeth, it is recommended to consult a dentist. But also the molars can be affected by an inflammation and thus be painful. Here too, pain behind the ears can occur occasionally.
