Otalgia

Otalgia refers to the clinical symptoms of ear pain. It is broadly divided in two categories which are

• primary otalgia (~ 50% ³) - ear pain originating from causes within or near to the ear itself

• secondary otalgia / referred otalgia (~50% ³)- ear pain due to causes remote from the ear

Pathology

Causes

The etiology of otalgia can be broad and variable and depends on if it is primary or secondary.

Primary

• acute otomastoiditis

• acute otitis externa

• external auditory canal cholesteatoma (can be chronic and dull)

• external auditory canal tumors

  • e.g. basal cell carcinoma of external auditory canal

• foreign bodies lodged in ear canal ³

• Ramsay-Hunt syndrome

Secondary

• compression of nerves (7^th and 8^{th 2})

  • can in turn be due to various causes such as aberrent vessels, tumors etc.

• other nerve related causes - nervus intermedius neuralgia

• temporomandibular joint pathology

• laryngeal pathology

• pharyngeal pathology

• tonsillar pathology

  • tonsillar abscesses

  • tonsillitis

  • tonsilloliths

• salivary gland (e.g. parotid gland pathology)

• dental pathology

• Eagle syndrome