Athleticians frequently experience various issues that impede their workouts, such as ear pain. Luckily, there are multiple solutions that may assist them.
Ear pain can result from any number of factors. Some causes can be more serious than others, like a ruptured eardrum. It often occurs due to sudden changes in air pressure or loud sounds; severe head trauma; or objects entering through small openings in the ears.
Loud Music
Loud music can cause pressure in the ears, potentially even rupture your eardrum if not played at a safe volume level. While this type of injury is rare among runners, it does exist.
The human ear has numerous blood vessels which respond quickly and accurately to changes in pressure, yet have a limit as to how loudly pressure fluctuations may become painful.
Runners often listen to loud music while running, using it as motivation to push harder during their workouts and sometimes amp up the volume until their ears hurt.
If you leave an event like a party, Zumba class, or concert with ringing in your ears and muffled hearing, this could be a telltale sign that the noise was too loud. When this occurs, pain fibers in your ear respond by restricting blood vessels causing discomfort similar to being on sandpaper or acid burn.
Jaw Tension
Clenching or tension of the jaw can result in clicking or popping sounds in the ears, headaches and achy facial muscles. The discomfort ranges from tender to throbbing; usually worse when chewing, swallowing or yawning.
Anxiety can also play a significant role in jaw tension. Anxious body states are associated with hyperarousal (fight or flight), leading to unhelpful tension in certain muscle groups – including that in the jaw.
Tight jaws may also contribute to blocked eardrums. Ear pain caused by blocked eardrums is usually the result of pressure build-up in small cavities such as the Eustachian tubes that connect middle and back of throat; or from colds, allergies, or sinus infections that increase pressure in ears. Self-care techniques like jaw exercises, stress management programs and mouth guards to stop unconscious teeth grinding may help alleviate such pain in this instance.
Cold Weather
Cold weather can cause your blood vessels to constrict, placing pressure on your ears. For runners this can be extremely painful. To protect themselves against this discomfort, wear a hat or headband during workouts involving temperatures below 15C; anything placed directly into ears while running/training could make matters worse.
Rupturing of an eardrum is another common source of ear pain while running, often caused by loud sounds, changes in pressure or infection – it is advised to seek medical advice as this condition could become dangerous if left untreated.
Acid Reflux Disorder, more commonly known as GERD, can also cause ear discomfort while running. Triggered by certain foods eaten before running sessions and even leading to permanent hearing loss in some instances, GERD should be eaten light with non-acidic foods before working out for maximum benefit.
Acid Reflux
GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, can cause significant discomfort in both throat and ears. Acid from your stomach rises into the tube that connects your throat with your abdomen called an esophagus, producing heartburn; or reaching back into the back of the throat and entering lungs via aspiration (causing hoarse voice, dry cough or even strep throat symptoms); in rare instances it can rupture an eardrum and produce severe earaches while exercising.
Sleeping enough hours each night, elevating the head on the bed and avoiding acidic foods can all help alleviate symptoms of GERD, with over-the-counter antacids being an additional way of alleviating discomfort. For patients suffering from this disorder it is also advised to speak to their physician regarding increasing the dosage of their proton pump inhibitor; otherwise a consultation with an ear, nose and throat specialist would likely be beneficial as some underlying issues could require treatment immediately.
