From andy23376: For the past month I’ve been dealing with some pretty bad pain in my right ear. I have been to urgent care and the ER and both times had an ear infection and was on 2 rounds of antibiotics. I just finished antibiotics 3 days ago and the pain is back. But I have also been treating TMJ Pain as I was diagnosed with TMD back and in July and I have been having a hard time chewing certain foods. I started eating only soft foods last Tuesday bc I want to rule out TMJ or any jaw issue bfor I make any decision to go back to the doctor bc I’ve already been twice. Several times I have tried eating harder food again and it just hurts. I just want the pain to stop. It’s really starting to get to me mentally and I’m feeling like it’s never going to go away. It’s getting really hard to deal with it.
Hi, Andy how are you doing,
I’m so sorry to hear about the difficult time you are going through. I am not a medical professional but I did do some research to help you out. Instead of going to the ER maybe you should see an ENT that specializes in ears and can give you further medical attention bout your ear and potential issues relayed to TMJ. Given your history of TMJ visit a dental office to see if any dental issues are related to your ear pain. In the meantime take pain relievers or ask a doctor to write you a prescription, apply a warm compress to your right ear, mainly stick to a healthy diet. Your ear will get better you just need further medical attention.
Gosh, Andy, I’m sorry you’ve been dealing with this, while also hoping of course that things have been a little better since you posted here. It just sucks when it feels like your own body is working against you, that you’re left dealing with issues that incapacitate you greatly but that you can’t control either. I can only imagine how frustrating it’s been for you, especially when it affects something so important as your ability to eat - ugh! It sounds like you’ve had your share of exams and prescriptions too - another thing exhausting on top of it all.
You have been, without a doubt, doing everything you could to help yourself and get proper care. You’ve been diagnosed, you’ve been trying ways to adapt to your condition too, even if it may not bring all the results expected for now. I get that seeing doctors on and off can be frustrating too, especially when it feels like it doesn’t add any real progress either. Dealing with chronic health issues myself, there’s so many times I didn’t even want to go to the doctor again as sometimes it feels like walking into the same circles over and over. This “again” can be too much, even if you know that it’s the right thing to do.
If anything, you have the absolute right to feel frustrated/exhausted/tired. It’s more than understandable to wish for the pain to stop - and not just in an unknown time, but right now. I wish we could bring answers here and ease the pain instantly too, although at best: we are here, you are heard and not alone in this headspace/healing journey.
I hope that you also manage to take time and care of yourself? It’s especially during moments like these, when we feel limited or deal with physical/emotional pain, that we need the most gentle attentions from ourselves. Hopefully you’ll get the answers and medical support you need, and see improvements over time. You deserve so much to just feel at peace and to not have to worry about all of this.
Thank you for sharing here again and for your continuous bravery and trust in sharing things that have been happening in your world. You matter very much, Andy, and you are cared for. Sending a bunch of hugs your way today. 