What Does It Mean When You Have Sore Throat and Ear Pain?

4. Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is an inflammation of the tonsils, the bell-shaped masses of tissue at the back of your throat. It’s usually caused by a virus though some types of bacteria may also cause your tonsils to swell up.

Since it’s at the back of your throat, tonsillitis can cause severe throat pain. Some people even lose their voices. It can also cause pus to accumulate around one of your tonsils causing ear pain when swallowing.

Other symptoms of tonsillitis include:

• difficulty swallowing
• swollen and tender tonsils
• headache
• loss of appetite
• a white or yellowish coating on your tonsils
• fever and chills
• muffled voice

5. Allergies

Aside from irritating your throat, some types of allergens also cause inflammations in your nasal cavities. This leads to post-nasal drip which, as you already know, helps transport viruses and bacteria from your nose to your throat.

These inflammations also prevent proper drainage of ear fluids to your throat. This leads them to accumulate in your ears thus causing ear pain.

Allergies may also manifest in the following symptoms:

• stuffy or runny nose
• watery eyes
• constant sneezing
• difficulty breathing (in certain cases)

6. Irritants

Irritants like fumes, chemicals, and smoke not only affect your eyes and nose. They can irritate your throat too. When this happens,  your ear fluids won’t properly drain leading to increased pressure and pain in your eardrums.

Some of the telltale signs that you’ve inhaled an irritant are:

• extreme itching
• skin redness
• a burning sensation in the nose and throat
• swelling in the face, especially the eyes

The most common irritants you’ll encounter are:

• sawdust
• paint thinner
• gasoline
• smoke
• cement
• oven cleaner
• industrial bleach

7. Tooth Infection

A tooth infection caused by a dental abscess can be very painful. That pain in your jaw will eventually extend to your ears, especially when swallowing. The abscess can also cause swelling in your lymph nodes leading to a sore throat.

Some of the most common signs of tooth infection are:

• pain when chewing or swallowing
• sensitivity to heat and cold
• fever
• swelling in the face, particularly in the cheek area

Remedies and Treatments

The first step to treating sore throat and ear pain is to figure out what causes it. Until you can get rid of the underlying medical condition, you’ll have to suffer from it a little while longer.

Once you’ve figured out what’s causing the discomfort in your throat and ears, here are some remedies you can try:

Home Remedies

• Get plenty of rest.
• Keep yourself hydrated.
• Use an air humidifier to keep your nasal cavities moist.
• Use a neti pot to flush the mucus out of your nasal passages and unclog them.
• Suck on lozenges or sore throat candies.
• Use a sore throat spray.
• If your ear pain and sore throat are caused by allergies, try taking over-the-counter antihistamine tablets.
• Gargle with saltwater, especially for dental infections.
• Take over-the-counter flu and fever medications.
• Take a steam bath.
• Eat vitamin C-rich foods.
• Take probiotics with strains formulated for ear, nose, and throat health.

Medical Treatments

If your throat and ear pain are due to a more serious medical condition that home remedies can’t get rid of, your doctor may recommend more intensive treatments like:

• nasal or oral corticosteroids
• prescription allergy medications
• sinus surgeries like septoplasty, turbinate reduction, and balloon sinuplasty among others
• tonsillectomy (surgical removal of the tonsils)

When to See a Doctor

For common illnesses like flu, colds, and allergies, the symptoms usually go away on their own. But if the pain in your ears and throat becomes chronic or has become so severe that it affects your day-to-day activities, don’t hesitate to visit your doctor.

After all, home remedies can only do so much. If you don’t want your symptoms to get worse, it’s always a good idea to get help from a qualified medical professional.