After tonsillectomy surgery, patients have plenty of unpleasant side effects to deal with. Swelling of the uvula, tongue, and throat are usually the first hurdle adults have to deal with post tonsillectomy. Swallowing and breathing can be difficult. This isn’t too surprising, especially considering all that the throat has been through. Icing and gargling with ice water can help reduce this swelling, as can a steroidal treatment. The next problem after tonsillectomy, usually a day or so post-op, is pain in the throat area. Again, no big surprise. Icing is also a good way to treat, as are narcotic pain killers and/or over the counter pain medications. Topical analgesics like throat sprays can also offer some relief.
What surprises many is a phenomena occurring several days into their tonsillectomy recovery- ear pain.
Post Tonsillectomy Ear Pain – Cause and Treatment
Cause
Literally thousands of patients sharing their experiences on this website have commented that their ears hurt after tonsillectomy. Ear pain after tonsillectomy is probably the second or third most common side effect that patients experience- second only to pain and swelling. But why does this happen? There was no scalpel or hot knife near the ears, so why should they feel like they’re being stabbed? The cause of ear pain post tonsillectomy starts at the throat and radiates to the ears. This is called a referred pain. Take a look at the attached diagram and note the lingual nerve. It’s directly connected to the ears and throat.
Treatments and Home Remedies
This referred pain can be quite severe. Often prescribed pain medications do not seem to relieve the ear pain that many experience after tonsillectomy. In addition to the pain medicines patients are taking, there are two home remedies that usually can provide some relief. The first of which is chewing gum. In light of the unpleasant side effect of have sugary residue in and around the throat, most tonsillectomy patients prefer a sugar -free gum. A mint flavor can also feel cooling. Exactly why chewing gum relieves ear pain is hard to say. Certainly activating the muscles around the ears and jaw may help, but more likely, like yawning, gum chewing releases pressure from the ear area.
The second remedy for ear pain after tonsillectomy is applying a heating pad or warm compress to the affected area. Again, the reason for its effectiveness is not entirely clear but most patients describe a relaxing comfort from applying a wet, warm towel or electric heating pad to the affected area. To reduce inflammation, alternate between warm and cold compresses.
-Greg My short bio
Have you found a trick for taking the edge off of ear pain, especially after tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy? Please share it in the comments section below. Thank you!
Hi Im 23 years old I got my tonsils out & in my right side of my nose a deveated septum repaired on feb 13 this past Monday the doctor told me take a week off work I go back to work in 2 days this Tuesday I’m so nervous I’m in so much pain im having the ear pain & idk how to stop it please help me also my left side of my throat hurts I’m having trouble eating I haven’t been eating also drinking it really hurts please tell me how to help this pain go away yesurday I spent all day throwing up im on oxy but I stopped it bc only helped for the first few days also I’m taking amoxicillin as my antibiotics & it gave me a yeast infection I just want to me better please help
My daughter got her tonsils our a week ago. Starting yesterday afternoon she was getting these horrible earaches. Holding the sides of her head and just crying. I rubbed some Wonder Oil around her ear, behind it abit in it. It helped a lot. Every two hours she woke up with this pain. Couple times I couldn’t give her meds but just used the oil. Really helped.
What kind of oil ? Olive oil ?
Hello lovelies,
So I had my tonsillectomy on the 8th February and I’m currently on day 5 including operation day, I had a few complications with my surgery so was rushed back into hospital on Friday morning as I was severely dehydrated and had post operative bleeding which was so bad I couldn’t catch my breath without choking on blood sorry for the grim image!! I have been forcing myself to eat even when I have no appetite because it’ll do me good over the course of the next few days, as I said in day 5 post op and ear pain I’m honestly crying I only get it at night between 4-9am which is very weird! However I think it’s crazy the hospital don’t prescribe ear drops or something as it’s not my throats that hurts as much as my ears!! Good luck with your recoveries everyone x x x
I had my tonsils out Feb 6th after years of chronic strep. It’s currently Feb 11th, and I still feel so miserable.
Ear pain-
My ears are killing me! But, something that I CAN GUARANTEE YOU RELIEF with is heating up olive oil and garlic in a pan, then dripping it into the ears, and then applying some pressure with a warm, wet washcloth (wrapped in a plastic bag). I’m doing it on one ear while I write, and already it’s like there was never any pain there. It doesn’t last forever, but break from pain with natural, home remedies is always worth it.
Medication-
I was give 60 tablets of Percocet, and it’s only day 6 and I’ve got like 8 left. I’ve been taking 1-2 (usually 2) every 4 hours to keep the pain at bay which are the directions on the bottle. It doesn’t do anything for the ear pain, but it does make it possible for me to swallow. I really will need
Food-
The only solids I’ve eaten since the surgery is scrambled egg whites and banana, but that’s hardly “solid”. I haven’t had any milk or dairy ice-cream because milk has a tendency to get “flemmy” and that’d be an added irritation I didn’t want to deal with. I’ve had soy ice cream, recently had some instant chocolate pudding, Jello, Italian ice, lots of ice water, watered down Gatorade, banana/peanut butter/almond milk/cocoa powder/ice smoothie, tried some chewing gum, chewing it was hard but moving the mouth muscles allegedly releases pressure from the ears, but so far I only really know the warm olive oil works.
Sleep-
The Percocet makes me really sleepy unfortunately it gives me bad dreams, so I wake up from nightmares. Also, I can’t breath through my nose when I’m sleeping so I keep waking up to a bone dry mouth–one of the worst feelings.
Hi, I am experiencing the same you ! I also had my op on the 6th feb! My pain relief is running out and looking at so many different ways to get through this !!!! I have SERVE ear pain so am going to try warm olive oil and hope it works. I can’t sleep either as I can’t breathe when I lay down and today to even swallow water is hurting like hell !!! I really hope i start feeling better very soon because I really don’t know how much more I can take !
My daughter is 4 she can’t chew gum. Help me. The meds don’t work on it she is asking me to squeeze her ears together – day 6!
Hi Melissa- try holding a warm compress on the area. I’ve heard many say that it helps. Hope she feels better soon!