Why does tonsillitis cause ear pain?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted with Specialist Doctor II Nguyen Van Thai - Ear, Nose Throat Doctor - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.
Ear pain is a common symptom in many people with tonsillitis. When tonsillitis causes ear pain, it shows that the patient's tonsillitis is already at a severe level, if not treated, the disease can cause many serious complications that threaten the patient's health.

1. Why does tonsillitis cause ear pain?

The tonsils are the largest lymphoid tissue in the body, consisting of two parts of glandular tissue located on either side of the pharynx. The tonsils are visible when the mouth is open. The main function of the tonsils is to secrete lymphocytes and antibodies, which help fight the attack of harmful agents that invade the body. Despite being a small organ, the tonsils play a very important role in maintaining the immune system. Tonsillitis is a condition in which the tonsils are infected, red, swollen, and inflamed due to the attack of viruses and bacteria. Tonsillitis can be unilateral or bilateral. This is a very common disease, which can occur at any age, but mainly affects children from kindergarten to near adulthood. Common symptoms of tonsillitis are sore throat, pain when swallowing, hot throat, pain, dryness, fever, fatigue, cough, headache, loss of appetite.
Ear pain is also a common symptom in many people with tonsillitis. Tonsillitis that causes ear pain is common when tonsillitis persists without treatment or with improper treatment. The bacteria from the tonsils will spread to other parts, especially those near the tonsils such as the middle ear, causing otitis media, in addition to ear pain, the patient will experience many other uncomfortable symptoms. If left untreated, the disease will continue to progress, possibly causing acute mastoiditis, perforation of the eardrum, fibrosis of the eardrum, hearing loss, facial palsy, etc. Even, the patient has may experience life-threatening complications such as meningitis, brain abscess, epidural abscess. Complications of tonsillitis in other organs can be met with arthritis, heart inflammation, sepsis,...

2. What to do when tonsillitis causes ear pain?

When tonsillitis causes ear pain, the disease is already at a severe level, the patient needs to quickly go to medical facilities for examination and treatment. Patients absolutely must not buy drugs for treatment, because improper treatment, not thoroughly will make the disease progress, causing the risk of complications. The treatment of tonsillitis when complications appear will be very difficult, complicated, long treatment time, expensive for the patient.
The doctor will diagnose tonsillitis based on clinical symptoms and the results of some tests such as: blood count test, Viggo test, Le Mec test, ASLO ratio in blood, ...
In general, tonsillitis is an easy disease to detect and treat. The principle of treatment of tonsillitis when it is determined that there is an infection is to use antibiotics in combination with drugs to treat symptoms such as pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, and cough suppressants. Commonly used drugs are:
● Antibiotics: Some commonly used antibiotics such as: Cefaclor, Cefuroxim, Cefpodoxim,... If you are allergic to beta-lactam antibiotics, you can replace them with Macrolide antibiotics. such as Erythromycin, Clarithromycin, Azithromycin,... If the patient responds to treatment with initial antibiotics, continue treatment for 7-10 days. If there is no response, then treatment according to the antibiotic chart.
● Antipyretic and analgesic drugs: Paracetamol, Ibuprofen
Anti-inflammatory drugs: Prednisolone, Methylprednisolone
Drugs to reduce congestion and edema: Alphachymotrypsin
● Topical drugs: gargle with physiological saline 0.9% or with a solution of sodium bicarbonate, sodium borate,...in warm water. Drop your nose with a mild antiseptic.
Using the correct dose as directed by the doctor is extremely important in treatment. Patients may see a decrease in symptoms after a few days of taking the drug, but the medication must be continued until the course is over, which is especially important with antibiotics.
In cases like chronic tonsillitis that flares up many times a year, the tonsils grow too big, causing difficulty swallowing, snoring, slurred speech, and developmental delays in children; tonsillitis occurs with complications such as rheumatism, rheumatic heart disease, glomerulonephritis, ... the doctor may consider tonsillectomy for the patient.
During treatment, the patient needs to rest, have a light meal, and drink plenty of water. Enhance nutrition, supplement zinc, protein, vitamins A, C, E, D through food and general tonics to help strengthen the body's resistance. Tonsillitis causes ear pain and the symptoms of tonsillitis will disappear when the disease is treated properly and thoroughly.
To limit the risk of tonsillitis, patients should avoid contact with people who are suffering from respiratory diseases, keep warm when the weather changes, and treat thoroughly if they have other nasopharyngeal diseases such as VA. , sinusitis, rhinitis, stomatitis.... Keep the living environment clean, increase sports practice, and eat a nutritious diet to improve resistance and reduce the risk of disease.

Vinmec International General Hospital examines and treats common nasopharyngeal diseases, head and neck tumors, congenital malformations of the ear, nose and throat area with the most optimal internal and surgical methods for the disease. individuals, both children and adults. Coming to Vinmec International General Hospital, patients will receive a direct, dedicated and professional examination from a team of qualified and experienced medical staff.
BSCK II Nguyen Van Thai was formerly a Doctor of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at the Department of Otolaryngology - Hue Central Hospital with more than 17 years of treatment experience, especially in the field of Head and Neck Surgery. Currently, he is an Otolaryngologist at the Inter-Specialist Clinic of the Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine, Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.
To register for examination and treatment at Vinmec International General Hospital, you can contact Vinmec Health System nationwide, or register online HERE.
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