Get the Red Out: Red Ear Syndrome
Dear Tucson Audiologists’ Readers,
Read on for an interesting ear problem. As far as we can tell, it’s not related to hearing loss, but it’s interesting just the same. If you’ve ever had this, please let us know!
Red Ear Syndrome (RES) is a condition that was new to us at TAI, but we researched it and found out it is well known to some. There’s even a facebook group you can join called Red Ear Syndrome (RES) Sufferers Unite! (http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=2391316467). Nevertheless, it is weird and there is no single treatment for it. One site[1]describes RES as follows:
“one or both ears become extremely red and hot to the touch, with the appearance of the redness occurring within seconds. In some cases, pain accompanies the redness, with some sufferers reporting that the ears also become tender to the touch.”
What makes the syndrome especially strange is that it is triggered by things we do routinely many times a day, including “chewing food, drinking, coughing, sneezing … turning the neck rapidly in a single direction” or even touching an earlobe. This gives new meaning to the idea of sitting still. Beyond simple head movement, RES is associated with migraine headaches, joint dysfunction, and prolonged periods of stress or anxiety. The cause of RES is unknown, but one study (discussed below) suggests it is related to activation of the trigeminal-autonomic reflex. That reflex is the basis of trigeminal neuralgia as well.
A recent study in children with headaches[2] gives a bit more information about how RES manifests. Statistically, RES was more likely with males and was associated with throbbing headache pain and vomiting. In children with RES, the attacks were on both ears 65% of the time. The attacks lasted less than an hour in many cases, but duration couldn’t or wasn’t determined in many other cases. RES seems to be common in children with migraine: over 23% of children with migraine had RES, compared to less than 4% of children with non-migraine headaches. The authors of that study suggest that “RES is a very useful clinical marker … and should be used by physicians to diagnose migraine,” at least in children.
[2]Cephalalgia. Published online December 1, 2010. Abstract. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/735789?sssdmh=dm1.660484&src=nldne
Submitted for your reading enjoyment from
Your Tucson Audiologists,
Holly Hosford-Dunn PhD FAAA
and
Sharon K Hopkins MA FAAA
i experience res on a regular basis and have done for the last 18 months, I am 42 years of age and have no other health issues, i was so relieved to find that there is actually a name for this and other sufferers. I have no triggers that I know of and have no other symptons and its usually unilateral and very rarely bilateral. it really is just a very very hot feeling of my outer ear associated with extreme redness! crazy!! i am actually quite proud of it and alot of my friends think its funny and weird, doesnt cause me any problems apart from being a little uncomfortable when its occasionally extreme.
I am nicole and my son Isaiah is 4 and was reciently diagnosed with RES he has been months of dr after dr bot able to tell us what is wrong with him he has burning red ears all the time he complanes of ear pain and they turn bright red the only thing we can to to relieve it is put ice packs on it we dont know much about RES so any info is appriciated.
Thank you
Good luck with your son and this problem. We had no idea this was problem occurred in so many people. Please let us know how he does and what, if anything, turns out to be helpful.
I have a 7 year old son who has classic autism. He is nonverbal and was recently diagnosed with Chiari Malformation. They found 2 blockages and performed decompression surgery. I recently have been observing him having the same symptoms as described for Red Ear Syndrome. I would like to know more and if there are specific doctors who do treat this disorder.
This was a new phenomenon to us as well, so we do not have much for you beyond the clinical description. Perhaps others will chime in to address your question. Hope so!
I’m 28 and have had red ear syndrome for about a year and a half. In addition to red ear syndrome I also got palinopsia, visual snow, tinnitus, and halos around lights at this same time. These symptoms have not gone away and are quite bothersome. One theory is that I have “persistent migraine aura without infarction”.
I note some people above saying they don’t get migraines, but migraines can occur without pain, they’re called acephalgic or silent migraines. These may occur at any age, and unlike normal migraines, are more common in men.
I can remember having occasional red ears since I have been in my early 20s. Some of it, I believe, has corrolated with anxiety or stress. I, as Dr. Kossmann, have never had a problem with migraines so there is no corrolation there. I just noticed tonight at the dinner table that my three year old son’s left ear is red. He was watching one of his favorite shows, Max and Ruby. I asked him and he said that he is not hurting anywhere. My wife informed me that if he had migraines, he would definitely be complaining about them because she suffered with them when she was younger.
I’m so glad to hear I’m not the only one who has this problem. I am about to be 25 in a couple of weeks and i’ve had the red ear syndrome since i can remember, I’ll just be sitting watching tv or something and boom my ear gets wicked hot and beat red sometimes my whole face gets red and hot as well but i never really thought anything about it and never mentioned it to my doctor just got curious one day and decided to look it up to see if there was anything posted about it thanks for the info!
Thanks so much for your comment. We, too, are surprised to find that there are people out there with this syndrome that we’d never heard of before our post.
Very interesting. I have had this phenomenon for years (I’m currently 45 years old). Many times it’s unilateral, at other times bilateral. I’ve never had a headache associated with it and have never found a real pattern in terms of triggers. I think I could count the number of true migraine headaches I’ve had in my life on a single hand. But I never had a name for this and find the autonomic connection interesting. Thanks for posting the information!
Thanks for your input. It’s especially interesting that people have this and don’t know it’s name, whereas we know the name but have never seen it!
As an audiologist, I would want a full medical workup. My suggestion would be to get a medical work up if this is seen. Migraine definitely a plausable cause but Interestingly I had a friend (elderly) who had a red ear prior to suffering a heart attack. Same symptoms! Thanks for posting this!