Why does it hurt when I sleep on my ear?
October 5, 2014 4:37 PM Subscribe
If I go to sleep in a way that places weight on my right ear, eventually it starts hurting and wakes me up. Why?
I sleep on my side. If I fall asleep on my right side so that the weight of my head is on my right ear, after a little while I get a very mild pinprick or pinching pain in my ear -- just enough to wake me up. It goes away as soon as I turn over so that there's no longer any weight on my ear. The pinching isn't located inside the ear; looking at this image I would say it's at the "intertragic notch" (which is an intriguing bit of found poetry). It feels as if someone was lightly pressing a fingernail into that area.
I've had this for years, and have never thought to mention it to a doctor since it's not a big deal -- I just sleep on my left. In routine physicals doctors have not found anything wrong with me ear-wise. But it would be nice to be able to sleep comfortably on either side, plus I'm just curious. Any ideas, hive mind? YANMD etc.
I sleep on my side. If I fall asleep on my right side so that the weight of my head is on my right ear, after a little while I get a very mild pinprick or pinching pain in my ear -- just enough to wake me up. It goes away as soon as I turn over so that there's no longer any weight on my ear. The pinching isn't located inside the ear; looking at this image I would say it's at the "intertragic notch" (which is an intriguing bit of found poetry). It feels as if someone was lightly pressing a fingernail into that area.
I've had this for years, and have never thought to mention it to a doctor since it's not a big deal -- I just sleep on my left. In routine physicals doctors have not found anything wrong with me ear-wise. But it would be nice to be able to sleep comfortably on either side, plus I'm just curious. Any ideas, hive mind? YANMD etc.
Best answer: I think it's just the weight of your head cutting off blood to your ear.
posted by anewnadir at 6:25 PM on October 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by anewnadir at 6:25 PM on October 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hah, thanks for asking this. This used to happen to me all the time and I figured it was some weird cartilage thing, but bloodflow makes plenty of sense. To me it feels like OW MY EAR IS FRACTURED. For the record, I also get it if I have headphones that press even ever so slightly on my outer ear for too long.
posted by rhizome at 10:45 PM on October 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 10:45 PM on October 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Best answer: You are probably just pinching the cartilage. Ears and bodies in general are not precisely symmetrical, so that's probably why it's only the right side.
I solved this for myself by using a soft, squishy pillow that I can scrunch up under my neck so that less weight is on the ear. Better for the neck, too.
posted by zennie at 8:21 AM on October 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
I solved this for myself by using a soft, squishy pillow that I can scrunch up under my neck so that less weight is on the ear. Better for the neck, too.
posted by zennie at 8:21 AM on October 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by AlexiaSky at 5:59 PM on October 5, 2014