I remember 10 years back, the first time I experienced extreme pain throughout my scapha (outer "cuff") of only my left ear. I have gone for weeks, even months without any pain whatsoever, but then I feel, out of the blue, a slight twinge of pain. I know immediately that this pain is going to grow and worsen over the next few hours, until it reaches an acute, severely painful state of pain which cannot, under any circumstances, be diminished. I cannot hold a phone receiver on or near the scapha, cannot push or pull or twist it (thinking there may be a nerve being pinched and trying to "crack" the pinching back to normal". I have had MRI, panoramic x-rays to rule out severe TMJ, have had an ENT MD put drops in my right nostril for reasons I don't even know. I may go to sleep on my opposite side, and when I awake, the pain is gone. This happened Christmas Eve of 07, and I felt no pain on the 25th, but I felt the twinge again the morning of Christmas, and it started its cyle again. I cannot even bend over for the painful pressure that occurs.

It is only tonite I learned the name of that part of the ear (scapha), and have been googling like mad to try to find out WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT HURTS SOOOOOOOO BAD. All of the MD's I have seen seem to be scratching their heads as I have regularly doing of late.

If someone can shed ANY light on this, PLEASE give me a clue. Thanks.

kelly