Hey, i just turned 17 and have had this problem for about a year and a half now. I didn't really notice it until I really started to look at myself in the mirror (im really vain), starting in march of this year. All I know is that this problem has caused a lot of trouble for me.
My episodes last for up to two hours (in fact, I just had a two hour flare up of my left ear). Generally speaking, my left ear turns red more often than the right one, but sometimes both will turn red simultaneously.
I can definately identify triggers: heat, exercise, anticoagulants (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.), niacin, stress, and the consumption of certain foods. I play the trumpet in a pretty high register, and my parents would naturally take pictures of me during concerts. I looked at the pictures recently, and almost all of them show the dreaded red ears. They are flushed to the point where it looks like someone dropped red paint on them, as I often put it. Still, looking at earlier photos of myself in sixth and seventh grade playing the trumpet, my ears perfectly matched my skin color. I also achieved a deep tan when i was younger without worrying about any red ears.
Symptoms include headaches, irritability, inability to concentrate, and sometimes I move in all jittery motions if its really bad. That only happens if i hit them, though. I work hard in school and the summer months have been so miserable this year, as the red ears seem to make me even more hot. I went to a dermatologist and he said that it was my way of expelling heat. If your body is trying to release heat through the ears, then why would you feel hotter? I don't get it.
Im a good-looking guy and get a bit of attention from girls in my school, but when they realize my ear problem, they are so turned off...it's a bit of a shame, i guess. I think that the side-effects of irritability and headaches are worse, though. Since I have really long hair, I can grow it even more to cover my ears, but that won't change the fact that my side-effects still exist.
I soon discovered the possibility that I could have a rare disease called "Erythromelalgia," where various parts of the body may turn red, swell, and become excruciatingly painful. I didn't feel so much pain in my ears when they became red, but I kept it as a possibility. The Erythromelalgia site listed aspirin as a cure to the flare-ups, so I tried it. Still, aspirin seemed to exacerbate my problems. (Someone seemed to mention above that his ear was purple and hurt...erythromelalgia can make the skin turn purple.) There are so many diseases that can cause flushing, such as Rosacea and just blushing. My mom's face turns all red all the time, so perhaps this is a manifestation of the same genetic trait. I soon contemplated the possibility of Rosacea of the ears, getting all worked up about treating it in time to counteract the spread of the disease. Rosacea can also increase the size of the nose, so I really freaked out when I learned about that one. I had myself convinced that I had permanent redness for a while. Then it went away and I felt really stupid...
I don't think I have rosacea, but its still a possibility. Im going to the same dermatologist to get it checked out soon. I don't put water on my ears, and sleeping on my side and chilling out have helped me immensely. The erythromelalgia site said that putting water on the ears would cause more flushing in the long run, so I wouldn't want to end up realizing that I had it all along. For some reason, keeping the ears dry all day has helped.
For the record, I have CAPD, another neurological condition that affects my ability to "find words," and could not hear until the age of seven, when tubes were put in my ears. Also, I don't know if this affected it at all, but my mom used to claw her fingernail into my ears to get rid of dry wax (i know, its disgusting). Maybe this ruptured some blood vessels in my ear and started the whole thing.
I have just started to try the tongue thing, and maybe it was just a coincidence that it worked. Still, I have faith in it, so I'll keep trying it.
I don't know if this thing is spreading, and hope that wouldn't be the case. I'm an extreme perfectionist and always put myself down, so maybe I'm just noticing this more than everyone else is, but it still has to stop. I already feel so much better about myself knowing that there are so many other people who share problems similar to mine, and now that im not so embarrassed to share it with an internet community. I do feel that we can't just accept that it could be worse, a problem is still a problem. It has to be treated. I think it is kind of strange that i have developed this in the middle of my teenage years and never had problems with it previously. Apparently, my face turns a bit red when playing hard on my instrument, but I think thats cool because it shows im working hard. As long as it doesnt turn as red as my ears, i dont care.
Oh, and my doctor is all like, "your friends wont care" and "youre making a bigger deal of it than it actually is," so i just blew him off (rejected!) and changed doctors. Maybe this one will give me more insight. Either way, the doctors will say that I am perfectly healthy, but id rather say to them, "NO IM NOT!" Im a bit worried right now because some of my skin has been peeling around my ears, which is kind of bothering me. This is definately related. Other things that could be related are my eyes, which are often bloodshot, no matter how much visine i use (since im generally pretty chill, people think im blazed all the time because of it). This led me to think that i had ocular rosacea and the normal rosacea on the ears, which had me freaked out in no time. I can't identify what i really have, so i think i will just leave this like this.
Thanks everyone for contributing, together we can possibly make something work. We may be a minority, but we can find ways to cope with this nasty.
If I find any more info on red ears, I'll be sure to send it in.
"Afro Jones"
Comment
http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/diseasemanagement/endocrinology/flushing/flushing.htm you all should check this site out..it describes in detail all the possible causes and why they happen.
Parent comment
Hey, i just turned 17 and have had this problem for about a year and a half now. I didn't really notice it until I really started to look at myself in the mirror (im really vain), starting in march of this year. All I know is that this problem has caused a lot of trouble for me. My episodes last for up to two hours (in fact, I just had a two hour flare up of my left ear). Generally speaking, my left ear turns red more often than the right one, but sometimes both will turn red simultaneously. I can definately identify triggers: heat, exercise, anticoagulants (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.), niacin, stress, and the consumption of certain foods. I play the trumpet in a pretty high register, and my parents would naturally take pictures of me during concerts. I looked at the pictures recently, and almost all of them show the dreaded red ears. They are flushed to the point where it looks like someone dropped red paint on them, as I often put it. Still, looking at earlier photos of myself in sixth and seventh grade playing the trumpet, my ears perfectly matched my skin color. I also achieved a deep tan when i was younger without worrying about any red ears. Symptoms include headaches, irritability, inability to concentrate, and sometimes I move in all jittery motions if its really bad. That only happens if i hit them, though. I work hard in school and the summer months have been so miserable this year, as the red ears seem to make me even more hot. I went to a dermatologist and he said that it was my way of expelling heat. If your body is trying to release heat through the ears, then why would you feel hotter? I don't get it. Im a good-looking guy and get a bit of attention from girls in my school, but when they realize my ear problem, they are so turned off...it's a bit of a shame, i guess. I think that the side-effects of irritability and headaches are worse, though. Since I have really long hair, I can grow it even more to cover my ears, but that won't change the fact that my side-effects still exist. I soon discovered the possibility that I could have a rare disease called "Erythromelalgia," where various parts of the body may turn red, swell, and become excruciatingly painful. I didn't feel so much pain in my ears when they became red, but I kept it as a possibility. The Erythromelalgia site listed aspirin as a cure to the flare-ups, so I tried it. Still, aspirin seemed to exacerbate my problems. (Someone seemed to mention above that his ear was purple and hurt...erythromelalgia can make the skin turn purple.) There are so many diseases that can cause flushing, such as Rosacea and just blushing. My mom's face turns all red all the time, so perhaps this is a manifestation of the same genetic trait. I soon contemplated the possibility of Rosacea of the ears, getting all worked up about treating it in time to counteract the spread of the disease. Rosacea can also increase the size of the nose, so I really freaked out when I learned about that one. I had myself convinced that I had permanent redness for a while. Then it went away and I felt really stupid... I don't think I have rosacea, but its still a possibility. Im going to the same dermatologist to get it checked out soon. I don't put water on my ears, and sleeping on my side and chilling out have helped me immensely. The erythromelalgia site said that putting water on the ears would cause more flushing in the long run, so I wouldn't want to end up realizing that I had it all along. For some reason, keeping the ears dry all day has helped. For the record, I have CAPD, another neurological condition that affects my ability to "find words," and could not hear until the age of seven, when tubes were put in my ears. Also, I don't know if this affected it at all, but my mom used to claw her fingernail into my ears to get rid of dry wax (i know, its disgusting). Maybe this ruptured some blood vessels in my ear and started the whole thing. I have just started to try the tongue thing, and maybe it was just a coincidence that it worked. Still, I have faith in it, so I'll keep trying it. I don't know if this thing is spreading, and hope that wouldn't be the case. I'm an extreme perfectionist and always put myself down, so maybe I'm just noticing this more than everyone else is, but it still has to stop. I already feel so much better about myself knowing that there are so many other people who share problems similar to mine, and now that im not so embarrassed to share it with an internet community. I do feel that we can't just accept that it could be worse, a problem is still a problem. It has to be treated. I think it is kind of strange that i have developed this in the middle of my teenage years and never had problems with it previously. Apparently, my face turns a bit red when playing hard on my instrument, but I think thats cool because it shows im working hard. As long as it doesnt turn as red as my ears, i dont care. Oh, and my doctor is all like, "your friends wont care" and "youre making a bigger deal of it than it actually is," so i just blew him off (rejected!) and changed doctors. Maybe this one will give me more insight. Either way, the doctors will say that I am perfectly healthy, but id rather say to them, "NO IM NOT!" Im a bit worried right now because some of my skin has been peeling around my ears, which is kind of bothering me. This is definately related. Other things that could be related are my eyes, which are often bloodshot, no matter how much visine i use (since im generally pretty chill, people think im blazed all the time because of it). This led me to think that i had ocular rosacea and the normal rosacea on the ears, which had me freaked out in no time. I can't identify what i really have, so i think i will just leave this like this. Thanks everyone for contributing, together we can possibly make something work. We may be a minority, but we can find ways to cope with this nasty. If I find any more info on red ears, I'll be sure to send it in. "Afro Jones"