Here's an update on my situation. I'm much better now than when I posted here two years ago. Persevere. Try to remain optimistic. The first year was tough. This didn't resolve itself overnight. There were moments of depression, caused by the fear that I wouldn't be able to bear this recurrent "distraction" which would prevent me from functioning in my day to day life. I struggled to sleep, fearful that I would wake in the night to that dreaded sensation of radiating heat. So what changed? Nothing specifically. I took it one day at a time. I practiced some breathing techniques (more effective than it sounds). During the tough moments, I was reassured by the comments on this board and the fact that I wasn't the only one with this weird issue. Gradually, the burning feeling I experienced during an attack started to get slightly less. Then I started to have days without a single attack. My hopes would rise, then I'd have another attack. :) Little by little, the days without attacks started to outnumber the days with them. As the intensity and frequency of the attacks diminished, it became easier to live with and I even began to FORGET about it! Now, two years later, I still get occasional attacks (maybe 4 times a year), but much less intense and they barely bother me. My experience makes me think that this is a stress related issue, which may be related to the nerves that run up the back of the neck and around the ear, which become compressed in moments of tension (conscious or subconscious). I hope this update gives readers affected by this strange affliction some confidence that there is light at the end of the tunnel. If your RES is really getting you down, just take it one day at a time and try to let any anxiety flow through you without tensing up in resistance (I realize this is easier said than done). Persevere.
The following medical paper was published in 2013: https://thejournalofheadacheandpain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1129-2377-14-83.
So research *is* being done. Turns out RES is a real thing. :) I'm a 39-year-old (fella) and RES suddenly started with me about 3 months ago (September 2018) a few weeks before a stressful business trip. Naturally I put it down to stress, but since then I have continued to suffer attacks on a daily basis, usually at the same time every evening between 7 - 10 pm. The attacks usually last between 20 minutes to 1 hour and are generally unilateral (one ear at a time), mostly occuring on my right ear. My ear will turn red and feel very hot. It's not painful, but the heat feels like mild sunburn and is uncomfortable and distracting. Splashing the ear with water - like Moss from the IT Crowd :) - brings momentary relief, but the heat returns and persists until the attack subsides. A poster on this board from several years ago mentioned that s/he thought this issue could be related to upper back and neck trouble. I can confirm that I developed upper back and neck issues about 12 months ago. Upper back pain is also mentioned in the above medical paper. I work a desk job, and attribute my back trouble to poor posture and carrying/lifting/swinging my kids. I believe my back stiffness is the symptom of some mild nerve impingement in the cervical spine/neck region. I had the usual checks done (MRI, resonance, blood work) to rule out any signs of an autoimmune issue (other posters have mentioned relapsing polychondrondritis, but RP attack on the ear cartilage is said to be extremely painful, with the rigidity of the ear typically devastated after just two episodes - I hardly think splashing the ear with water would alleviate RP pain, even momentarily!). The results of these tests showed no evidence of RP or other issues I've seen mentioned (MS, arthritis, etc.).
The above medical paper mentions two types of RES sufferer: younger sufferers who have experienced migraine and older sufferers who have back trouble. Well I can check both boxes, because I used to experience migranes during my 20s, which may have even been cluster headaches based on their severity. However, my RES is *not* accompanied by migraine, which makes me suspect that my RES falls into the upper back category rather than migraine-related.
One other point I should mention: I had braces (brackets) fitted about 12 months ago. This is probably unrelated, but since we're trying to identify patterns here, I thought I'd mention it because I agree with an earlier poster who said this could be related to the nerves around the jaws and cheeks (TMJ, right?). So perhaps the effect of the braces on my jaw alignment (if any) has triggered or aggravated the RES.
Finally, I definitely *do* think stress plays a key part in this as many others have already mentioned. Stress can cause some crazy physical symptoms, and I think the muscle/joint tightness synonymous with stress can trigger my RES. I still belive the root cause in my case is related to the cervical nerve(s) issues as mentioned in the medical paper, but I have started doing some mindfulness exercises (meditative breathing, that kind of thing) and although I was never a big believer in alternative therapies I have to admit that it helps me to tolerate the "distraction" of the attacks. The difficult part is learning to overcome the instinct to "tense up and resist" when an attack begins and instead think, "bring it on! It's not gonna kill me!" I haven't mastered it completely, so there are still days when I tense up and think "oh crap, here we go!" but if I can distract myself by focusing on something else (this can be very challenging during an acute attack) it definitely makes the RES subside more quickly. Coincidentally, I was experiencing my nightly attack when I started reading this board and in the 20 minutes it has taken me to write this post, my attack has subsided and my ear is nice and cool again. Oh thee wonderful cool ears! :)
Anyway, I hope some of this helps other sufferers. Try to remember: 1) You are not alone, 2) It can't kill you (thanks Hottus Earus!). We should really come up with a secret signal to identify ourselves as RES sufferers...I mean other than when our bright red throbbing ears are broadcasting it to the world. :)
Comment
Here's an update on my situation. I'm much better now than when I posted here two years ago. Persevere. Try to remain optimistic. The first year was tough. This didn't resolve itself overnight. There were moments of depression, caused by the fear that I wouldn't be able to bear this recurrent "distraction" which would prevent me from functioning in my day to day life. I struggled to sleep, fearful that I would wake in the night to that dreaded sensation of radiating heat. So what changed? Nothing specifically. I took it one day at a time. I practiced some breathing techniques (more effective than it sounds). During the tough moments, I was reassured by the comments on this board and the fact that I wasn't the only one with this weird issue. Gradually, the burning feeling I experienced during an attack started to get slightly less. Then I started to have days without a single attack. My hopes would rise, then I'd have another attack. :) Little by little, the days without attacks started to outnumber the days with them. As the intensity and frequency of the attacks diminished, it became easier to live with and I even began to FORGET about it! Now, two years later, I still get occasional attacks (maybe 4 times a year), but much less intense and they barely bother me. My experience makes me think that this is a stress related issue, which may be related to the nerves that run up the back of the neck and around the ear, which become compressed in moments of tension (conscious or subconscious). I hope this update gives readers affected by this strange affliction some confidence that there is light at the end of the tunnel. If your RES is really getting you down, just take it one day at a time and try to let any anxiety flow through you without tensing up in resistance (I realize this is easier said than done). Persevere.
Parent comment
The following medical paper was published in 2013: https://thejournalofheadacheandpain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1129-2377-14-83. So research *is* being done. Turns out RES is a real thing. :) I'm a 39-year-old (fella) and RES suddenly started with me about 3 months ago (September 2018) a few weeks before a stressful business trip. Naturally I put it down to stress, but since then I have continued to suffer attacks on a daily basis, usually at the same time every evening between 7 - 10 pm. The attacks usually last between 20 minutes to 1 hour and are generally unilateral (one ear at a time), mostly occuring on my right ear. My ear will turn red and feel very hot. It's not painful, but the heat feels like mild sunburn and is uncomfortable and distracting. Splashing the ear with water - like Moss from the IT Crowd :) - brings momentary relief, but the heat returns and persists until the attack subsides. A poster on this board from several years ago mentioned that s/he thought this issue could be related to upper back and neck trouble. I can confirm that I developed upper back and neck issues about 12 months ago. Upper back pain is also mentioned in the above medical paper. I work a desk job, and attribute my back trouble to poor posture and carrying/lifting/swinging my kids. I believe my back stiffness is the symptom of some mild nerve impingement in the cervical spine/neck region. I had the usual checks done (MRI, resonance, blood work) to rule out any signs of an autoimmune issue (other posters have mentioned relapsing polychondrondritis, but RP attack on the ear cartilage is said to be extremely painful, with the rigidity of the ear typically devastated after just two episodes - I hardly think splashing the ear with water would alleviate RP pain, even momentarily!). The results of these tests showed no evidence of RP or other issues I've seen mentioned (MS, arthritis, etc.). The above medical paper mentions two types of RES sufferer: younger sufferers who have experienced migraine and older sufferers who have back trouble. Well I can check both boxes, because I used to experience migranes during my 20s, which may have even been cluster headaches based on their severity. However, my RES is *not* accompanied by migraine, which makes me suspect that my RES falls into the upper back category rather than migraine-related. One other point I should mention: I had braces (brackets) fitted about 12 months ago. This is probably unrelated, but since we're trying to identify patterns here, I thought I'd mention it because I agree with an earlier poster who said this could be related to the nerves around the jaws and cheeks (TMJ, right?). So perhaps the effect of the braces on my jaw alignment (if any) has triggered or aggravated the RES. Finally, I definitely *do* think stress plays a key part in this as many others have already mentioned. Stress can cause some crazy physical symptoms, and I think the muscle/joint tightness synonymous with stress can trigger my RES. I still belive the root cause in my case is related to the cervical nerve(s) issues as mentioned in the medical paper, but I have started doing some mindfulness exercises (meditative breathing, that kind of thing) and although I was never a big believer in alternative therapies I have to admit that it helps me to tolerate the "distraction" of the attacks. The difficult part is learning to overcome the instinct to "tense up and resist" when an attack begins and instead think, "bring it on! It's not gonna kill me!" I haven't mastered it completely, so there are still days when I tense up and think "oh crap, here we go!" but if I can distract myself by focusing on something else (this can be very challenging during an acute attack) it definitely makes the RES subside more quickly. Coincidentally, I was experiencing my nightly attack when I started reading this board and in the 20 minutes it has taken me to write this post, my attack has subsided and my ear is nice and cool again. Oh thee wonderful cool ears! :) Anyway, I hope some of this helps other sufferers. Try to remember: 1) You are not alone, 2) It can't kill you (thanks Hottus Earus!). We should really come up with a secret signal to identify ourselves as RES sufferers...I mean other than when our bright red throbbing ears are broadcasting it to the world. :)