A 64-year-old woman presented with four episodes of sudden non-progressive sharp and throbbing left ear pain in the last four months, each lasting few minutes, accompanied by redness in the left ear (Figure). Medical history showed chronic migraine by 25 years. Neurologic, opthalmic and otorhinolaryngologic examinations, neuroimaging evaluation of skull, cervical and thoracic columns were all unremarkable. A diagnosis of red ear syndrome (RES) was made.
RES is a rare under-recognized clinical condition manifesting as paroxysmal episodes of
auricular and periauricular pain and burning sensation with ipsilateral ear rash11 .Ryan S, Wakerley BR, Davies P. Red ear syndrome: a review of all published
cases (1996-2010). Cephalagia. 2013;33(3):190-201.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0333102412468673
https://doi.org/10.1177/0333102412468673...
, triggered by different periauricular stimuli
or neck movements22 .Lambru G, Miller S, Matharu MS. The red ear syndrome. J Headache Pain.
2013;14:83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1129-2377-14-83
https://doi.org/10.1186/1129-2377-14-83...
.
References
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1Ryan S, Wakerley BR, Davies P. Red ear syndrome: a review of all published cases (1996-2010). Cephalagia. 2013;33(3):190-201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0333102412468673
» https://doi.org/10.1177/0333102412468673 -
2Lambru G, Miller S, Matharu MS. The red ear syndrome. J Headache Pain. 2013;14:83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1129-2377-14-83
» https://doi.org/10.1186/1129-2377-14-83
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
Aug 2015
History
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Received
20 Nov 2014 -
Reviewed
29 Mar 2015 -
Accepted
20 Apr 2015