Chest and ear pain help please

[good-cause-girl]

Here is the problem...... About once a month or so, my husband has strong chest pains with what he describes as a 'brain freeze' type of pain in one of his ears. He has been for the stress tests and had an MRI, both came back negative for heart problems. The ear is sometimes left and sometimes right. Baby apsrin does nothing to help it. It can take about an hour for it to go away. There is zero heartburn or dizziness. I have recorded what he eats and nothing comes up as a clear winner that way,,, so we have nothing to eliminate that is obvious. He wears ear plugs at work, just tossing that into the ring just incase.

It happens at work and at home. He does not smoke or take/ do any drugs, including pharmacuticals. We have a rather stress free life. He enjoys his hobbies and life is pretty bland so I do not believe it to be pressure/stress.

He is 53.
Has anyone else ever heard of something like this?
Anything will help. His Dr. says there is nothing wrong with him but clearly there is something.

Every other day he is fine, until this happens.

Any one out there ever hear of this?

We have ruled out Angina, heart murmers, attacks and valve problems and have nothing left to look at as a cause. This is very scary and I am tired of sitting with my hand on the phone ready to dial for an ambulance when it happens.

Anything will help here,,,, please give us something else to look into so maybe we can get this fixed..

Thank you in advance.

[Lady tehMa]

If regular docs come up empty, go see a naturopath. I'm seeing one now, and she has helped me rather a lot already. They look at things differently than regular docs.

[SmokeOnTheWater]

Homeopathy, acupuncture might help.

[coffeeFreak]

My first thought was could it be a migraine? Migraines are known to affect the body in different ways. Here's a little info on one connected to the ears.

While these symptoms may seem common to migraine sufferers, many people don’t realize there is also an association between migraine and the inner ear and brain mechanisms that influence hearing and balance.

Vestibular Symptoms

Vertigo
Imbalance
Dizziness
Unsteadiness
Extreme sensitivity to motion
Hearing Symptoms

Muffled hearing
Ear fullness
Tinnitus or ringing in the ear

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/specialty_areas/vestibular/conditions/vestibular_migraine.html

[gardengirl]

Although you might think you have a stress free life, it might still be an anxiety attack.
Anxiety is an insidious thing. It can come on seemingly out of nowhere.

[grammafreddy]

Although you might think you have a stress free life, it might still be an anxiety attack.
Anxiety is an insidious thing. It can come on seemingly out of nowhere.

That's what I was going to suggest, too.

[Roadster]

Some kind of a neuropathic pain? They can come and go...

Some people work with chemicals or have an old back injury or there could be a huge list of causes that cause some types of nerve damage and usually if a pain comes and goes and is not as a rythym like the heart and it radiates from one place to another I would be thinking nerve issues. No ear infection?

[normaM]

sounds like neuralgia. Can be caused from an old neck injury, nerve damage that went unknown. Easy enuff to check it out with a neurologist.

[good-cause-girl]

Thank you everyone. To add to this, he was a welder. As for the stress, ya, well, he says he has no stress, but I do think he feels the same pinches everyone has about money and 'life' stuff. But we do live a very quiet life.

I have broken one thing down. Oranges. I juice for us and it seems like the last 2 times I added several oranges. This was the only time that were at the same times. Before that, I have nothing. Seriously we eat so clean when we die we could be composted.

A naturopath? Yes, that will most likely be the next Dr. of choice. Acupuncture? Really? I am quite unfamiliar with them. Maybe in the cards too.

It scares me that we can eat such great food (I make absolutly everything we eat from scratch), drink in moderation, don't smoke and have no 'kids at home' stresses, and this is still there.

One pharma he takes is Nexium. Has for 4 years. We have cut the dose down by 1/4 and am now one day on, and one day off. Seems this drug is only to be taken for a few months,,,, not years,,, go figure. This started after he started taking it........ No, actually, it was this pain that started the origonal perscription after the MRI and stress test showed nothing.

Ah, the human body........ Oh, what is a neurologist? He never remembers any neck injury but he has had issues from long ago with a really bad torn muscle in his lower leg,,,,, Plus he works in a rather unfavourable 'air quality' building. Indoor construction with fiber boards, melemine and such.

Has anyone else had this before? He says it feels like a truck is on his chest and it burns right into his ear. I have made an appointment with a theraputic massage therapist to start with and we will go from there.....

Thank you again everyone. And thank you to the mods for reposting this thread. My husband can not possibly be the only one out there with this.

[Roadster]

A neurologist deals with disorders of the nervous system, hubby would likely need a referal from his doctor and then would maybe get some conduction tests done. It tests the nervous system and lets them know where the failure to connect properly might be happening, so to speak. There are several tests they can do to find the issue.
Its worth a try before going to treatment so you know you are not messing with anything. I almost thought of shingles too but maybe not by what yer saying.

[Fancy]

My husband can not possibly be the only one out there with this.

I did some googling yesterday and was surprised at how many people seem to be suffering the same affliction. Lots of speculation as to causes but no definitive answers. From ear issues to disc injuries - nerve endings seem to have a life of their own. Don't give up trying to find answers and good luck.

[normaM]

I enjoy acupuncture, if your Husband decides to give it a try PM me and I can give you the name of a super person.
Sounds like he is really suffering, wish I could be more helpful.
Oh, and I laughed at your compost comment.

[Roadster]

The compost comment was funny!

Do let us know what it is when you find out and hopefully its not something serious. Sounds much like a nerve path issue, even a pinched nerve in the neck could cause pain to travel elsewhere.
Usually if its a constant pain and not a pulsating pain thats a good sign it not heart pain.
Could be galbladder also. Most will get a pain in the chest like someone is squeezing the innards in a fist in the lower to mid chest, the ear pain could be just a carry off pain from the main source of pain. Guys dont think of that because they dont have as high a risk as women for galbladder issues for some reason.

[good-cause-girl]

I enjoy acupuncture, if your Husband decides to give it a try PM me and I can give you the name of a super person.
Sounds like he is really suffering, wish I could be more helpful.
Oh, and I laughed at your compost comment.

Thank you Norma for the link. I actually think this will be something we will do. We are seeing the massage therapist today and will take it from there.

If it is a nerve path thing, well it sounds like that can be worked with. Just so scarey when it is a chest thing.
We did nail down one other thing. This all started after a chiropractor did some work on him. He said he hated it and would never go back. I loved my alignment. Maybe he was super tense and something jarred and stuck. Hopefully Kevin can work his usual magic and then some today.

Thank you all. I will keep you posted.......

[Piecemaker]

While there may be a number of reasons for your husband's ear and chest pain, it really sounds like a bit of reflux. Oranges are very acidic. Because your husband takes some medication for acid, his symptoms now may not be the same as his heartburn of the past. I experienced a similar thing recently, but had the sharp pain in both ears and mild chest pain. I did not have noticable heartburn at the time, just those two symptoms.
It would not hurt your husband to resume taking his medication at the prescribed dose for the next month. If his particular medication is not meant to be taken long-term, there are others on the market. If he stops having the ear and chest pain, then you will know that is what it is.
He could also up his diet of acidic foods for a day or two! (Fresh pineapple on an empty stomach did it for me. If he's feeling brave, he can add some orange juice to that and a few other highly acidic foods...!)
Acupunture is also used for treating heartburn so that still may be a good thing for him to try.