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So I have a cold. With said cold comes an ear ache. That low throb in the ear passage that doesn't go away and the jump in pain when you swallow. I don't know what it is about it, but that, headaches and sore throats almost completely incapacitate me. At least as far as work or anything physical goes.
Why does this bother me so much? Because I can ignore almost all other sorts of pain. Muscle pain? Cramps? Cuts? Bruises? Twisted ankles? Blisters? Been there, done that, I ignore em and push through. I climb, don't care about my arms burning. I stop only when I can't lift myself anymore. I swim, I swim right through the cramps. I've twisted my ankle coming down a mountain and sucked it up and continued down after bracing it -- carrying a pack. I've gotten blisters on my feet on hikes and just kept going. If I can put up with all these other types of pain -- some of them pretty intense -- why does a dull throb in my ears so completely take me out?
Does everyone just have a certain type of pain they can't deal with? Is it the fact that this low throb is a constant thing that I can't make stop? Is it something about pain near the head?
Does anyone else have this experience, where there's a certain type of pain that they find that much worse than all others, even though it really ought not be?
Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
When I get a headache, it stops me from being able to concentrate on anything which makes it that much worse. Also, sometimes I get sensitive to light or noise and that doesn't happen when I have a cut somewhere.
Posts: 2867 | Registered: May 2005
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I wonder if head pain is particularly unworkable, because it could potentially be so dangerous. Head pain really makes you stop and consider what's going on, because all sorts of important stuff is in your head, you can't just ignore damage up there and expect to survive.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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True, kojabu. I suppose my point more accurately would be that the center of many of our senses is our head, and it's relatively delicate. A shallow cut to the chest isn't necessarily very dangerous. The same, relatively minor, damage to the eye or ear or mouth could be life threatening.
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I really hate it when you get that itchy feeling really deep in your ear/throat. I go CRAZY trying to scratch it somehow through coughing or eating chips or stretching my mouth a certain way...
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Dude--the mouth stretch! I totally know what you mean there. When it itches right in the back of your throat, you kinda have to shut your mouth and suck down on your soft palate, so it makes this annoying sound, but just scratches the back of your throat in just the right way.
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quote:Originally posted by pH: I really hate it when you get that itchy feeling really deep in your ear/throat. I go CRAZY trying to scratch it somehow through coughing or eating chips or stretching my mouth a certain way...
-pH
OH, I know. I go insane it's just so hard to get rid of!
The only pain I can deal with is the dull throbbing headache, muscle ache, soreness etc. Finger nail cuts, paper cuts, pulled muscles, direct trauma...Yeah, kinda wimpy.
Posts: 1236 | Registered: Mar 2002
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When I got braces, they had to put those little blue things in between my molars before they put the metal in. I couldn't chew with my molars at all -- I simply could not bare the pain.
Posts: 464 | Registered: Jul 2004
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One of the wiktionary definitions for pain is "An ache or bodily suffering, or an instance of this; an unpleasant sensation, resulting from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; hurt."
quote:Originally posted by Euripides: Nausea. Is that a type of pain?
Most definitely. And in my opinion one of the worst. I get extremely nauseaious sometimes and for no apparent reason, especially when it's hot, and especially when I'm away from home. It makes me feel like I'm going to die. Coke-a-cola and rice pudding are the only things that help. Posts: 464 | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Alcon: So I have a cold. With said cold comes an ear ache...If I can put up with all these other types of pain -- some of them pretty intense -- why does a dull throb in my ears so completely take me out?
The earache and sore throat pain that you find so disturbing are the result of an infection, and that affects your body in ways other than just causing pain.
The papercuts, bruises and all are not infection-related. You are having trouble dealing with being sick, not just in pain. The pain just makes the sick more miserable.
In any event, get lots of extra rest and some chicken soup. And if the ear thing doesn't get better, go see a doctor, 'kay?
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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My worst kind of pain is anything to do with the teeth or gums. I think it's because I had to have an emergency root canal when I was about two.
The second worst pain is a migraine because I lay there feeling bored and sick and nauseated, and wanting to be cuddled, but I can't get up and do anything because it all makes me so much sicker. Last time I had a migraine, I desperately wanted to read, but I couldn't endure the light, so I tried to read in the blackest dark I could get. My head hurt so bad, I thought that maybe it would work. And no one will cuddle me when I have a headache.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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quote:You are having trouble dealing with being sick, not just in pain. The pain just makes the sick more miserable.
I would agree with you except that, today the pain has almost completely gone away (but not quite). Yet I'm still sick, all my other symptoms persist and I'm picking up a cough. Yet today I've had no trouble working or thinking and have been more productive than I've been in a while.
It's usually the case that when I'm sick, long as there isn't a sore throat, ear ache, head ache, or similar then I can completely ignore being sick and have no trouble working. Sometimes, if I'm not feverish in addition to missing the above mentioned pain, I can ignore being sick to the point of doing intense physical activity. I'm only completely disabled when the pain is present. Which makes me think there's something special about that type of pain.
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I think the ability to ignore a sort of pain is not necessarily related to how severe the pain is. I mean, sometimes an itch can be very mild yet you can't ignore it.
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