Beer and Ear Pain

[Doogie320]

Hi There,
Brewmonkey referred me here awhile back, but don't blame him for this odd post.

In a nutshell when I drink beer, various types and breweries are included, I get a lot of ear pain in my Eustachian tubes. Darker beer seems to cause the most problems. Mixed drinks with Coke or Pepsi or a carbonated soda? No problem. Any type of soda with no alcohol? No problem.

About an hour after I'm done with my beer, the pain goes away. Doing the Valsalva to my sinuses doesn't clear my tubes. Taking sudafed or a decongestant doesn't help either.

Any ideas as to why beer, and beer only, is causing this? No other food or beverage does this to me and a weekend cookout without beer is unthinkable.

Thanks folks. Sorry that my first post is.... odd sounding. I did a search on the forum and didn't see anything related to this.

[chazwicke]

Sounds like some sort of allergic reaction. Do you suffer from any allergies that you know of?

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Sounds like some sort of allergic reaction. Do you suffer from any allergies that you know of?

I would tend to agree with Chaz on this. I have had food allergies in the past and one of the symptoms was ear aches. you may want to get a legit medical opinion but it sounds like it.

[Doogie320]

No known allergies at all. I asked my Doc about it and he'd never heard of anything like this.

Would hops do this? Do any other products contain hops or are there beer specific ingredients that aren't widely found in most foods?

I dunno...

[chazwicke]

I know several people who are sensitive to wheat beers such as hefe's. They get mildly congested. And some wines make my face turn pink and blotchy (Never enough to make me stop drinking them though :) )

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I know several people who are sensitive to wheat beers such as hefe's. They get mildly congested. And some wines make my face turn pink and blotchy (Never enough to make me stop drinking them though :) )

That would sound like Celiac disease.

Doogie have you checked with DocT?

[Jeff]

Along the same lines:

I think I might have a mild allergy to hops. Whenever I drink high IBU beers I have similar reactions to when I eat strawberrys. I get a very warm feeling in head arms and chest. My ears and sometimes face turn very red. Anybody else get this?

[unkle bik]

Originally posted by Jeff
Along the same lines:

I think I might have a mild allergy to hops. Whenever I drink high IBU beers I have similar reactions to when I eat strawberrys. I get a very warm feeling in head arms and chest. My ears and sometimes face turn very red. Anybody else get this?

Yup. I thought I was the only one that noticed this. Probably because I am a migraine sufferer do I experience this. It is particularly noticeable when I am brewing with high IBU hops. A headache is sure to follow a night of brewing these brews.
I get ear pain usually when the headache subsides. (a good sign when that it is going away.)

[paul84043]

Wow...this all sucks...
I feel bad for you guys.

It definitely sounds like an allergic reaction of some sort.
If you were brave, you could try different types of beers to narrow it down.
The fact that darker beers cause more problems may or may not point away from hops, it all depends on what you classify as "lighter" beers.
How do you react to an IPA? How about Very dark red wines? They contain more tannins as do darker beers.

Do you react to Hefe's? They are wheat based and very lightly hopped.

[Fast_Eddy]

Could also be a gluten allergy - it's actually not a rare allergy.

[crashbobo]

We were just talking about gluten allergies in nursing class today. First thing I thought of was, crap that would suck...no beer :(

It is a very real possibility that this is your problem

[Stodbrew]

I'm no doctor, but I play one on TV. Sorry, couldn't resist. Seriously, I would agree with everyone else and think that its some kind of allergy. Yeast, hops, wheat, gluten. If so, I offer my condolences.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Jeff
Along the same lines:

I think I might have a mild allergy to hops. Whenever I drink high IBU beers I have similar reactions to when I eat strawberrys. I get a very warm feeling in head arms and chest. My ears and sometimes face turn very red. Anybody else get this?

Some people get this from high alcohol content(I do sometimes) and also from high(er) sulphur levels.

[fuji6100]

We were just talking about gluten allergies in nursing class today

How much longer do you have left Crashbobo? Where are you going to school? Any ideas what field of nursing you want to do?

[Jeff]

Some people get this from high alcohol content(I do sometimes) and also from high(er) sulphur levels.

That might be the case for me but I don't seem to have any problems when I drink large quantities of distilled spirits. Or maybe it's just that I don't remember.:D

[MeridianFC]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
That would sound like Celiac disease.

Doogie have you checked with DocT?

Celiac is a serious alergic reaction to all grasses/grains. Barley, Wheat, Rye, etc. There is some debate about oats being ok but the prevailing wisdom is to error on the side of caution and not use them. Corn and rice are ok.

One of my co-wokers & poker buddies has celiac disease and the thing he misses above all others is beer. He likes living better though.

K.

[Beaver]

Originally posted by MeridianFC
Celiac is a serious alergic reaction to all grasses/grains. Barley, Wheat, Rye, etc. There is some debate about oats being ok but the prevailing wisdom is to error on the side of caution and not use them. Corn and rice are ok.


Does that mean you can still drink Bud? ;)

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by MeridianFC
Celiac is a serious alergic reaction to all grasses/grains. Barley, Wheat, Rye, etc. There is some debate about oats being ok but the prevailing wisdom is to error on the side of caution and not use them. Corn and rice are ok.

One of my co-wokers & poker buddies has celiac disease and the thing he misses above all others is beer. He likes living better though.

K.

It is actually a reaction to the gluten those products contain. It is not all cereal grains however, Sorghum appears to be capable of making a gluten free beer that does not cause the problems.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/

While I am sure Doogie does not have Celiac it is the disease I like to label all beer problems with. Don't know why, but it seems to fit. I had several people who I experimented with some sorghum for on a homebrew basis.

[Doogie320]

Thanks for the info folks. I wonder why it would be contained in my ears only....

Wine gives me a headache so I stay away from it.

I am allergic to grass, trees, pollen, etc, but I've never had an issue with beer until now. Maybe I grew into it? I don't know, I've never had any reactions to food or beverages.

I think I'll go experiment in the name of science. :)

Thank you all again.

[crashbobo]

Originally posted by fuji6100
How much longer do you have left Crashbobo? Where are you going to school? Any ideas what field of nursing you want to do?

I graduate with my BSN from the University of Missouri in May 2005. I want to do something in either an ICU or Emergency. I eventually want to get my Master's and become a practitioner. I have applied for externships in the ICU and ER at the University Hospital for this summer. Pretty excited about that. Right now I am a Patient Care Tech at a local hostpital in town. Its good experience and lots of fun, but there is only so much you can learn from taking vitals and giving bed baths :)

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by crashbobo
I graduate with my BSN from the University of Missouri in May 2005. I want to do something in either an ICU or Emergency. I eventually want to get my Master's and become a practitioner. I have applied for externships in the ICU and ER at the University Hospital for this summer. Pretty excited about that. Right now I am a Patient Care Tech at a local hostpital in town. Its good experience and lots of fun, but there is only so much you can learn from taking vitals and giving bed baths :)

Uggggh..... A Mizzou Tiger!

Rock Chalk JAYHAWKS BABY!

You still hanging out in the MU area? My inlaws live just south of there and my wife is an MU alumni.

[crashbobo]

I'll be living here for a couple of years at least. Then we'll probably move back towards St. Louis where our families live :)

[chazwicke]

I just realized what the problem might be.
You drink and then you get a pain in your ears..........Are you by any chance married? :D

[Tweek]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I just realized what the problem might be.
You drink and then you get a pain in your ears..........Are you by any chance married? :D

ROFLMAO!!

[paul84043]

Hey...I think Chaz might be on to something there!!
Though I don't suffer from that particular ailment, I have many friends that do!

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I just realized what the problem might be.
You drink and then you get a pain in your ears..........Are you by any chance married?

:eek: