hey -

I thought I'd stop by in case others google GN and stumble upon this site, or anyone here has questions or anything else.

I got hit with GN in October 2009, and had surgery in December 2009. As a 24 year old male, the stabbing ear pain 4 times a day was not something I could handle.

I went to ENT's in multiple states, all of whom ruled out every ear problem possible. Finally a pain dr said I might have GN and told me to find a Dr who could help.

I got in with Dr. Horowitz at UPMC (Pittsburgh) and he sent me to his favorite ENT and oral surgeon there to rule out all other possible issues. He finally asked me to describe the pain again to him and figure out a way to show him how and where it hurt. Heres what I came up with:

It always felt like I had a bad ear infection, a constant, dull-ish pain in my right ear. My ear just...hurt. 4 times a day, for half an hour at a time, I got "pain waves" where it felt like an ice pick was stabbing me in my ear and wouldn't stop. How far in my ear? Well, if you take your standard issue pen, and go maybe an inch or two on it, thats how far. I used that as an illustration for him, because the pain was 'in' my ear.

Anyways, MVD fixed it, I'm great now, I even posted a video of the surgery (not mine specifically, but one Dr. Horowitz did) on youtube for anyone curious. My advice: don't ever give up if your head hurts like mine did. Figure out whats wrong, and get it fixed if possible.