What this sounds like to me most of all is an inflamed nerve (neuritis or neuralgia) along a nerve pathway, probably a cranial nerve, and may well be a sequel to or herald of a bout with
shingles. If it is going to be
shingles you'll know soon enough, as you'll have lesions (blisters most likely) start to show up along the nerve pathway where the
pain is now. (Anyone who's ever had chickenpox is at fairly high risk of eventually having a bout of
shingles, as the varicella virus never really goes away, just lies dormant). On the other hand if you've had
shingles before, even if you weren't aware of it, then what this may be is post-herpetic
pain, which usually doesn't last more than a day, though it can become quite chronic in certain people. It really does sound like nerve
pain, isn't the jugular, could however be a nerve that paralllels the path of the jugular, possibly a branch of the XIII, IX or X cranial nerve. Each serves a different purpose and only the IX, which normally would also cause
pain in the mouth or throat, is potentially serious if troubled. Since the
pain starts in the ear it's probably a branch of the auditory nerve, the VIII one, which can cause some pretty exquisite
pain. This often responds to over-the-counter (OTC) non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory (
NSAID)
pain meds such as Advil or Aleve (ibuprofin or naproxyn). Sometimes the
pain is persistent and other measures are required to control it, but if it's the VIII cranial (auditory) nerve or a branch of it, usually this will subside shortly on its own. It may also recur. Again, if you begin to notice small bumps turning to blisters (similar to chickenpox lesions) along the path of the
pain, that would be
shingles.
At any rate it's not your jugular vein gone screwy on you. Shooting, stabbing, startling
pain is almost always nerve
pain, and if it originates in any part of the head (including the ear) it's usuall a crainial nerve or at least a subsidiary of one. This is almost always a nuisance, but hopefully isn't announcing a new case of
shingles (more often that
pain comes after the blisters, sometimes before, though), and usually responds well to non-Rx
pain meds. If it continues or becomes worse, or if anything new happens, please follow up here with us. Good luck to you.