Patients who experience stabbing pain in the left ear may suffer from acute otitis externa or acute otitis media, which may be caused by excessive force when digging in the ear, resulting in congestion and swelling of the skin of the ear canal, leading to severe pain. Some patients may develop boils or infected cysts in the external ear canal, and patients may also suffer from acute inflammatory infections of the respiratory tract, resulting in acute otitis media, acute congestion and swelling of the eardrum, or even perforation of the eardrum and pus in the ear. Other patients may suffer from neuralgia in the ear, which is often associated with excessive stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, repeated fatigue, or staying up late.