Pain in the external auditory canal (otalgia) can in rare cases be due to vagal neuralgia because of vascular compression of the vagus nerve (often by the posterior inferior cerebellar artery). The affected neurons are found in the superior ganglion and innervate the ear via the auricular branch of the vagus. The condition is treated by microvascular decrompression of the vagus nerve where it exits the brainstem.[5]