I don't recall having sharp ear pain, but from time to time I get an annoying dull pain in the ear canal that generally turns out to be hard wax that needs to be removed at the local clinic. My understanding is that this is relatively common post-radiation.

Helen -- I can confirm what you've heard about the small nerves. I had areas around my left ear and neck that I thought would be permanently numb after treatment, and it literally took years for some of the nerves to grow back, but they did!

Cathy