@bkcunningham According to Chinese medicine, it’s from food or drink, taken as nourishment. The Ancient Chinese believed that there are certain foods (and drinks) that cause too much internal heat and inflammation, and other foods (and drinks) that cause a cooling or soothing effect. These foods and drinks aren’t necessarily “spicy” or “cold”. Examples of “heating foods and drinks” are peanuts, cured foods like sausages and beef jerky, lamb meat and most other meats, potato chips, whisky, coffee, and some fruits like mangos, persimmons, and mandarin oranges. “Cooling foods and drinks” include melons, cucumber, lettuce, most fruits, and drinks like tea (especially chrysanthemum tea), beer and plain water. Yes, beer!
I think an object like a phone pushed up against the ear and creating a hot, moist, germy environment would definitely cause an infection like a pimple or staph boil.
It’s important to clean your ears often and clean those earphones with antibacterial gel sanitizer.