My ear hurts Or "My ear is hurting"?

Question

Which tense is best suited to describe sickness and pain? In the example below, what are the differences between the two usages? Which one sounds more natural?> - My ear hurts> - My ear is hurting

Answer 1

This is the difference between active and passive voice.

When you say, "My ear hurts," it is your ear that is doing the action. That is active voice and something that most authors tend to lean towards in their writing. Passive voice occurs whenever the object of the sentence has an action happen to it. When you say, "My ear is hurting," the ear is no longer the doer, but the receiver.

Most of the time, you want to stay in active voice because that shows action. Now, which one sounds more natural? I think that is entirely dependent on the individual who reads it/says it. Neither of them sound bad, and you are allowed to use passive voice; just make sure it isn't the overwhelming voice in your writing.