There are few people who have never experienced a headache that can give in the ear, and in the neck or elsewhere. After all, this is a very common symptom. We will consider a situation when the head hurts and gives pain to the ears.
If such symptoms do not bother you very often, then there is absolutely nothing to worry about. You just need to fully relax, lead an active lifestyle, adjust your diet to dietary (eat less fatty and other junk food, and more fruits and vegetables) and everything will work out.
In the case of frequent complaints that the headache and gives in the ear, it is worth contacting a medical institution and undergoing a full examination to exclude the most “terrible” suspicions.
Remember! If headache is not treated, it can lead to vasospasm. And, as a result, to serious complications.
The main causes of a headache giving in the ear
The main function of diagnostic measures is to identify the causes of pathology. Only after this, you can choose the treatment method. Headache and give in ear? The causes of this symptom may be different:
- All sorts of vascular pathologies.
- Diseases of the nervous system (for example, neuralgia of the occipital or trigeminal nerve, overwork, neurosis, depression, nervous exhaustion of the body or other disorders of mental balance). Headaches are often accompanied by sudden bouts of dizziness, pressure, and some stuffiness in the ears.
- A variety of head and ear injuries. As a result, the head hurts, gives back to the ear, hematomas appear, possibly blurred consciousness (or its complete loss in general), ringing, noise (or other extraneous sounds), and vomiting and nausea are possible.
Important! In case of injury, there is a high risk of concussion. Therefore, a visit to the doctor is required.
- Migraine, which is characterized by a rather severe pain syndrome, which can spread not to the whole head, but only to some part of it. Moreover, the pain can be quite severe, and sometimes unbearable.
- The presence of a stroke (or microstroke). It is this disease that very often “disguises itself” as a local headache and pain in the ears. Do not let the body deceive yourself! Visual and speech impairment, limitation of motor ability, as well as numbness of the limbs and tongue can be additional evidence of a stroke.
- All kinds of inflammatory processes in the region of the inner, middle or outer ear (for example, otitis media).
- Pathology of the spine, and more precisely, in the neck (for example, osteochondrosis or spondylitis).
- Blockage of ear canal with sulfur accumulations.
- Diseases of the cardiovascular system (e.g., tachycardia or angina pectoris). These ailments are accompanied by pain in the region of the heart, as well as spasms of the vessels of the brain, as well as weakness and a sickening state.
- Myogelosis
- Diseases of the ears of a bacterial or viral nature, which are characterized by headache and tinnitus.
- Brain tumor. In this case, the head constantly hurts and gives into the ear. A very serious illness. In addition, flashes flash before my eyes; there is noise and ringing in the ears; there is some distortion of taste impressions (for example, the patient constantly thinks that the room smells of burnt rubber). In case of these symptoms, you should contact a medical professional as soon as possible.
- Certain disorders in the circulatory system. This condition may be accompanied by headache, tinnitus, loss of balance, and the appearance of fear.
- Brain membrane lesions of an inflammatory nature.
On a note! Pain in the head and ears can appear in a completely healthy person. This may be due to an increase in atmospheric pressure, a change in humidity and a change in weather conditions. That is, we mean weather-dependent people.
In any case, the true cause of the headache can only be determined by a doctor who will prescribe the necessary studies and subsequent therapy.
At some points we dwell in more detail.
Pathology of the cervical spine
If the patient complains that the back of his head hurts and gives to the ear, then most likely this indicates pathological processes in the cervical spine. This may include:
- spondylitis;
- osteochondrosis;
- displacement of the vertebrae, which causes pain in the head and neck.
Spondylitis
Most often, the cause of this inflammatory disease, in which a person’s spinal deformity occurs (due to destruction of the vertebral bodies), is a tuberculosis infection. Less commonly, the disease occurs due to diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, staphylococcus, actinomycosis (that is, a disease from the mycosis group) or syphilis.
Symptoms of spondylitis:
- The spine and its surrounding muscles are very sore.
- A significant decrease in body weight is observed.
- Headaches from the back, especially in the shoulders and neck. Moreover, pain is given not only to the ears, but also to the eyes.
- Temperature rise.
- Malaise and general weakness.
Important! Spondylitis is classified as a rather rare disease of the human musculoskeletal system. At first, the disease has not very pronounced symptoms (this complicates its diagnosis). The clinical picture becomes clearer already in the late stages of the development of the disease, when all kinds of complications begin to arise.
Osteochondrosis
This disease, which is characterized by a whole complex of dystrophic disorders in the articular cartilage, most often it develops in the area of intervertebral discs. What is the mechanism of the disease? As a result of some abnormalities in the structure of the pelvis, curvature of the spine, weakening of the immune system, back injuries, metabolic disorders, pathological disorders of the cardiovascular system, heredity and gastrointestinal tract diseases, disk abrasion occurs. During this inflammatory process, the patient experiences severe suffering. Then there is some compression of the spine, as a result of which the disks (already having lost their elasticity) are crushed, and the nerve endings of the spinal cord are pinched.
Symptoms of the disease:
- A person feels constrained in movements (especially in the morning after getting out of bed).
- The patient complains that a headache gives in the ear (right or left).
- Some violation of coordination of movements.
- The presence of syncope, periodically recurring.
- There is numbness of the fingertips.
- Vision is impaired.
- The presence of noise and ringing in the ears.
- Frequent dizziness.
- Nauseous condition.
- Initially, rarely, and then increasingly piercing, sharp pains appearing in the lower back, sternum, and neck. Moreover, pain can give in the heart, arm, leg or shoulder blade.
- Pallor of the skin is observed.
- The presence of a characteristic crunch in the area of the vertebrae during bends, turns and any other movement.
Important! If the disease is not treated, then its development can lead to imminent disability.
The signs of the disease are directly dependent on the stage of the pathology: the first is a relatively calm and painless period; in the process of developing an ailment in the second, third and fourth pain sensations begin to increase and cause a lot of problems to the patient. Remember: already at the first symptoms you should contact a medical institution for help.
On a note! Previously, people over the age of 45 were mostly ill with osteochondrosis, but today this disease is significantly "younger". People under 30 years of age (their number is about 25-30% of all patients with this disease) may experience the above symptoms and complain of problems with the spine.
Ear diseases
If a person complains that the back of his head hurts and gives into the ear, then this can be anything: from common otitis media to rupture of the eardrum and Meniere's disease (that is, non-purulent diseases of the inner ear).
In addition, ear congestion and dizziness can occur due to:
- disturbances in the work of the human vestibular apparatus;
- injuries
- tumors (malignant or benign);
- hereditary predisposition;
- infections.
Otitis
This inflammatory process in the ear (as a rule, it is observed in the middle section of the organ) is more common in children than in adults. What can trigger otitis media? These are mainly ARVIs (i.e., acute respiratory viral infections).
On a note! Quite often, otitis affects athletes, namely swimmers.
Symptoms of the disease:
- Pain in the back of the head, which either decreases or increases significantly.
- The ear inside hurts and gives to the head.
- The presence of dizziness.
- Sometimes, purulent discharge from the ear is observed.
- Perhaps the presence of edema.
- High body temperature.
Important! As a rule, with this ailment, the localization of the headache occurs on the side of otitis media.
Vascular pathologies
The patient complains that his head hurts and gives in the ear. It is possible that this is a symptom of one of the ailments of the group of vascular diseases (for example, vegetative-vascular dystonia, hypotension, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and others).
Important! Do not leave symptoms such as earache or head pain unnoticed. It is worth going to the doctor for a consultation. Be careful about your health, because you can’t buy it for any money (common truth, but, nevertheless, it is).
High blood pressure
With high blood pressure (that is, with hypertension), patients experience:
- Frequent dizziness.
- Flashes of flies before the eyes.
- Stuffy ears.
- Malaise and weakness.
- Strong pain in the neck, which is characterized by a pressing and pulsating character.
- Sudden redness of the face.
- Heart palpitations.
- Dyspnea.
- With significant blood pressure indicators, extraneous noise and tinnitus, as well as hearing loss, can be observed.
Important! Constantly monitor your blood pressure. If it increases, take medications prescribed by your doctor to prevent significant pressure surges.
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is another dangerous ailment of a group of diseases, a characteristic feature of which is vascular spasm. The main symptom of this disease is the presence of monotonous and repeating sounds in the ears in the form of "ticking, tinkling and chirping of grasshoppers." They exhaust a sick person.
Atherosclerosis, as a rule, appears as a result of a violation of lipid metabolic processes (they belong to the group of organic compounds, including fat-like substances and fats), resulting in the deposition of cholesterol (moreover, it is “bad”, since in nature there is also “Good”) on the walls of blood vessels. Possible causes of this ailment:
- A "sedentary" or "recumbent" lifestyle (that is, physical inactivity).
- Excessive consumption of animal fats.
- Hormonal background failure.
- Slowing down the metabolic process.
- Poor bowel function in terms of removing fat-like substances from the human body.
- A significant increase in body weight.
- Disturbances in the central nervous system (central nervous system).
- The presence of such a bad habit as smoking.
- High blood pressure, which increases the permeability of the walls of blood vessels.
- The presence in the patient's life of a large number of stressful situations, as well as psycho-emotional overstrain.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- The presence of diabetes.
High weather sensitivity
Headache can be observed in people who differ in weather dependence, and also have rather weak vessels. Moreover, the disease manifests itself as follows: approximately 1.5-2 hours before the change in weather conditions (that is, the appearance of a strong wind, blizzard, thunderstorm, rainfall in the form of rain or snow), a person begins to experience a clear deterioration in overall well-being, which is accompanied by pain in the head, weakness and tinnitus. After some time after the weather has changed, the symptoms of the disease begin to pass and the patient becomes better.
On a note! As a rule, in this case, the disease begins suddenly, in the same way it ends.
Myogelosis
For a long time you were in a draft (or in the cold), in an uncomfortable (disturbing posture) posture, or experienced a strong nervous shock. After that, you complain that you have a headache on the right and gives in the ear. What could it be? Real myogelosis, which is characterized by compaction of muscle tissue and, as a result, compression of nerve endings, leading to severe pain in the occipital region of the head, dizziness and stiffness in the movement of the shoulder to the right.
Cervical migraine
What is the disease expressed? If the scalp hurts, gives to the ear and to the nose, forehead and eyes, then, most likely, this is a neck migraine. In the case of this disease, the patient experiences a pulsating and paroxysmal pain, most often one-sided. It intensifies with the slightest movement of the neck or head, the skin of which becomes extremely sensitive to any touch. Nausea, dizziness, and blurred vision may also occur.
Diagnosis of ailment
Diagnosis is carried out using the method of radiology or MRI. In addition, clinical blood tests are prescribed. Before this, at the doctor’s appointment, the patient carefully describes all the symptoms of his illness. Further, the specialist, guided by the results of the examination, makes a diagnosis and prescribes the necessary treatment.
Important! Only timely contact to a medical institution will save you from possible serious complications.
Therapy of a pain syndrome of the head giving to the ear
A huge number of reasons that the head hurts and gives into the ears, rather complicates the process of treating the disease. But, nevertheless, you can cope with it.
Important! The main thing to remember: no self-medication, all medications should be prescribed by a medical specialist after a thorough examination of the patient. Only in this way and nothing else.
Of course, the treatment of the disease depends entirely on the diagnosis. If the patient has hypertension, then he is prescribed medications to help lower blood pressure and, as a result, deal with complaints that his head hurts and gives to the ear (treatment will give its positive results).
It is much more difficult to cope with vegetative-vascular dystonia, low blood pressure or meteorological dependence, since there are not so many drugs that increase blood pressure. As a rule, doctors prescribe drugs based on caffeine or such as tincture of eleutherococcus, ginseng, aralia, Altai zamanicha or Rhodiola rosea.
About migraine. It is also quite difficult to treat. Most often, doctors recommend silence, peace, a relaxing environment, and best of all spa treatment. The same recommendations are relevant in the case of nervous diseases (naturally, if they are not in the clinical stage).
Drug treatment is the prerogative of a medical specialist who has complete information about your state of health and knows with which drugs you can improve it.
On a note! Surgical intervention is possible only in exceptional cases, when conservative methods do not help to cope with an illness or the patient is in danger of death (for example, with an aneurysm, hematoma or tumor that threatens the patient's life).