There are thousands of reasons for the relationship between ear and headache. Sometimes the source of the disease is precisely the hearing organ, in other cases, serious pathologies that require immediate intervention are to blame. In any case, the manifestation of cephalgia cannot go unnoticed.
In medicine, there are many pathologies in which the head hurts behind the ears simultaneously with other parts of the skull. These can be completely unrelated diseases. It is very important to observe the systematic nature of the pain, as well as their specific localization, sensations when pressed, the relationship with the weather or with any other external stimuli.
Etiology of the phenomenon
Intoxication of the body can occur both with external damage or inflammation, and with internal formations. Pain sensations sometimes change their location. The head behind the ear may hurt, or the pain is localized above the hearing organ itself. In addition, the pain syndrome can have an increasing or decreasing character, which is also important for diagnosis.
A different kind of disease and accompanying pain is interconnected with tissue damage of a pathological nature. A striking example of this is a purulent formation. A similar lesion is localized directly in the ear, but pain is given to the head. In such cases, it is necessary to find the source of pain, since rupture of the purulent sac threatens to infect the blood. The pain in the head is acute and throbbing, and it can also increase depending on the position of the body.
Common diseases
Specialists distinguish a number of the most common diseases, the symptoms of which are very similar:
- Osteochondrosis is a violation of the supply of oxygen to the tissues of the muscles and the brain.
- Meningitis - an inflammatory process in the tissues of the brain
- Pathologies of various kinds on the cervical vertebrae are scoliosis, tumors, hernias, arthritis and myositis.
- Disorders in the vascular system associated with changes in blood pressure.
- Otitis is an inflammatory process in the middle or inner ear.
- Myogelosis - seals in muscle tissue that disrupt the blood supply.
- Cervical myositis - characterized by inflammation of the muscles of the neck and cervical region.
- Mastoiditis is an inflammatory process of the mastoid process, located directly behind the ear.
Trigeminal inflammation
This is one of the few diseases in which the pain does not have a specific location, but covers most of the face. For example, a patient may complain that his eyes, head, and ears hurt. This is due to inflammation of the muscle endings, and those, in turn, cover certain organs. An important point is the exclusion of a probable eye disease, although for this it is enough to only recognize the pain, which is not fixed specifically in the eyes.
Doctors divide the symptoms into several groups, according to which they diagnose the disease:
- Pain in the eye muscle without inflammation of the eye itself.
- Throbbing pain covering the cheek, forehead, chin, eyes and ear.
- The absence of a tumor or an increase in temperature.
Any infectious disease or injury can cause neuralgia. Otitis media, which is chronic in nature, can also lead to pain behind the ear.
Pain in the head and ear
Specialists are faced with complaints of patients of various kinds. So, for example, the patient may say that part of the head and ear hurt. Sometimes these symptoms are pulsating or oppressive. International statistics have already identified a number of diseases with similar symptoms:
- Infectious diseases. The infection enters the body through the respiratory tract and can also progress to the oral cavity.
- Migraine. The patient has weakness and irritation, moreover, his head hurts behind the ears, above the ears, discomfort covers a certain side of the face and gives into the eyes.
- Cluster pains. They were discovered recently in medicine, which means that to this day they have not been fully studied. Most drugs do not give a positive result, but the patient becomes many times better when he is in a quiet, calm environment.
- Osteochondrosis. In addition to the fact that the patient says that he has a headache in the ear and partly his face, pain also covers the occipital part and cervical vertebrae.
Ear-pressing cephalgia
Very often, experts hear from patients that they have a headache and pressure on the ears. Usually such pains are accompanied by tinnitus, a feeling of nausea and dizziness. The reason for this is usually congestion in the ear. It is not worthwhile to breed a panic when such symptoms are detected, since diseases characterized in this way are rarely serious and often go away after taking painkillers. However, in the initial stages it is very important to correctly diagnose pathologies.
In addition to all of the above symptoms, to which doctors pay special attention, other manifestations of serious diseases may fall into this category:
- Disorders in the cardiovascular system.
- Fluctuations in blood pressure.
- Micro strokes.
Hearing pain
Another no less common complaint is pain in a particular area of the head. At the reception, doctors quite often hear that the patient has a headache over his ear. Usually, patients for a long time ignore such pain, but with its frequent appearance, they are forced to seek help.
Pain over the ear is felt with certain neurological pathologies:
- Throbbing pain that affects the auditory and visual organs indicates advanced migraine.
- When a boil appears on the auricle, the pain spreads along the sides of the skull, mainly behind or above the ear.
- With otitis media, the pain is throbbing, there is a sensation of inflammation in the ear.
- With violations in the temporomandibular joint, the pain spreads through the jaw and gives it to the ear and eye zones.
Pain behind the ear
If the patient complains that his head hurts behind the ear, then we can safely talk about the disease of the auditory organ itself. Most of such ailments threaten hearing impairment, and if the disease is infectious and manifests inflammation, then it is also dangerous by rupture of the formation itself.
The most common disease with such symptoms is mastoiditis, and the lesion appears on the mastoid process, which is located directly behind the ear. The structure of the ear predisposes to the rapid accumulation of pus. The pain is felt constantly, but it intensifies when pressed. The danger of this disease is a rupture of the tumor tissue, while pus will begin to leak from the ear. In this case, the auditory maze can become inflamed. Moreover, similar symptoms are observed at the initial stage of the development of meningitis or brain abscess. Therefore, if such a formation is detected, you should immediately contact a specialist.
Sometimes a disease manifests itself exclusively in one ear. For example, a patient may complain that he has a headache behind his left ear. This symptom is taken into account by a specialist, after which one of the probable diseases is diagnosed:
- Labyrinthitis is an inflammation of the labyrinth behind the middle ear.
- Auditory organ nerve neuritis - a disease manifests itself when an infection enters the labyrinth.
- Minier's disease - a pathogenic infection enters the labyrinth behind the middle ear, with an increase in endolymph.
- Otomycosis - with this ailment, fungal infection spreads.
- Mastoiditis with its characteristic formation of a boil.
Predisposing factors
The impetus for the development of such diseases and symptoms can even become a person’s lifestyle. Certain areas of the spinal column hurt when staying in one position for a long time. In this case, pain can be felt not only in the vertebral muscles, but also given in the head and ears.
There are certain factors that provoke these diseases:
- With changing climatic conditions, people often complain that their head hurts behind their ears.
- Eye pain is felt with the long-term use of modern devices, or rather gadgets.
- Overstrain of ligaments and muscles.
- Pathologies associated with a violation in the vertebral system.
- Heart attacks, strokes.
- Stress.
No matter how trite it may sound, however, even food can affect the fact that a person has a headache behind his ears. For example, an excess of glutamate monosodium causes pain in the ears, in the temporal part, in the eyes, etc.
A number of products that provoke headaches:
- preservatives;
- spices, sauces, seasonings;
- a number of potato dishes;
- nuts and their kernels (especially fried);
- smoked fish, bacon and others.
Ways to fight
First of all, the patient needs to normalize the immune system. For this, many even completely healthy people use well-known vitamins. The next criterion is a healthy lifestyle, each patient and a healthy person should engage in physical therapy. It does not take much time, but it is a really effective way to prevent headaches.
At home, special infusions are widely applicable that eliminate pain in the ears, eyes, and head. However, experts strongly recommend that you consult a doctor, since similar symptoms are inherent in various diseases, sometimes life-threatening. The neglected state of the disease is much more difficult to treat.