Many parts of the head and facial anatomy are interconnected, especially the ears, nose and throat (there’s a reason why doctors specialize in all three!). Because all of these parts work together, if you’re experiencing illness or pain in one, it could easily lead to issues elsewhere. So it’s understandable that, sometimes, earaches and headaches go hand in hand. Let’s look at the causes, symptoms and solutions for simultaneous earaches and headaches.
From chronic illnesses to occasional ear infections and sore throats, many conditions have symptoms that include both earaches and headaches.
The congestion and pressure that comes with an ear infection almost certainly can lead to ear pain. Infections inflame the tubes in the middle ear, causing blockage and mucus buildup.
Ear infections can cause headaches, fever and other symptoms, including fluid drainage from the ears and difficulty hearing. If you’re wondering whether ear infections are contagious, the answer is no, but the viruses that cause them (e.g., colds) are.
Ear infection headache treatment depends on the severity of the condition. Mild ear infections can resolve themselves with time, and treatment is often a matter of managing the pain and symptoms until the infection heals.
But people (especially children) with chronic or severe ear infections might require antibiotics or surgery to prevent worsening illness, future ear infections or hearing damage.
Neuralgia is pain caused by damaged or irritated nerves. Because the body is full of nerves, the location where the neuralgia occurs has a more specific name, such as occipital neuralgia, which is irritation of the occipital nerves in the scalp.
The nerves become inflamed, irritated and swollen, resulting in occipital neuralgia symptoms like stinging, throbbing or burning in the area where the occipital nerves are concentrated: behind your eyes and ears, at the back of your head and the upper neck.
Occipital neuralgia is a common side effect of stress put on a nerve. That can often stem from muscle tightness, which can be treated using heat, massage or physical therapy. Occipital neuralgia treatment might also include injections such as nerve blocks or Botox can also decrease inflammation and pain.
Medication options include anticonvulsants, muscle relaxants or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), depending on your specific symptoms. If your healthcare provider recommends surgery, they may suggest occipital nerve or spinal cord stimulation.
As mentioned, occipital neuralgia can be treated using physical and massage therapy. To manage your pain, try occipital neuralgia exercises such as these:
If this exercise makes the pain in your neck worse, discontinue doing it and contact a healthcare provider.
Tinnitus, a sensation of ringing in the ears without external cause or stimulus, often stems from an underlying condition such as hearing loss, ear infection, injuries or chronic illnesses and diseases. Sometimes, ototoxic medications, including NSAIDs, antibiotics, or antidepressants, can cause tinnitus.
While there are plenty of myths about tinnitus, the idea that tinnitus can cause headaches is not one of them. Tinnitus can cause headaches and vice versa. Tinnitus is linked to multiple headache disorders, including migraines. According to the American Migraine Foundation, tinnitus can worsen during migraine attacks. The causes are still being researched.
Using hearing aids can help manage tinnitus symptoms, especially if caused by hearing loss. However, since tinnitus is frequently a sign of an underlying condition, it’s necessary to find out the root cause to determine the most effective tinnitus treatment.
If no cause can be pinpointed, a doctor can build a plan for managing your tinnitus. Since there’s no cure for it, white noise machines and masking devices will help mask the ringing in your ears.
Temporomandibular joint disorders, commonly referred to as TMJ disorder, cause dysfunction in the jaw joints, muscles, nerves and ligaments.
This dysfunction can stem from the usual wear and tear or issues such as jaw injury, arthritis or teeth grinding. People with TMJ disorder symptoms frequently experience jaw popping, facial and jaw pain, difficulty opening or closing their mouth, headaches (including migraines), tinnitus and earaches.
There are both surgical and nonsurgical options for TMJ disorder treatment. Over-the-counter medications or prescriptions can help manage associated pain like headache and earache. Pain relievers (acetaminophen), NSAIDs (ibuprofen and naproxen), muscle relaxers or even antidepressants could also address pain. Talk to your doctor about the risks that come with each medication option, especially if you have hearing loss.
Mouthguards, physical therapy, ultrasound therapy and trigger point injections (dry needling or injecting substances into the pain points in your jaw muscle) are also nonsurgical options. Even behavioral changes—like fixing your posture or not chewing on ice—could change your TMJ dysfunction for the better.
For more serious cases, you need to speak with a doctor about surgical options such as arthrocentesis, TMJ arthroscopy or open-joint surgery. They will put together a treatment plan based on your needs and the cause of your TMJ dysfunction.
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One-sided ear pain can be caused by a variety of headaches, including:
A migraine is a severe, painful headache often paired with throbbing, nausea, vomiting, and light and sound sensitivity. When a migraine begins, people can experience vision loss, tingling or numb body parts and visual phenomena such as light flashes. These headaches last hours or days and usually only occur on one side of the head.
The head pressure associated with migraines may cause ear pain, too. People with migraines often describe a feeling of fullness in the ear—along with tinnitus and sound sensitivity—due to the pressure.
Like the pain associated with a sinus infection, sinus headaches are characterized by pressure near the eyes, cheeks and forehead. Sinus headaches and migraines share a similar throbbing pain and other various symptoms, such as nasal congestion, so they often get mixed up. However, sinus headache symptoms don’t include the light sensitivity or nausea that is common with migraines.
Because the ears and sinuses work closely together in the body, sinusitis and pressure in the sinuses can cause ear pain.
Any of the above-mentioned causes, from migraines to infections, might cause headache and ear pain on the right side of your head. However, none of them will predictably cause one-sided pain across all people.
There is no exact way to identify why you might only experience ear pain and headache on the left side of your head. The side of your head where these pains show up is entirely individual and might even switch. If you have concerns about consistent headache and earache on one side, record your symptoms and talk to a doctor about them.
Earache and headache can often occur together and may be accompanied by other symptoms. Understanding these additional symptoms can help identify the underlying cause and guide appropriate treatment.
A left-sided headache, earache, and eye pain can be linked and may indicate several conditions. Migraines often cause pain on one side of the head and can also lead to earache and eye discomfort.
Another possibility is a sinus infection or sinusitis, which can result in pain that affects the forehead, eyes, and can extend to the ear on the same side. Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders can also contribute to these symptoms, with pain radiating from the jaw to the ear and eye.
Neck pain can often lead to earache and headache due to the interconnected nature of the cervical spine and surrounding structures.
Issues such as muscle tension, cervical spine disorders, or poor posture can cause referred pain that extends to the head and ears. For example, a herniated disc or muscle strain in the neck can irritate nerves, resulting in pain that radiates to the head and ear. Additionally, tension headaches caused by neck strain can cause discomfort in the head and ears.
A sore throat accompanied by a headache and earache can indicate several conditions. Often, these symptoms are associated with upper respiratory infections such as a common cold or the flu. Infections can cause inflammation and discomfort in the throat, which can spread to the ears and head due to the close anatomical connections.
Sinus infections or sinusitis can also cause a sore throat, along with headaches and ear pain, as the inflammation affects the sinuses and can radiate pain to these areas. Additionally, conditions like tonsillitis or pharyngitis can present with similar symptoms.
Earache, headache, and dizziness can be related and may indicate several conditions. These symptoms might arise from inner ear infections or disorders, which can affect both balance and cause discomfort in the ear and head.
Conditions such as vestibular neuritis or Meniere’s disease could also be responsible. Additionally, sinus infections or cervical spine issues can contribute to these symptoms by causing referred pain and affecting balance.
Toothache, earache, and headache can often be interconnected, indicating various underlying issues. Toothache, particularly from an infection or dental abscess, can cause pain that radiates to the ear and head due to the close proximity of the nerves involved.
This referred pain can also lead to headaches. Additionally, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, which affect the jaw joint, can contribute to pain in the teeth, ears, and head.
Experiencing earache, headache, and nausea together can often be distressing. Nausea in this context can be a response to the discomfort and pain from the ear and head. For example, an ear infection can cause significant discomfort and balance issues, leading to nausea.
Similarly, migraines frequently cause nausea alongside intense headaches and sometimes ear pain due to referred pain or increased sensitivity to sound.
Another possibility is a condition like vestibular neuritis, which affects the inner ear and can cause vertigo, leading to nausea, along with earache and headache.
Treatment for your simultaneous earache and headache will require you to find out exactly what caused both of them to appear. Then, you can resolve the issue at its source, knocking out the associated symptoms. To manage symptoms while pursuing treatment, try these medications and earache and headache home remedies.
For headaches:
For earaches:
When you’re dealing with headaches accompanied by ear pain, knowing when to see a doctor can be difficult. While headaches can be a common, passing irritation, they can also be an early sign of worse or impending health conditions. Earaches and pain can also lead to long-term hearing loss and permanent damage if spurred by infection and left untreated.
When you have a headache or ear pain—or both—pay attention to the severity and any differences you feel from normal headaches you experience. Anything extremely painful or otherwise out of the ordinary is a good reason to talk to your doctor.
Yes, wisdom teeth can indeed cause both headaches and earaches. When wisdom teeth become impacted or grow improperly, they can exert pressure on nearby structures, including the jaw, which may lead to muscle tension and strain.
This tension can radiate to the head, resulting in headaches. Additionally, infections or inflammation associated with wisdom teeth can contribute to headache pain. Earaches can occur due to the close anatomical connection between the jaw and the ear.
To address both earache and headache, several general strategies can be effective. Over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help alleviate both earache and headache by reducing pain and inflammation. Applying a warm compress to the affected ear may soothe discomfort, while staying hydrated can also aid in relieving headaches, especially if dehydration is a factor.
For tension-related headaches, relaxation techniques and reducing stress can provide relief. However, if symptoms persist or are severe, it's crucial to consult a healthcare professional to determine the underlying cause and receive appropriate treatment.
