Deep ear pain and constant head pain for 4 1/2 years

Hi Bonnie I'm sorry that you are going through this. I suffer from migraines and the only saving grace is my chiropractor. Most headaches are caused by the neck being out of alignment. Also with your ear pain has anyone ever mentioned the occipital nerves that run behind your ear. You have have occipital neuralgia. It's worth checking out. It may or may not be either of these things but it's worth a shot looking into it. I hope this helps and you get some relief soon.

Hi Bonnie, I am so sorry you are suffering like this...I have a few things for you to try or see if they answer any questions, there are multiple symptoms you can tackle to be sure it ISNT one of.....Do you get pain in front of your ear? running nose? vision issues? Some of these sound like TMJ issues(can be caused by tooth alignment, chewing certain types of things, laying on one side, tooth grinding, injury, anatomy of jaw, all are things to consider)...inflammation, pain, pressure on your nerves can actually cause migraines(not a typical migraine) or regular headaches...also some allergies & blood pressure can cause similar issues, inflammation can come & go so wouldnt show up on tests, inflammation in ears can cause vertigo, pressure when bending over, partial hearing loss, ringing & pulsing in your ears and pain(that can radiate..which is important to remember)...a neck issue should have shown up on one of the tests unless it is a nerve issue(sometimes they do nerve conduction tests to trigger/track specific nerves)..my doctors only send people to chiropractor for lower body, not having a CAUSE for neck issues(injury &/or disease) they dont like to refer for manipulation....like I said there are different things to try, having MULTIPLE CAUSES can make it hard to diagnose...these are just ideas, it cant hurt to try: ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT MEDICATION BEFORE YOU TRY ANY MEDS, EVEN OVER THE COUNTER(esp. since you are taking OTHER meds)....if either warmth or cold on your neck/jaw/ear area helps, an anti-inflammatory either orally(w/food) or topical on your painful areas, try wearing a mouthguard, lie on your back to sleep & try sleeping in a different place w/other pillows for a few nights, just sleeping or sitting/laying in certain positions & etc can start a chain reaction of symptoms, sit down or squat instead of bending over to do things, an anti-histamine(try medications one at a time)keep a journal and see if there are common things that make you feel better or worse & you can document your symptoms(making it easier to explain later)...I wish I could be of more help but maybe you have some other ways to determine WHAT ITS NOT?? Amitriptyline is ALWAYS the go to medication when they have a patient with symptoms w/o a cause, it has many uses, if it helps stick with it, after a few weeks you will get the best benefits....Best Wishes💟I really hope you get answers or at least some relief

Hi Bonnie! 

I know your post is from 5 months ago, but I figured I would share with you my experience as I have gone through the exact same thing for about a year. I have been to nearly every doctor trying to figure out why I have these symptoms and have had all of my test results come up short. I was diagnosed with chronic daily migraine, occipital neuralgia, POTS disease, CFS and fibromyalgia (intense pain and pressure in ears). I was given Elavil (like yourself) and sent on my way. I was sad that I had to take the elavil and was afraid of the side effects, but I felt like I had no choice because the daily pain ruined my life. At 30, I lost my job, I lost my social life, I stopped going outside and frankly, I didn't see a reason to live if I was going to have to suffer like that every day. 

I had been on a standard american diet all my life and was told to help with the pain I should adopt an anti-inflammatory diet (No animal products, no sugar, no gluten, no alcohol, no caffeine). This does not sound like a lot of fun and I started the diet kicking and screaming, but I figured I had nothing left to lose and I would do anything to get part of my life back. I started slow, every week cutting out something new. I have been drinking coffee since I was ten....thats a whopping 20 years as a coffee addict and man was that so so hard, but I did it. 

After 3 weeks into the diet, the pounding stopped, the cloud of fatigue lifted and I had a finally smile back on my face. Was I 100% cured? No, but what I am saying is I tried this out as a last ditch attempt before settling for a life of heavy drugs and it worked. 

When I started, I had zero expectations because as an American, I grew up thinking, "Oh I need meat for protein and iron" and "Oh I need milk for calcium!" , but now I'm realizing that I was poisoning myself and my body was retaliating. Some people are more sensitive to chemicals and hormones than others. Now we are finding that meat eaters have higher rates of cancer and drinking milk and eating dairy products causes high levels of inflammation and actually CAUSES osteoporosis. How can the SAD be healthy if 75% of Americans are overweight? 

I'm sorry if I sound preachy, I'm not one of those crazy activists,  but I came across this thread because this is exactly what was plaguing me and I hope that my story helps anyone else going through this issue. 

 I'm not sure what your diet consists of, but I would say give a whole foods, plant diet a try. If you can't quit meat, at least quit dairy - once I quit the dairy the pounding in my head stopped. 

hi bonnie.

I have the same symptoms. started with ear pain and fullness. then it went to burning above and behind my ear. burning temples and face. ear fluttering. muscle pain that goes down my neck. I've seen 30 doctors and had cts mris acupuncture cupping, nerve flossing, steroid injections,nerve blocks ketamine infusions. nothing helps and doctors are clueless. hope you get this

I have pressure in my right ear it feels like there is air or water in my ear I’ve had it for like six months and the doctor told me to use nasal court in my right ear twice a day in the morning and evening and to take a Claritin says it’s allergies it’s very painful I’ve had migraines since I was 11 and I’m almost 70 mines not as painful as yours but I wanted you to be aware it’s a throbbing pain

It must be what you are listening to listening to music can cause migraines. Turn down the volume.