headache

I have had constant pain on the ride side of my head for over a week.   The area is tender to the touch, but I don't remember experiencing a physical injury.   The location is parietal, between the temple and the junction with the frontal bone.   Aspirin doesn't have much effect.
I do not have medical insurance.  I am 55 years old, male.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
The area over and behind the ear or the parietal region can be painful due to several reasons. If the area is painful to touch, then blood pressure, loud sounds, migraine and simple headache are unlikely to be the cause of pain. However, if you are on long calls on cell phones, then this could be a cause. Alternating the phone over both ears, keeping the phone away from ear and reducing the voice level of the phone will help.
Tension headache is a possibility but again less likely. Temporal arteritis, internal ear infection, TMJ and tooth decay can all be the cause of pain. In temporal arteritis there is inflammation of the blood vessel at the temple. Internal ear infection, fluid in ear (went in during swimming or during a shower bath or due to infection), or impacted wax can be a problem. In infection of tooth, exposed nerve endings of tooth can be a problem. In TMJ, the pain will be aggravated on opening the mouth and on chewing. Infection in the eye, glaucoma, near and far sightedness and sinusitis are the other causes. It is difficult to diagnose the cause without examination. I am not sure how to help you if you do not have insurance. Maybe you can go to a walk in clinic or to an ER. Take care!

The medical advice given should not be considered a substitute for medical care provided by a doctor who can examine you. The advice may not be completely correct for you as the doctor cannot examine you and does not know your complete medical history. Hence this reply to your post should only be considered as a guiding line and you must consult your doctor at the earliest for your medical problem.

[Andy2357]

I do use a cellphone exclusively, though probably not excessively.  
The pain is not "over and behind the ear," but in the soft area between the ear and the forehead, direcly above the corner of the eye on the left side.
I don't have the other (frightening) symptoms of "temporal arteritis," but I imagine that the temporal artery is the location of the pain.  While I have waxy ears, I don't currently have ear pain.
I am quite nearsighted, and wear heavy bifocal eyeglasses.
Please let me know if you have other advice.

[Andy2357]

By the way, please accept my profuse thanks for the advice.   Certainly I have some better ideas about what might be wrong than I did before.