Pain behind the ear in patients with Bell's palsy is a well described phenomenon that usually happens at the onset of symptoms. However, in some patients the pain can extend to the back part of the head, is rather intense and persistent. Fortunately, 80% of patients recover within weeks to months. A good prognostic sign is recovery of taste or some motor function within the first week. But just becuase you haven't experienced any improvement doesn't mean you won't have a good recovery. So hang in there, continue with the steroids, and talk to your doctor about acyclovir (anti-herpes med) as there is some evidence of herpetic infection causing Bell's palsy. Good luck.
About a year ago, I had experienced this knife like pain over the left side of my head, directly over the left ear. Initially, I thought I had an ear ache but the pain would stab about every 3 seconds, this was intolerable. My entire left side of my head hurt to the touch, like all the nerve endings were on fire. It stopped me from my normal activities. This went on for 3 days straight, even awakening me from sleep. I tried advil, ibuprofen, tylenol anything to take some of the pain and nothing worked. I then thought possibly searching on the internet for clues as to what this might be. I came up with Occipital Neuralgia and then went to see my doctor. He was surprised that I was able to find such accurate findings. He prescribed Indomethacin 75 mg. I took one immediately that night and within 1/2 hour all the pain subsided. I now keep this with me at all times. I have had 2 occurrences of this since initially diagnosed, and it was on the right side of my head the second time.