Throbbing behind my left ear??

Question

Is it normal to feel your pulse behind your left ear? I feel it quite a lot, and for a good few months now, I have pressure and pain in the same spot just above the left ear. I thought it was migraines. however I also thought about brain tumours or maybe an aneurysm. My grandmother died of an aneurysm when my dad was young so I don't know what her age was, but that will probably affect me in some way. I am 18 years old, and I have been getting more and more worried, I would go to the doctors but I have panic disorder. What are the most likely causes, and do aneurysms pulse? could there be an aneurysm behind my ear?

ggreg · Accepted Answer

Well, the carotid artery runs up the side of the neck, so that is what you are feeling, and it is supposed to pulse, of course.  Now, as for pain above that area, that could be from muscle strain or an irritated nerve or some sort of headache.  Carefully but firmly massage both sides of your spine in your neck, then really do a good job of massaging the shoulder muscles on the top-back of them that extend out from both sides of the neck, this helps muscle strain.  Do not massage your neck itself on the sides or front.  Then lay down flat on the floor with your legs up in a chair, laying like that takes all the pressure off the spine and allows it to rest and return to a normal position, in case it's an irritated nerve bothering you (you might hear crackling as the vertebra move).  Whilst laying here, take some nice deep breaths, blow it out, breathe normal a couple times, then repeat ten times.  You should feel quite relaxed after this routine.  I do it all the time, I have a bad back, and if those shoulder muscles get too tight, I'll even wind up with a headache.  By the way, that deep breathing is very good for panic disorder.  I might add that people who are anxious will often tense up their bodies, thus the need for rubbing out your muscles sometimes.

Now, if you get headaches, particularly if they're migraines, there are some medicines to help with that.  As for an aneurysm, this happens when blood vessels get a blockage, usually from plaque buildup from fatty foods or a head injury, and the signal of an aneurysm is a headache that is so bad you cannot stand up, they call it a "thunderclap headache," the worst you've ever had in your life.  But in general, with a family history of aneurysm, eventually when you can manage to get to a psychology clinic and get some tranquilizers and short-term therapy to get your panic disorder under control, then visit a neurologist or cardiologist and he'll order a scan to see if there are any blood vessels swelling in the head and neck that would indicate an aneurysm, plus they can check your blood pressure to make sure it's normal.

I hope my tips will settle things down a little, and do consider eventually seeing a psych doc to get tranquilizers, they help panic disorder immensely, so you can get around a little better than you are.  In the meantime, deep breathing really helps panic whenever you get that feeling.  Keep us posted on how some massage and laying flat and deep breathing help you.  And if you have a headache that bothers you a lot and you don't have migraine medicines yet, some aspirin or other pain reliever should at least dull it somewhat.

MikeFlintIsOver9000 · Answer

Thank you that helped in my moment of need :)

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I can't understand what's wrong with me

Weird headache for the last month

Are these symptoms indicative of a particular disease/neuro issue?

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