sore head only when touched/ accompanying sharp pain in ear and temple/ numbness under right eye

[amber80221234]

For the last three days I have had a sharp pain in my right temple that, keeps pulsating. Today it went into my ear, and it is also sharp and pulsating. I also have extreme soreness in the top of my head on the right side, and numbness under the right eye. I am trying to figure out what is going on?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From your symptoms the possibilities of trigeminal neuralgia and temporal arteritis need to be ruled out. Trigeminal neuralgia is painful swelling (inflammation) of the nerve (trigeminal nerve) that delivers feeling to the face and "surface" of the eye. Trigeminal neuralgia causes severe, short-lasting (only a few seconds) facial pain on the side of the affected nerve even by slight touch. Mostly affects elderly females. May be caused in multiple sclerosis also.

Diagnosis is by nerve conduction tests coupled with electromyography and CT or MRI head. It helps in ruling out other causes of facial pain like cluster headaches, atypical neuralgia and myofascial pain.

I suggest you to get an examination done from a physician and get the diagnosis confirmed as treatment is diagnosis specific. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[bazza480]

Hello,
I thought it may help you to pass on my experiences.
For quite a considerable time now I have been suffering scalp pain/tenderness all over. Sore to even touch the hair. Sometimes this pain radiates to my ear (left or right) so that I have quite painful ear ache, especially when sawallowing - a convulsive type of pain. It is often preceded by a feeling a considerable tiredness or a day or two and I suffer hot flushes as well.
I saw a neurologist and he could not give me any concrete answer to my problems (or treatment). He believed it was nerve related - some degree of neuralgia. Another medical person said she believed its origin could be stress related (which I had suffered severely some years ago).
It is a very debilitating problem - you just never feel well. I am still searching for an answer, so good luck! There was an item by Tyke 1980 which would be worth your while to have a look at if you haven't already done so.
Bazza 480