Causes and treatment of emerging pain and noise in the head and ears

1 Otitis

Headaches with acute otitis, as a rule, are localized in the ear area, somewhat less often in the temple or forehead zone. The pain in the ear is constant, aching, at times it starts to throb and intensify. It is accompanied by high fever, hearing impairment and coordination. There may be an obstruction of the ear, pressure on the walls of the ear canal, sensation of a foreign body, fluid in the ear.

To diagnose a patient, it is necessary to take blood and urine tests, undergo such examinations as tympanometry( allows you to see how mobile the eardrum is), audiometry( allows you to determine if hearing loss is reduced).These procedures are carried out without special preparation in the office of the otolaryngologist.

If there are suspicions of complications in the form of stagnation of pus or intracranial changes, then magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography is performed. Such diagnostics also helps to identify tumors.

To find out the causes of otitis, a tympanocentesis can be prescribed, at which the tympanic membrane is pierced and the liquid is removed, which is sent for laboratory diagnosis. In fact, this is the standard procedure for examining a patient with otitis media, although in practice doctors try to use tympanocentesis rarely. This procedure is mandatory for children with suspected complications. Also, such a screening is always prescribed for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or treatment with hormones, HIV carriers. The bottom line is that the microorganism that caused the disease is secreted from the resulting liquid, which makes it possible to select the antibiotic most accurately.

A sign that the inflammation is spreading and the risk of complications is high is an increase in the area affected by the pain and the appearance of painful sensations from the healthy ear. This is due to the fact that the nerve endings located in the face, mouth, larynx, and neck are irritated by the infection. Increases intracranial pressure, increases the load on the vessels. In addition, an important role played by intoxication, arising from the fact that pathogenic microorganisms in the process of life emit poisons in large quantities.

Treatment of head and ear pain during otitis media is determined by the severity of the underlying disease. It may be prescribed to wash the ear canal with local antiseptics, in more severe cases, antibiotics are used. As an anesthetic, you can use Ibuprofen, Ketonal, No-shpu and other drugs that have an anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic effect. In especially severe cases, when pus accumulates in the cavities, an urgent operation and further treatment in a hospital may be required.

The main causes that lead to complications of otitis media are weak immunity, untimely referral to the doctor, resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics.

2 Disease of mastoiditis

Mastoiditis, an inflammation of the temporal bone, can be a complication of acute otitis media. In this case, there is a constant painful throbbing pain in the ear and from the crown to the nape of the neck. Appears purulent discharge from the patient's ear, fever, swelling in the place of pain. Mastoiditis can be manifested by the fact that the fold behind the ear is smoothed, and the body itself is bulged and swollen. In addition to pain, there is noise in the patient's ear and hearing loss.

Treatment of mastoiditis is carried out with the help of antibiotics, but the lack of improvement on the second day after the start of treatment is the basis for urgent surgery.

3 Meningitis

The main causes of meningitis in otitis media are ears caused by streptococci and staphylococci.

The pain in the head is very poorly tolerated by the patient, he can moan, take a characteristic posture lying on his back, strongly arched and threw his head back. Pressing your fingers on the painful area a little relieves the condition. There is a strong sound and photophobia. Meningitis usually develops on the second day after the onset of acute otitis, if the infection penetrates into the cranial cavity. Without treatment, the patient's death occurs within 1-1.5 weeks after the onset of the disease, and in case of untimely treatment a person may remain disabled.

4 Brain abscess

In especially severe cases, otitis can lead to a complication such as an abscess of the brain, the cause of which is associated with the accumulation of pus. The danger of this disease lies in the fact that it develops in parallel with otitis and has no pronounced symptoms at the initial stage. Transition to the apparent stage can last about 2 weeks, while a patient who neglects medical care may not think about the seriousness of his illness. The main causes cause pain, since without this sign abscesses are extremely rare.

The pain in my head excruciates constantly, from time to time it intensifies, it becomes pulsating, sometimes - intolerably painful. If vomiting occurs, it is not associated with eating, but is a consequence of increased pain. The intracranial pressure considerably increases. The patient attaches a special position to the head: the pain weakens when it is tilted to the side or tilted back.

Many diseases, accompanied by pain in the head, can be characterized by noise and discomfort in the ear. Very rarely, pain and noise in the ears may indicate the presence of a tumor in this area or in the brain.

5 Neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve

Causes of ailment can be various: chronic nerve compression, abnormal arrangement of large blood vessels or their aneurysm, diseases and injuries of the teeth, hypothermia of the facial part of the head, chronic infections( sinusitis, otitis, caries), brain tumor.

Pain in the head is usually extremely sharp, intense, localized on one side. The attack can last from 10 to 15 seconds, rarely up to 2-3 minutes. During the patient's tears flow, salivation increases. Usually begins after the movement of the jaws, at night, pain, as a rule, does not bother.

The basis of treatment is anesthesia and the removal of inflammation, as the swelling of the tissues strengthens the nerve compression and aggravates the condition. The most effective treatment is carbamazepine, the dosage of which is selected individually. Treatment lasts at least a month, relief comes on the second day. A remission is a condition when the patient has not experienced pain for six months. If medication does not help, the patient is shown an operation in which the tissues that put pressure are removed.

6 Recommendations

Headache itself may not be a symptom of a dangerous disease. Common causes of such ailment are increased pressure, fatigue, weather change or acclimatization, menstrual cycle in women. And if the headache and pain in the ears, it is better to be safe and visit a neurologist. But the pain in the ear in combination with a headache is an occasion to urgently appeal to the otolaryngologist who will prescribe the treatment. Without timely treatment, such symptoms can lead to very serious consequences. Although even in a situation where the condition is not dangerous, ear pain can be intensified and very hard to tolerate, in most cases, without medical assistance, it is very difficult to ease the condition.