Can ear pain be a symptom of a migraine? My daughter gets frequent migraines but lately she says they have been changing. Before they were always at the back of the head and back of the eyes. Now they are in or around her ears and making her dizzy and nauseaus. She is also sensitive to light as well. We can't tell if this is a migraine or something else? She had a very bad migraine episode two days ago so bad that I took her to the ER. Could this be a rebound headache or a medication overuse headache (she's had 3 Imitrex over the weekend).
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Q: ear pain, dizziness - migraine?
Answers (3)
9/13/08 8:09pm
Hi chelbella,
Certainly some people experience ear pain when having a Migraine attack. The important thing is to let her doctor know the symptoms are changing. Our article Anatomy of a Migraine discusses the four phases of a Migraine with detailed descriptions of the symptoms. Not every Migraineur gets each phase or each symptom. I usually don't get the aura phase of a Migraine attack. Migraine without Aura - The Basics will be helpful too.
Care needs to be taken with certain OTC and prescription medications so we don't get Medication Overuse Headache, MOH . This happens when we use, let's say, Imitrex or ibuprofen or lortab more than two to three days a week. If we have MOH, there isn't a Migraine prevention medication on earth that will work. Follow this link to read more: Medication Overuse Headache - When the Remedy Backfires.
Good luck
Nancy
7/15/10 3:54pm
I frequently get ear pain and/or discomfort when I have a migraine, as well as nauseau and some dizziness. Even with the ear pain the primary location of my pain is in the temple or the eye. I have found that Similason brand ear drops are helpful when I have ear pain/discomfor. I feel I should mention that I also have a long history of ear problems, as well as TMJ and teeth grinding. I wear a brux guard every night for the teeth grinding and have found this is extremely helpful in reducing the chance of a migraine as well as jaw and/or ear pain.
9/30/10 9:00pm
Ｉdon't know if your daugther's symptoms are the same, but I have positional vertigo (the room spins when I lay down or turn around in bed) plus migraines. When I get migraines they're atypical and not just on one side. They don't come on as severe as for some people but they can be at times. Most of the time they happen at the same time (or used to), now the migraine's happen more frequently than the dizziness.
I found out after 4 years (2 going to the doctors) after doing research myself that it's Migraine Associated Vertigo (MAV) or what's also known as Vestibular Migraines.
For me, the migraines are weather related to the weather. Shifts from cold to hot back to cold in a short period of time. Plus hot weather triggers migraines for me too. Hope this helps!
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