Sensitive to touch nerve pain in head - sinus related?

Posted by beats32 @beats32, Feb 28 3:18pm

I've been experiencing the strangest nerve sensation in my head since July 2023. The lightest touch is uncomfortable, but when I apply more pressure, it starts to feel better. If I leave it alone for a few minutes and lightly stroke the area again, highly sensitive pain is triggered again. When it's not being touched, it's typically just a dull ache. It is uncomfortable to wash and brush my hair, sleep on that side, wear a hat, put on a shirt, etc. The spot is about the size of a quarter, above and slightly behind my right temple. I also experience intermittent right ear fullness and ringing, pressure (right side only), some discomfort around my cheekbone and at times, slight numbness around my cheek/under my eye. The pain seems to be exasperated with barometric pressure headaches or any type of sinus discomfort.

This certainly has become an annoyance, but it hasn't gotten any worse or better in 8 months. I've had a head CT scan and a brain MRI with and without contrast. I've seen a wonderful neurologist who spent a significant amount of time reviewing my scans, results, and completing thorough exams testing all of my neurological functioning. He's pretty much ruled out anything serious, says it doesn't present like typical trigeminal neuralgia, occipital neuralgia, or anything similar. Of note, my MRI results mentioned a deviated septum on the right side with several blood vessels of anatomical variation in the area of my maxillary nerve.

Could this be a sinus issue related to the deviated septum? I feel like my next stop should be an ENT. I would greatly appreciate any insight or advice. For reference, 37 year old female, healthy, no bad habits, no previous head injuries, etc.

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@nrd1

@beats32 -

I had this same experience at your age. Stay away from ENT.

Occipital muscle tightness, tight neck flexors, forward head posture, masseter tightness. Your trapezius/SCM muscles are probably tight and you don’t know it. This radiates into your jaw/ear/face and can feel like sinus pain.

See a PT and work on stress management/muscular tightness.

*I am not a doctor. But this area crosses over into many specialist areas. ENTs are often seen due to pain referrals here. Be careful.

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This 100% makes sense. I know my neck and traps are tight and I get frequent tension headaches. I'm going to go the PT route. Thank you!

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