[myleshigh]

What do you know of that would cause extreme pain around the jaw bone, behind the ear, & at the base of the skull where it meets the spine? It is a debilitating pain that comes on strong out of nowhere, increases in level of pain to the point where it will drop you to your knees, then slowly resides leaving a dull ache/burning sensation for a couple minutes, then it's as if it never happened until the next brain-contraction begins. I've had it for about 3 days & thought on days 1 & 2 that it was tooth or jaw related since I have tmj & a top molar that lost its filling about 1 1/2 yrs ago. Hold on, here comes another . That reminds me, now that it's over, I can push on my head in back, right where my skull & neck are joined & it will sometimes stop the progression of the pain & the "contraction" will disappear. Last night, my head on the right side at the back in the middle was way hotter than the rest of my head, almost as if it had a fever. I made my son & husband feel it to make sure it was not just another sensational type symptom. It wakes me up every few hrs when trying to sleep, & happens, hold on, that time it took pressure right behind the ear where my skull starts to taper off. It happens when I'm awake very sporadically, ranging anywhere from 2 minutes to a couple hrs apart. Stress seems to cause it to occur or any serious thought , hold on, that takes the focus of my mind & increases activity in my brain. Sorry but trying to think of the easiest way to give the most details seems to be one of those stress/thought factors that brings on this pain. Certain pitch sounds seem to slightly aggravate it also. It seems to be escalating in severity as well as frequency. Any thoughts as to what may be the cause? Thanks for ANY HELP you can give. God Bless.

[joypulv]

I suggest seeing a dentist and a doctor, either one first. Possibilities?
Tooth infection/abscess.
Mastoiditis, although that usually occurs in children.
A mastoid infection can send abscesses down the neck. It is treatable but can be very serious if it spreads to the brain (meningitis).

I had a molar that didn't hurt but caused ear pain for years. I kept going to doctors, but a dentist diagnosed it in a minute, removed the tooth, and the pain was gone.