Headache in the Temples: Causes of Pain on the Left and Right

The temples tighten as if a headband one size too small had been put on your head, and every movement of the jaw echoes with a dull wave. Almost everyone knows the feeling: headache is the most common form of pain, and 90% of people experience it at least once a year. Let us look at what lies behind pain specifically in the temporal region and when it stops being an everyday nuisance.

Why the head hurts in the temples: the overall picture

The brain itself cannot hurt — it has no pain receptors. The signal comes from the tissues around it: extracranial arteries and veins, cranial and spinal nerves, the muscles of the head and neck, and the meninges. Branches of the superficial temporal artery run through the temporal region, and the temporalis muscle, which is involved in chewing, lies there, so compression or irritation of these structures is felt precisely here. Primary headaches, which have no organic cause, account for 95–98% of all cases; the rest are secondary, that is, a symptom of another disease.

Pain in the left or right temple: what the side may mean

The side of the pain by itself does not allow a diagnosis to be made: the doctor assesses the nature of the pain, its duration and accompanying symptoms. In the history of medicine, migraine attacks were described as "the disease of half the head" with vomiting.

Tension-type and migraine pain in the temporal region

The most common form is tension-type headache: it is associated with tension in the muscles of the shoulders, neck, scalp and jaw. It is triggered by overwork, lack of sleep, skipped meals, alcohol, as well as stress, depression and anxiety. Migraine affects 12–18% of the world's population, and women three times more often than men, while cluster headache occurs in less than 0.5% of people and in men 5–8 times more often than in women.

Other causes: blood vessels, nerves, chewing muscles

Temporal pain can also be secondary. Cervicogenic pain is associated with pathology of the neck, and medication-overuse pain with excessive use of painkillers, which paradoxically intensify the pain. More dangerous than others are increased intracranial pressure (pain is worse in the morning and accompanied by vomiting), angle-closure glaucoma (pain in the eye area, redness, dilated pupil, nausea), carbon monoxide poisoning, and giant cell arteritis in older adults — with visual impairment and jaw pain when chewing.

Which signs are considered alarming

Some symptoms require not observation but prompt assessment by a doctor.

• headache after a head injury in the past three months;
• pain with high fever, stiff neck, intolerance to bright light, or a rash that does not fade when pressed;
• sudden and extremely severe pain, as well as pain that worsens with coughing, sneezing, bending over or physical exertion;
• numbness or weakness in the body and face, impaired speech, balance, walking, memory, drowsiness or confusion, loss of vision, seizures;
• jaw pain when eating or tenderness of the scalp.

Temple pain by itself is not a reason to call an ambulance; 103 or 112 — if the pain came on suddenly and is unbearable, if seizures, numbness or weakness in the body and face, difficulty speaking, balance or walking, memory problems, drowsiness or confusion, loss of vision have appeared, and also with high fever accompanied by a stiff neck and intolerance to bright light.

Which doctor to see and how the examination is carried out

For headache, people see a neurologist; a cephalalgist is a neurologist who deals specifically with headache. The doctor asks about the nature and frequency of attacks, checks for warning signs and may suggest keeping a headache diary to identify triggers. In the presence of "red flags", additional tests are ordered. This material is for reference: it helps to make sense of the symptoms but does not replace a doctor's consultation — recurring temple pain deserves a conversation with a neurologist.

This content is for reference and does not replace a doctor's consultation. Medical disclaimer