Headache as a sign of ear, nose, and throat diseases: evidence from a specialized clinic

Headache has been a common problem for humans since ancient times. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of ear, nose, and throat diseases in patients with headache.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, we reviewed medical records of 100 patients presenting with headache to the ENT clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Urmia, Iran, between 2019 and 2021. The type of headache (primary or secondary) was diagnosed based on medical history, clinical examinations, and paraclinical examinations (CT scan) and completion of a checklist for each patient. Chi-square and independent t-tests were used to analyze data. The p value < 0.05 was considered significant.

Of 100 patients, 58 (58%) had primary headaches with a mean age of 1.72 ± 4.77 years, and 42 (42%) had secondary headaches with a mean age of 5.57 ± 1.43 years (p < 0.01). There was a significant difference in the type of headache and location of pain in patients except for the back of the head and the top of the head (p < 0.05). Of the 58 patients with primary headaches, 26 (44.8%), and of the 42 patients with secondary headaches, 10 (23.8%) woke up from sleep due to headache (p < 0.03). Of the 58 patients with primary headaches, 38 (65.5%), and of the 42 patients with secondary headaches, 12 (28.6%) had their headache worsened by light and noise (p < 0.001).

Of all patients, 42% had secondary headaches, which most commonly had symptoms of sinus pain. These patients were treated by an otolaryngologist. Patients with non-sinus headaches were referred to a neurologist.