There are many symptoms that signify a headache, but the most common ones are pain in the head, nausea, vomiting, problems in hearing and vision, feeling irritated and the inability to concentrate. There are different types of headaches, each having a different symptom and cause. It is therefore, necessary for you to consult a physician and discuss your headache symptoms in order to determine your headache type and get treated accordingly.

Headache symptoms and types:

Migraine: The common symptom of a headache triggered by a migraine is pain on either one or both sides of the head. There are many other symptoms that are related to migraine type headache such as vomiting, nausea, impaired vision and hearing, sensitivity to sudden changes in lighting and glare.

Cluster headache: The most common symptom of cluster headache is agonizing pain in the head. The focal point of pain is usually around one eye and is accompanied by the tearing of the eye and congestion in the nasal area. The duration for this type of headache lasts from 15 minutes to 4 hours and is recurring in nature.

Tension type headache: Tension type headache is characterized by a feeling of tightness all around the head. Tension type headache usually starts from the back of the head as well as the upper neck and the pain is most severe over the eyebrows. The pain associated with tension type headache is usually mild and is experienced on both sides of the head. Other headache symptoms associated with tension type headache are nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound.

Sinus type headache: The most common symptom for sinus type headache is painful pressure in the forehead and around the cheek and the eyes. Pain is also experienced on the bridge over the nose accompanied by inflammation of the channels behind the nose leading to nasal congestion, dripping nose and sore throat. Sinus headache can also cause a general feeling of being unwell known as malaise and can be very uncomfortable.

Hormone headache: This type of headache is caused by a fluctuation in the female sex hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. The most common causes of hormone headache are intake of oral contraceptives, pregnancy, menstruation, pre menstrual syndromes (PMS) and menopause. Hormone headache symptoms include pain on one side of the head accompanied by throbbing sensation, nausea, vomiting and increased sensitivity to light, sound and smell. Such headaches tend to last from a few hours to few days.