Causes
Your sinuses are in your cheekbones, behind your nose, in your forehead and in the center of the skull. When inflammation occurs in these sinus cavities, it can cause sinus headache pain. The most common causes of this inflammation are allergies, infection and even a change in temperature. According to the Mayo Clinic, these causes can trigger a change in pressure in the sinus cavity, leading to a sinus headache. There are four main sinus cavities, and the headache can be localized to any one of them.
Frontal & Ethmoid
The frontal sinuses are easy to find, just as the name implies. They are in the front of the forehead, above the eyes. If you have a frontal sinus headache, this is where you will feel the pain. In extreme cases of sinus headache, you will feel pain and tenderness if you put pressure on the forehead just over the eyebrows.
The ethmoid sinuses are between the eyes, to each side of the septum. If your sinus inflammation is primarily in the ethmoid sinuses, that is where your headache will occur. A problem in the ethmoid sinuses, however, can cause a sinus headache in the frontal sinuses as well.
Maxillary & Sphenoid
The maxillary sinuses are just below the eyes in the cheekbone. If you have a severe sinus infection, your pain will worsen if you put pressure on the cheekbone. In fact, according to a report from Northern Kentucky University, pain or infection in the maxillary sinuses can also cause pain in the teeth.
The sphenoid sinuses are in the middle of the skull, behind the other sinuses. A sphenoid sinus headache will be felt in the center of the head, down toward the ears, and can cause pain in the neck and ears.
While there are four separate sinus cavities, they are still all closely related. A problem in one of the sinuses can cause pain that spreads to the other sinuses, and therefore the headache can be felt in one or more of the sinus areas.
