Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat

Symptoms of the head and the special senses: headaches, earache and hearing changes, sore throat and voice problems, mouth and dental symptoms, nose and sinus symptoms, and changes in vision. Each page lists common associations first and flags the combinations that need same-day or emergency care.

This page lists all 26 of them in the guide. Open any symptom for its possible causes, red-flag list and frequently asked questions.

Symptom	Category	What it can feel like
Bad breath (halitosis)	Head & Senses	Bad breath is an unpleasant odour from the mouth that persists beyond the usual morning breath. Most of it originates in the mouth itself — bacteria breaking down food…
Bleeding gums	Head & Senses	Bleeding gums means the gums bleed on brushing, flossing or eating, and look red or puffy rather than pale pink and firm. It is usually a sign of gum inflammation…
Blocked ear feeling	Head & Senses	A blocked ear feeling is a sense of fullness, pressure or muffled hearing in one or both ears, as if you are underwater or still descending in a plane. It reflects…
Blocked or runny nose	Head & Senses	A blocked or runny nose means the nasal lining is swollen or producing excess mucus — breathing through the nose feels obstructed, and there may be sneezing, reduced…
Blurred vision	Head & Senses	Blurred vision means the world looks out of focus — in one eye or both, for near, distance or everything, arriving gradually or suddenly. Because the causes range from…
Difficulty swallowing	Head & Senses	Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) means food, drink or saliva does not go down smoothly — sticking, catching, triggering coughing or choking, or taking great effort. It…
Discharge from the ear	Head & Senses	Discharge from the ear means fluid — wax-like, watery, creamy or blood-stained — coming out of the ear canal. It usually means infection or inflammation of the outer ear…
Double vision	Head & Senses	Double vision (diplopia) means seeing two images of a single object — side by side or stacked — when both eyes are open. It usually means the eyes are not aligning…
Dry eyes	Head & Senses	Dry eyes feel gritty, sore, burning or tired, and paradoxically may water a lot as the eye reflexively floods a poorly lubricated surface. Symptoms are often worse with…
Dry mouth	Head & Senses	A dry mouth means too little saliva — a parched, sticky feeling, difficulty swallowing dry foods, altered taste, and often worsening dental health, because saliva…
Earache	Head & Senses	Earache is pain in or around the ear. In children it is one of the commonest reasons for an urgent appointment; the pain may come from the ear itself (outer ear canal or…
Eye pain	Head & Senses	Eye pain ranges from the gritty soreness of a dry or tired eye to the deep, severe ache of raised pressure inside the eye. Pain with redness, light sensitivity or any…
Flashes and floaters	Head & Senses	Floaters are drifting specks, threads or cobwebs that move with the eye, caused by shadows from tiny clumps in the eye's gel. Flashes are brief flickers of light…
Headache	Head & Senses	A headache is pain in the head or upper neck, ranging from a dull background ache to a disabling throbbing attack. Headaches are extraordinarily common and usually arise…
Hearing loss	Head & Senses	Hearing loss means sounds seem muffled, distant or unclear — asking people to repeat themselves, turning the television up, struggling in background noise. It may affect…
Hoarse voice	Head & Senses	A hoarse voice sounds rough, croaky, strained or breathy, and may tire or give out altogether. Short hoarseness with a cold is laryngitis — inflamed vocal cords — and…
Jaw pain	Head & Senses	Jaw pain is pain in front of the ear, in the jaw joint (temporomandibular joint) or the chewing muscles — often with clicking, stiffness, difficulty opening wide, or…
Loss of smell or taste	Head & Senses	Loss of smell (and with it, much of taste) means scents seem faint, distorted or absent — food tastes bland because flavour is mostly smell. It commonly follows viral…
Mouth ulcers	Head & Senses	Mouth ulcers are painful, shallow sores inside the mouth — on the cheeks, lips, tongue or gums. Small round ulcers that heal within one to two weeks (aphthous ulcers)…
Nosebleeds	Head & Senses	A nosebleed is bleeding from the delicate blood vessels inside the nose, usually from the front part of the septum. Most stop with simple first aid — sit up, lean…
Red eye	Head & Senses	A red eye means the white of the eye looks pink or bloodshot — from surface blood vessels dilating, inflammation, or occasionally a flat patch of blood under the surface…
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)	Head & Senses	Tinnitus is hearing sound — ringing, buzzing, hissing or humming — that is not coming from outside. It is usually heard in quiet rooms and at night. Tinnitus is a…
Sinus pain and pressure	Head & Senses	Sinus pain and pressure is an aching, full feeling over the forehead, cheeks or between the eyes, often worse bending forward, with nasal blockage and discoloured…
Sore throat	Head & Senses	A sore throat is pain, scratchiness or rawness in the throat, often worse on swallowing. Most sore throats are viral and settle within a week; the pattern of fever…
Toothache	Head & Senses	Toothache is pain in or around a tooth — throbbing, sharp on biting, or triggered by hot, cold or sweet foods. It usually means the tooth's nerve is inflamed or…
Watering eyes	Head & Senses	Watering eyes mean tears spill over the lid and run down the cheek, rather than draining away silently through the tear ducts into the nose. It is a plumbing problem, a…

Please note: This page is educational information about a symptom. A symptom alone cannot diagnose any condition, and the causes listed here are possibilities, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about a symptom — especially one that is new, severe, getting worse or not going away — please see your own clinician, who can examine you and arrange tests. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.

Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat

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