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The fourteen head conditions treated at this clinic — headaches, dizziness, and the nerves of the face and brain — grouped by kind. If you are not sure which is yours, start with what you notice: the table below points you to the right page.
Head conditions are easiest to tell apart by what you notice. Find the line closest to yours, and start with that page.
| What you notice | Start with |
|---|---|
| Headaches, and you are not sure which kind | Headaches (all types) |
| Recurring migraine attacks | Migraine |
| A tight band around the head, on both sides | Tension headache |
| Severe one-sided pain around the eye, in bouts at the same time each day | Cluster headache |
| Headache on one side, worse when you move your neck | Cervicogenic headache |
| Visual disturbance, numbness or speech trouble, without the headache | Silent migraine |
| Vertigo, with or without a headache | Vestibular migraine |
| Spinning, lightheadedness, unsteadiness or near-fainting | Dizziness and vertigo |
| Electric-shock pain in the face, set off by touch or chewing | Trigeminal neuralgia |
| Facial weakness with a rash on the ear | Ramsay Hunt syndrome |
| Symptoms after a knock to the head | Concussion |
| An aneurysm found on a scan | Brain aneurysm |
| Recovering from a stroke, or lowering your risk | Stroke |
| Tics in a child, or Tourette syndrome | Tic disorders |
Call 995 now if someone's face droops, an arm drifts down, or their speech is slurred or strange — any one of these can be a stroke — or for a sudden, severe headache reaching full intensity within a minute, often described as the worst of your life, which can be a ruptured brain aneurysm. Go to an emergency department today for a headache with fever and a stiff neck, or after a head injury with drowsiness or vomiting — see headaches for the full list.
Most head conditions are treated without surgery, with medication, lifestyle changes and time. For headache and nerve pain that medication has not controlled, neuromodulation changes how a nerve sends its signals, rather than cutting or destroying it — including occipital nerve treatments for migraine and cluster headache, and treatment for trigeminal neuralgia.
Head conditions here are seen by Dr Mathew Tung, a neurosurgeon whose practice covers brain, spine and nerve conditions and headache and migraine, as well as head injury and concussion. He has practised since 1984, and specialised in neurosurgery since 1991.
See neurosurgery at this clinic for more on what he treats.
Usually not. Most headaches are not dangerous and never need a scan. One is arranged when a headache has warning features — for example, coming on suddenly, or with new weakness, numbness or confusion.
Dr Mathew Tung's practice includes headache and migraine, including nerve treatments when medication has not helped. Most people seen for headaches never need an operation.
There is no cure, but migraine is highly treatable, with preventive treatment and, when that is not enough, nerve treatments. See migraine.
No. Vertigo, lightheadedness, unsteadiness and near-fainting are four different things, and which one you have decides what is needed. See dizziness and vertigo.
It can. Trigeminal neuralgia causes electric-shock pain in the face, set off by touch or chewing, and is often mistaken for a dental problem. See trigeminal neuralgia.
No. Bring any scan reports, a note of when your symptoms started, and a list of the treatments you have already tried.
All conditions · Neurosurgery · Spine and neck conditions · Neuropathic pain
Not sure which condition fits? Book a consultation — working out the cause is what the first visit is for.
