Can tight glasses cause headaches?

Question

I've been wearing glasses since I was about 7 years old (I am now 26). I wear glasses from the moment I wake up until I go to bed (except in the shower).

I've had this problem for a very long time where the glasses leave a dent in my head. I can clearly see it in the mirror whenever I have just taken off the glasses and can also feel it when I move over it with my hand. Aesthetics-wise, it doesn't bother me, but I feel that it gives me a headache at times, especially when it's warm or I've just done some heavy exercise. I think that the heat causes the veins in my head to expand, but they are unable to because they are pressed shut by my glasses. When I take off my glasses and feel the dent when it's hot or I've just done a workout, I can feel the veins pulsating easily. I usually get a headache, but it feels relieved when I take off my glasses for a bit. Is this perhaps a psychological effect or my tight glasses be causing headaches? I've had similar problems with other frames in the past.

I have taken my glasses to the store halve a year ago explaining my problem, but the people there didn't really say much. They just took it to some other room, came back after 5 minutes, said they adjusted it a bit (I personally couldn't see a difference) and charged me 5 euros. It didn't solve the issue I had at all but it did make me 5 euros lighter.

EDIT September 2016: I notice this topic is gaining a lot of attention. The problem is actually solved now; the tight frames did in fact cause the headaches. At the time I posted this question I was wearing a metal frame that was not wide enough for my head (for 8 years). It's true that a skull is supposed to have those dents along the head, but the tight frames made it much more distinctive.

3 months ago I bought new glasses and I specifically looked for a frame that felt both comfortable and sturdy on my face. The frame now goes along the skin of my head instead of pushing it in. I no longer have the headaches which used to be so common for me. The trade-off is that it doesn't sit as tightly on my face as before, but I can run without my glasses falling off.

Answer 1

I don't wear glasses much (only to read) and I feel that same groove. I also feel other grooves on my head, for example I can feel a groove over either temple going somewhat vertically for quite a distance - all the way to the top of my head, actually.

I think what you (and I) are feeling is a suture.

Between the plates or bones in our heads (separate in utero and infancy) are sutures which form slight depressions in our skulls which we can feel with our fingertips. Although they are similarly located on everyone, there is a degree of variation (on some skulls, for example, the squamous suture (between the pink parietal bone and the mauve temporal bone, the one I think we are feeling) is less curved posterior to the eye. I can clearly feel my lambdoid, coronal, and sagittal sutures (not shown) as well. So, I think this is what you're feeling and seeing.*

This is, I would guess, why the people you explain this to don't say much. That dent is pretty much there on everyone (note, I'm not saying a lifetime of tight glasses don't make their mark. I just don't think that dent is unique to people who wear glasses.

The question about headaches from tight glasses is therefore separate.

The problem with that question is that both headaches and refractive errors requiring glasses are very common conditions in the general population. People often associate glasses and headaches.

However, there isn't a very strong correlation between refractive errors and headaches.

Is this perhaps a psychological effect or my tight glasses be causing headaches?

I think it's safe to say that you might be projecting the cause of your headaches onto your glasses. The only way to tell for sure is to switch to contacts and see if this relieves your activity-associated headaches.

Headaches are very common and very often benign. However, if you're concerned, or perceive a change in the frequency or severity of your headaches, or they are associated with other symptoms, you should seek medical attention.

_{Headaches Associated With Refractive Errors: Myth or Reality?
Why do we still not know whether refractive error causes headaches? Towards a framework for evidence based practice}

*_{Now I just woke up my dog by poking around on her skull. I can feel her sagittal suture really well, the others not so much, probably because of the muscles she uses to orient her ears. I should know better, but she's very gracious and went right back to sleep.}

Answer 2

I had fun reading all the above reponses regarding this inquiry of having tight frames possibly leading to headaches... I also have tight frames and I tend to rest them on top of my ears to relieve the pressure it has on the temporals...i do believe like anywhere in the body, prolonged pressure leads to decrease in circulation and if left for a while it can lead to ulcerations and necrosis. This is why health care providers advise patients to move every 15 mins in chair and every 2 hours in bed. I highly disagree with the palpable suture hypothesis one person mentioned above and fluid shifting made by whom I think is a practicing nurse... Fluid shifting is seen when there's a shift or change in osmotic pressure of intravascular osmolality that causes a shift in fluid from one compartment to another. So on conclusion, to alleviate the headache I would either take them off intermittently or buy frames that fit your facial structure. Oh and if this headache is relate to something that you think isn't from the pressure of the glasses, I would have ur health care provider examine it.

Answer 3

You are probably aware of this already, but there are frames with earpieces that not only fold in, but are on hinges with a spring and can be moved out. This might alleviate the pressure a bit.

Also, I had wire frames which left the indentation on the skin at the temples, which I think is what you are describing. When I chose frames on hinges as mentioned above, made out of plastic, the indentations were no more. I think it also helps that the plastic earpieces are thicker which distributes the pressure a bit more than concentrating it on a smaller area.

Answer 4

I've been wearing glasses since 1980. I too get those depressions in the side of my head just above my ears. These don't give me headaches, but the frames do cause great tension in my scalp and eyes.

If I lightly pull the frames that go over my ears outward and away from my scalp, all the tension melts away instantly.

Contacts would probably relieve this. I haven't tried them since 1980 - - they didn't work well for astigmatism at the time. I never tried them again.

Answer 5

Just my personal experience, but I feel my head to be extremely sensitive to glasses. I've been wearing glasses since childhood, but I finally changed to contact lenses about two years ago. Since then the discomfort on my head largely stopped and I feel much more natural now in various activities. I guess people feeling the same can definitely try it out and see if that makes them feel better.