What might be causing pain at base of the skull, tender spots to the touch, localized headaches (back of the skull, or upper right or upper left), pain also radiates to inside of ears and throat? Hi, I have been suffering from inexplicable pain at the base of the skull for over a month now. X Rays are unremarkable. I have not hit my head or spent too much time lying in bed. I can t even sleep, because of so many tender spots that hurt with just the touch of the pillow. I was prescribed the steroid pack (6 days) and I felt relief for about 3 days; but my symptoms are back. Icing the area doesn t help. I take hot baths in hopes to relax the muscles. Tylenol or iboprophen don t help. I am basically taking Tylenol PM to knock me out and try to get some sleep. If it were an ear and throat infection, some other symptoms should have appeared by now; but the ear and throat pain come and go. My primary doctor recommended stretching exercises for the neck, which I practice, but nothing seems to give. By the way, I also have neck pain (tender spots), but this pain is now secondary to the skull pain. I am a 36 year old healthy woman (not overweight, not diabetic, no thyroid disorders, no autoimmune disorders according to September 2015 blood work). I appreciate your comments.