Around 1.7 million Australians live with migraine, one of the most common triggers, while Optometry Australia reports 88 per cent of screen users now experience sore or tired eyes. Here is how to work out what yours is trying to tell you.
Pain behind the eye is one of the most searched eye symptoms in Australia, and the cause can range from a long day of screen work to something that needs same-day care. It is not quite a headache and it is not quite eye pain, it just sits there, heavy and distracting, until it is genuinely hard to concentrate on much else.
What Is Actually Causing the Pain Behind Your Eye
The eye itself has very few pain receptors, which is why the pain behind the eye rarely comes from the eyeball itself. Most of the time, it is coming from nearby structures, the muscles that move the eye, the surrounding nerves, the sinuses, or even the blood vessels around it.
That is what makes it confusing. The discomfort feels deep and specific, like it is inside the eye, but the actual source is often just behind or around it rather than within the eye itself.
The Most Common Causes of an Aching Pain Behind the Eye
For most people, an aching pain behind the eye is not linked to anything serious. Here are the causes optometrists see most often.
- Eye strain from screens, reading, or driving for long periods without a break.
- Migraine, which frequently produces a deep, throbbing ache centred behind one eye.
- Sinusitis, particularly sphenoid sinusitis, which sits close enough to the eye socket to cause a constant dull ache.
- Tension headaches, which can radiate pain forward into the eye area.
- Dental and jaw issues such as TMJ disorder, which can refer pain up towards the eye.
- Minor strain or injury to the muscles that move the eye.
Screen-related strain deserves a special mention here. Optometry Australia’s most recent Vision Index found that 88 per cent of people experience sore or tired eyes after screen use for work, a figure that keeps climbing as more of daily life moves onto a device.
Does It Matter If the Pain Behind Your Eye Is on the Left or Right
Pain behind the left eye and pain behind the right eye almost always point to the same list of causes, but which side it happens on can offer a useful clue. Migraine and cluster headaches are notorious for settling behind one eye only, often the same side each time. A sinus infection tends to sit behind whichever eye is closest to the blocked or inflamed sinus, so one-sided pain paired with congestion usually points there. Optic neuritis, a less common but more serious cause, almost always affects a single eye and often comes with blurred vision or pain that worsens when you move your eyes.
If your pain behind your left eye or pain behind your right eye keeps returning on exactly the same side, it is worth mentioning to your optometrist, since that pattern is useful diagnostic information rather than a small detail.
When Pain Behind the Eye Needs Urgent Attention
A small number of causes are emergencies, and knowing the warning signs matters.
- Sudden, severe pain that comes on quickly, especially alongside a red eye.
- Nausea or vomiting alongside the eye pain.
- Seeing halos or rainbow rings around lights.
- Any sudden change in vision, including blurring or vision loss.
- Pain that starts after facial trauma or a blow to the head.
These signs can point to acute angle closure glaucoma, a medical emergency where pressure inside the eye rises quickly and needs treatment within hours to protect your sight. In adults over 50, a pain behind eye feeling that comes with scalp tenderness, jaw pain when chewing, or unexplained fatigue can also signal giant cell arteritis, another condition that needs urgent assessment. If any of this sounds familiar, seek emergency care rather than waiting for a routine appointment.
Easing Everyday Pain Behind the Eye
When the cause is strain rather than an emergency, a few simple habits make a real difference.
- Follow the 20-20-20 rule, looking at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes of screen use.
- Stay ahead of dehydration, a common and often overlooked trigger for headache related eye pain.
- Protect your sleep, aiming for a consistent seven to nine hours.
- Try a warm compress if sinus pressure feels like the likely culprit.
- Get your prescription checked, since an outdated pair of glasses is a frequent, fixable cause of daily eye strain.
How Clear Vision Optical Can Help
At Clear Vision Optical, pain behind the eye is one of the symptoms we investigate most carefully, because it can point to so many different things, from a prescription that needs updating to something that needs a referral. Our Dallas based clinic also runs a dedicated Dry Eye Clinic, using tools like Blephasteam alongside drops and compresses, for the strain related causes that often sit behind this kind of ache.
If you have a valid Medicare card, your eye test with us is fully bulk billed, so there is no cost barrier to finding out what is really going on. We are a family owned practice at 130 Blair Street, Dallas, with additional clinics in Caroline Springs, Craigieburn, and Curlewis.
An ache behind your eye is your body’s way of telling you that something is off. Have your eyes checked at Clear Vision Optical on (03) 9309 6464, and let us work out exactly what yours is trying to tell you.
