My Ear Has A Dull Ache And Recently I Have

My ear has a dull ache and recently I have felt as though I could feel a pulse in my ear. The area of pain is when I put my finger in my ear and it is upwards. So it's feels like if you looked down my ear with whatever that thing is called, you wouldn't see anything wrong. It feels higher up than that. Obviously I don't make a habit of putting my finger in my ear but something doesn't feel quite right. I am getting quite a few headaches also. I used to fly for a living and had a few ear infections and possible burst ear drum but that was years ago now. Wind on walks, even on a warm day also really hurts both ears. I have recently been swimming a lot more as joined a gym and bought a swim hat, as was conscious that my breathing (blowing water out of my mouth) seemed to hurt my ears somewhat. Any thoughts advice please? Is this just an ear thing? I hope so as I am worrying a bit that my carotid artery is getting blocked (hence the pulse thing and having googled) and I may have a stroke. My mum died at 55 of a sudden stroke. I am now 47. Thank you.