---
title: Dr Egilius Spierings Made Headache Science Worth Hearing
description: A neurologist with over four decades of clinical experience turns headache research into an audiobook that finally explains what your doctor never had time to.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-03-02T16:59:55.000Z
updated: 2026-03-08T16:20:38.724Z
canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/dr-egilius-spierings-made-headache-science-worth-hearing
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/dr-spierings.jpg
content_type: Book Review
region: Massachusetts
publication: Rich Books
about:
  - type: Person
    name: Dr Egilius Spierings
    description: Neurologist, pharmacologist and clinical researcher specialising in headache and facial pain management. MD and PhD from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Academic positions at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School. Medical director of the Greater Boston Headache Center and MedVadis Research.
    url: https://medvadis.com/
---

Most people who get headaches regularly do the same thing. They push through, take something over the counter and hope it passes. What they rarely do is sit down and actually understand what is happening inside their own head.

Dr Egilius Spierings has spent more than four decades trying to change that. As medical director of [MedVadis Research](https://medvadis.com/) and the Greater Boston Headache Center, he has treated thousands of patients and published extensively on the neurology of headaches and facial pain. But it was always the same frustration: the gap between what science knows and what patients are told.

‘I wrote this book primarily for those afflicted by headaches,’ he says, ‘to help them understand their headaches and find ways to relieve them.’ The difference this time is that you do not need to read a medical textbook to get there.

## From clinical notes to something you can listen to on the way to work

*Headaches: Why You Have Them, What You Can Do About Them* is now available as an unabridged audiobook on [Audible](https://a.co/d/027qjqUa), narrated by Adam Carpenter and published by Audiobook Network. It covers the biological mechanisms behind different headache disorders (including migraine and facial pain syndromes), walks through diagnosis and treatment approaches and offers practical guidance on communicating with your doctor and managing headaches long term.

The audiobook format matters here. Carpenter’s narration turns what could easily read as a clinical text into something closer to a conversation with a doctor who actually wants you to follow along. For anyone who has ever left a GP appointment feeling more confused than when they walked in, that shift is significant.

### Book: Headaches: Why You Have Them What You Can Do About Them
By Dr Egilius Spierings

An audiobook about headaches.

[Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aYHdid)

## A career built around headaches

Dr Spierings studied medicine at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, where he earned his MD and a PhD in experimental pharmacology. He went on to hold academic positions at Tufts University Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine, and a clinical role at Brigham and Women’s Hospital through Harvard Medical School.

But the work that defines his career has always been more hands-on than academic. At [MedVadis Research](https://medvadis.com/) in Waltham, Massachusetts, he runs clinical trials and sees patients directly, bridging the gap between research findings and real treatment. ‘The audiobook examines different headache disorders and clarifies the biological mechanisms that drive them,’ he explains. ‘But what I really wanted was to give people a way to understand what is happening to them, in language they can actually use.’

## Why this matters if headaches are part of your life

Headaches are one of those things everyone has experienced, which somehow makes them easier to dismiss. But for people who live with chronic headaches or migraines, the experience is isolating. You cannot always explain it. People do not always take it seriously. And the medical system is not always great at translating what it knows into language that helps (something increasingly recognised in [holistic approaches to pain management](https://richbooksmagazine.com/article/holistic-pain-management-emerges-as-key-focus-in-modern-healthcare)).

That is what makes this audiobook worth paying attention to. It is not a self-help book promising miracle cures. It is a neurologist with decades of clinical experience explaining, clearly and without jargon, what is actually going on and what you can actually do about it. The kind of conversation most people never get to have with their doctor because appointments are too short and waiting lists are too long.

## In case you were wondering…

**Q: What would cause everyday headaches?**
Recurring headaches can stem from a wide range of triggers (tension, poor sleep, dehydration, hormonal changes, medication overuse). What makes them tricky is that the cause is rarely just one thing. For many people, it is a combination of factors that build up over time. The frustrating part is that painkillers taken too frequently can actually make things worse, creating a cycle doctors call rebound headaches. If headaches are becoming a regular part of your week, it is worth talking to a GP rather than reaching for the medicine cabinet on autopilot.

**Q: How can you tell if a headache is neurological?**
Most headaches are not dangerous, but certain patterns are worth paying attention to. A sudden, severe headache that feels unlike anything you have experienced before (sometimes called a thunderclap headache) warrants immediate medical attention. Other signs include headaches that wake you from sleep, come with vision changes, confusion or weakness on one side of the body. Headaches that steadily worsen over days or weeks, or ones that start after a head injury, should also be checked. The general rule is straightforward: if the pattern is new or the pain is different from what you are used to, do not wait it out.

**Q: Why would someone be referred to a neurologist for headaches?**
A GP will usually refer you to a neurologist when headaches are frequent, severe or not responding to standard treatments. Neurologists specialise in the nervous system (which is where most headache disorders originate) and can investigate underlying conditions that a general practitioner might not have the tools to assess. They are also better placed to manage complex migraine patterns, prescribe preventive treatments and build long-term management plans. If headaches are disrupting your daily life and over-the-counter remedies are not helping, a neurologist is often the logical next step.

**About Dr Egilius Spierings**

Neurologist, pharmacologist and clinical researcher specialising in headache and facial pain management. MD and PhD from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Academic positions at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School. Medical director of the Greater Boston Headache Center and MedVadis Research.

[Website](https://medvadis.com/)