TMJ sufferers, check in here

I have TMJ. I don’t have a great deal of problems with it, as far as major pain.

Just recently it began affecting my right ear. I was at the doctor the other day and he looked in my ear and found no ear infection or anything else. It must be the TMJ because I get most of the ear problems when I am eating or after I eat. My right ear will feel pressured and I can hear an annoying swishing sound that matches my pulse. God this is annoying. Sometimes it hurts my ear as IF I had an ear infection, even though there is no infection. My hearing is normal.

The older I get, the more out of whack my jaw gets. Sometimes I have to help myself manually guide it back into place with my hands. It cracks and pops like crazy. I have never had any problems with it locking up, thank God.

I am positive that the TMJ is also the cause for my headaches, which sometimes become migraines.

Anyone else have similar problems with TMJ?

Umm… what, exactly, does TMJ stand for?

(I’m not the only one wondering, I’m sure)

Temperal-Mandibular Joint (is that it?) sufferer right here. A couple of years ago, my jaw locked up and I couldn’t close my mouth for about a month. Spent the whole time walking around like, well…like a slack-jawed yokel. I still have to shift my jaw to the right to open my mouth completely, but I think it’s getting better.

All from clenching my teeth when I’m stressed. I consciouly check to see if I’m doing it now, 'cause I gotta tell ya, soup 3 times a day gets mighty dull after the first week.

Temporomandibular joint syndrome

TMJ stands for temperomandibular joint (syndrome). It’s very common - I, too, suffer from it. Our jaws are move fluidly because of a sort of ball bearing between them: the TMJ. The syndrome is caused when the ball bearing gets out of whack. Results are jaw clicking and pain.

I play the flute, although not much anymore, largely as a result of the TMJ. I used to go to music camp every summer in high school, and the last year I went the pain in my jaw was just excrutiating. It lasted for a couple weeks, during which I could neither close nor open my mouth entirely. Extra fun: I can’t keep my mouth open long enough for an entire dentist appointment, so a regular cleaning has to be done in two appointments. If it turns out I need a sealant or something, it can take even more - I once went to the dentist 6 times in 6 months just to get a cleaning and a couple of sealants.

I broke my jaw at 18 when I slipped getting out of a hottub (there was vodka involved) but never found out it was broken until I was 32. But that break threw the joint out of whack and damaged the bursa. I have had about four instances of massive pain, inability to chew or clench at all, which lasted about three or four days. Pops everytime I open or close, but no discomfort day to day. It’s been about three or four years since the last episode.

Hiya MSK (et. al.), I feel your pain.

I have TMJ, and quite often lately have been having trouble with it. The supposed cause of mine is wearing ill fitting hearing aids (I keep clenching and opening my jaw when they feel weird)

I’ve never gotten migraines, but I also think my headaches are from it… I also find very few OTC pills, such as asprin help. Ipbuprofin seems to work best, but you know, when it’s outta whack, it lasts days to weeks until it’s better, and I don’t wanna take a lot of stuff.

What do you do to deal with the soreness?? I’m considering developing a drinking habit…

s.i.c.

I haven’t had my jaw actually lock up but once. The dentist made me a mouthpiece, similar to the plastic deal that football players wear. I had to keep it in for 4 days and nights, taking it out only long enough to eat. It did the trick and worked my jaw back in place. Since that time I’ve been extremely careful. Haven’t had any of the ear, pain, etc. that you are having but that’s not to say it won’t happen in the future.

MSK - geez… I thought I was the only one with this! I’ve dealt with this for years - the tight jaw and headaches! It’s because my tension sits in my jaw and I grind my teeth… I’ve seen doctors about it too. One prescribed me with Valium (I know… I know) - very odd, but let me tell you I felt damn good for awhile. Another one prescribed me with Vioxx (an arthritis drug) which also helped the pain. These are only temporary and the pain has gotten better since I quit chewing 15 sticks of gum a day as well. Good luck!! Oh - one last thing - try a warm wash cloth on your jaw, that was always soothing for me. Avoid apples. :slight_smile:

I had constant headaches from high school on. Although there was a couple of other factors, TMJ was a big problem. By the time I was in my late twenties, my jaws were popping regularly. In addition, certain activities[sub]ahem, giving blow jobs[/sub] were very painful.

My boyfriend of the time convinced me that I had TMJ and to go to a TMJ specialist about it. He immediately referred me to a orthodontist. I found out several things: my first orthodontist sucked and my dentist who had just retired sucked (he didn’t recognize my bad bite, despite the fact you could practically stick a tongue depressor between my upper and lower teeth), and I had really weird teeth.

TMJ happens when the temporal bone and the mandibular (jaw) bone don’t meet correctly. This may be caused if the teeth are crooked, or it may be caused if the jaw and skull bones don’t grow correctly. There is a pad of cartilage that acts as sort of a ball bearing for the joint. The “popping” sound is caused by this pad being compressed too tightly from the jaw movement, then snapping out of place. Untreated TMJ can cause damage to this cartilage.

In my case, the lower mandible was not only slightly short, but also grew at an angle to the upper mandible, rather than parallel. This resulted in aforementioned gap of 1/8th of an inch.

I went through of a couple of years of orthodontia, then had TMJ surgery. Proving one more time that my body is weird, I had one of the most complicated surgeries the doctor had ever done. My jaw had to be cut at 8 different places and put back together again.

The headaches went away almost completely, and I actually have something of a chin. Not to mention the other activities that are possible now. :smiley:

I have had TMJ since I was eight years old. Still have it. It isn’t that bad. My Jaw does some slightly locking up sometimes, and my ears hurt sometimes, and I get a lot of headaches,and my jaw is always tense but otherwise, it isn’t that big a deal. I went to a doctor once who gave me these massaging type exercises to do on the joint. I am not sure if they actually help, but it sure feels good when I do it.

Me too. I got sent away from the dinner table once about two or three years ago because the clicking was putting everyone else off their food. How did they think I felt? I had a soft plate, similar to ultress’s I guess, but I had to wear it at night. It only hurts occasionally now, but sometimes locks up. Usually when I’m stressed - I may grit my teeth then I guess & it puts extra strain on the joint.

When you get a bad cold, or the flu, does it make your jaw joints incredibly painful and swollen? That happens to me, if I get really sick. It is excruciating.

I notice myself clenching a lot lately. I am trying to make myself stop, but it’s not easy, because half of the time, I don’t even realize that I am clenching. This only adds to my discomfort. :frowning:

I avoid chewing gum like the plague.

I wish I could get mine fixed, but i don’t know what would be involved. I’m kinda scared to find out, esp. after hearing Zyada’s story. Surgery, of any kind, scares the dickens out of me.

I think TMJ syndrome may be contributing to my migraines, but I haven’t been “officially” diagnosed, though my dentist and massage therapist both think I have it. I used to grind my teeth as a kid, and have had migraines for as long as I can remember. I stopped the grinding (so to speak) a long time ago, but when I get stressed, the first place I tend to feel it is my jaw, then neck, then shoulders. My jaw does click, and hurts if I open it too far.

I can relate to what you are all talking about. I’ve never been officially diagnosed with TMJ syndrome, but I have all the symptoms of it. The worst part is occasionally when I yawn, my jaw will actually pop out of socket. It usually slides back into place within a couple of seconds, but one time I had to go to the ER and have them manually put my jaw back into joint. My jaw clicks loudly every time I eat too. I also get shooting pains that start right at the joint and go up into my temples and sometimes down into my neck.

Ah, so that’s what it’s called!

I have some of these symptoms, too. My jaw sometimes clicks when I eat. I get some headaches and (thankfully) infrequent migraines. I don’t get facial pain unless I go out in a cold wind. I used to grind my teeth as a child. Stress doesn’t make me clench my jaw, though.

Yes, I’m a sufferer, too. I’ve had two episodes in the last 6 months where I couldn’t close my jaw. I clench my teeth when I’m stressed, which is most of the time. I have migraines frequently, but I don’t think they are related to this, as they start somewhere else completely.