Can tmj cause ear trouble?

[cattia]

OK, so I am pretty sure I have tmj, mostly on the left hand side as I have a history of tooth clenching and sometimes I wake up in the night with my jaw locked tight together. I also have neck and shoulder tension, more on the left hand side. Lately I have been getting ear pain and my ear sometimes itches. Like an idiot I googled and it came up with 'urgent referral for possible thyroid, neck or throat cancer'. Apparently ear and throat pain together can spell cancer. About 18 months ago I had a CT scan on my neck and throat which was clear but I am still worried. I get a swollen feeling in my throat on that side too.

[sarahsparkleshine]

Sure can! I have tmj and have had all of what you are describing. Tmj can cause a plethora of problems.

[swgrl09]

I have TMJ and also experience all of that. I had a thread about it recently that has a lot of tips about exercises, etc.

[countrygirl]

Me too - I have tmj in both sides and I get all sorts of weird ear symptoms from pain and itching to a feeling of intense pressure or sounds like wind rushing when I move my head. I have had these symptoms on and off for past 20 years and have had endless ent consultations even mri scans and ears are fine! I also get dizziness and vertigo and pain in my mouth and back of throat. Almost always after I have been chewing too much with food which triggers the tmj symptoms.

The other thing is that with tmj the severity of symptoms varies enormously depending on what you are doing with your jaw whereas anythng like throat cancer the symptoms will remain same or worsen.

[worrywart29]

Yep tmj causes all of those symptoms. I suspect I have it too and my ears are always itchy. I thought I had an ear infection but was given the all clear by the doctor that it wasnt infected

[MyNameIsTerry]

I have TMJ and also experience all of that. I had a thread about it recently that has a lot of tips about exercises, etc.

Here it is:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=166483

OP - check out the guide I posted in there because it can help with this issue.

I went through a stage of grinding in my sleep for 6 months after I started a new medication. I know nowadays that my med was the likely cause so if you have started any or increased your dosage recently, check out whether its a side effect on Drugs.com.

I think I've probably mentioned my symptoms in that thread but it gave me headaches, jaw pain, I couldn't close my teeth together or open my jaw fully, eye pain, some people even have neck pain, etc.

Mine wasn't a TMJ though, just muscular tension. Unless your dentist or doctor diagnoses a TMJ, it could easily just be this and it will go.

[cattia]

Thank you, that's really helpful. I think you're right that it's tension. My dentist couldn't find any evidence of grinding, but I know I clench as sometimes when I get woken from a deep sleep by one of my kids, my jaw is clenched tight. I'm not on medication so it isn't that. It's weird how it seems to affect one side, that's what causes me to worry about it. Last year my throat got so tense that I could hardly swallow anything but that was on both sides. Thanks for the advice everyone and it's good to know that this could be jaw related.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yeah I know, mine was right-sided! To be honest, most of my tension issues are more right-sided as well. The only thing I have noticed is that my tension can be both sides when my anxiety/agitation is a lot higher. So, when I was worse at the start of the possible TMJ that I thought I may have had (as a watcher on here at the time, it was enlightening!) I could get it both sides but it was always more pronounced on the right.

My dentist had a feel of my jaw muscles and said they were enlarged. I had an xray as well because I was new there and they hadn't done mine yet and that showed there was nothing either.

You can expect things like headaches. If you try to clench your teeth now, put your fingers on your temples. Can you feel the muscles move at your temples? Thats why you get headaches with the clenching/grinding issue. You will also find the muscles around the ears move, hence how it can appear to be ear pain.

Try the exercise in that thread as it can help. If not, the included book should give you more options. Relaxation techniques can help too and just bringing down your overall levels of anxiety. You could also try Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) as there are versions out there that include the muscles in the head. Perhaps doing that prior to sleep might help relax your muscles a bit?