You’ve got an ear ache that just doesn’t want to go away. It’s been hurting for a few weeks now and you can’t seem to figure out what is going on. You go to see your family physician that takes a look at your ear- maybe there was a little wax, but that didn’t seem to be the problem. “Let’s put you on a round of antibiotics to see if its an ear infection. In the meantime, go see this Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist.”
You wait a few weeks, maybe a couple of months to see your ENT. Your ear continues to ache, and it has actually gotten a little worse while you’ve been waiting. The antibiotics didn’t seem to help. You say to yourself, “Maybe it felt better for a few days?” But you’re excited because you are on your way to see someone that will fix this problem!
The ENT checks out your ear- still not a wax problem. “It doesn’t really look infected. Let’s try out a hearing test to make sure everything is working alright.” You haven’t noticed any issues with your hearing, but maybe this will show something. You get the hearing test and just as you thought, everything checked out. “Let’s put you on a round of antibiotics to see if it could be an ear infection we just aren’t noticing. Check back in a few weeks.”
You are back at the ENT. You are sure this time the antibiotics didn’t help. The ENT puts a little pressure on the side of your face in the area just in front of your ear. “Does it hurt when I push here?” Of course it does! “Well, I think you have TMJ.”
TMJ?!?! What is that?
TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint. This is your jaw joint that hinges when you open your mouth. A better way to describe what you’re experiencing is TMJ disorder, or TMD. TMD can be described as any dysfunction of the head, neck, face, or jaw that involves the TMJ.
So what does that have to do with my ear ache?
Why your ear ache can really be TMD
An ear ache or ear pain can in fact be one of the symptoms of TMD. It is actually one of the more frequently cited symptoms by many TMD sufferers. There are a number of different reasons this pain may occur. The pain can be caused by:
- Muscles: Sternocleidomastoid (SCM), masseter, and medial and lateral pterygoids can refer pain to the ear. Referred pain is pain that occurs in an area away from the location of the cause. Ex: Some experience left arm pain with a heart attack. There is nothing actually going on with the arm itself. The arm pain is referred from the heart.
- Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ): The tissues of the joint structure itself can refer pain toward or in the ear.
- Nerves: Auriculotemporal branch of the trigeminal nerve, facial nerve, vestibulocochlear nerve, tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve, auricular branch of the vagus nerve, and the great auricular nerve can all cause pain in and around the ear. That’s a lot of nerves!
It is almost never an individual cause that leads to this kind of pain. Although the pain may be referring from your SCM, usually the problem doesn’t lie with the SCM alone. It is almost always a combination of factors that leads to this kind of issue.
If you are experiencing a chronic ear ache or ear pain that has already been assessed by your physician as not being an infection, it could be related to your TMJ. If you’ve noticed jaw pains, headaches, restrictions in movement to your jaw or neck, or any limitations in your ability to chew, yawn, or perform dental hygiene, it is very likely that you are experiencing TMD.
Please feel free to contact me and we can discuss your situation. There are conservative treatment solutions for you! Reach out through email, phone, or check us out on Instagram and Facebook. Check out our other blogs and stay tuned for more information on TMJ disorders.
