Temporomandibular (TMJ ) Disorder

Symptoms

Most people who suffer from TMJ dysfunction will not have all of these symptoms.  Also, most of these symptoms may be TMD related, related solely to other medical problems, related to multiple causes, or may be cross related to both TMD and something else, and they can both aggravate each other.

TMD SYMPTOMS… Eye pain, Earaches, Dizziness, Headaches, Hearing loss, Blurred vision, Ear congestion, Pain when eating, Sensitivity to light, Pain in face or jaw, Ringing of the ears, Difficulty swallowing, Neck pain or stiffness, Clicking noises in your jaw

TMJ CLICKING… is a common symptom of a TMJ disorder in some people. This clicking sound may be so loud that others can hear it while you chew. There may or may not be pain in the joint itself with the sound of a click or pop. But, one thing is for sure; if there is a displaced disc, as is usually the case when a click occurs, then the muscles that move the jaw while chewing are more tense than normal. This tenseness can and does cause muscle, facial, head and neck pain.

TMJ LOCKING… may be noticed simply by the catching of the lower jaw as it opens. Sometimes, the person with a locked joint must move the jaw to one side or another in order to open wide. Or, a person might have to open until a loud pop is felt or heard, at which point, the jaw actually unlocks.