TMJ symptoms
TMJ is a disease that is associated with your jaw system. TMJ or Temporomandibular Joint disorder is a painful disorder that can cause you great discomfort. It is usually associated with the dislocation of the jaw area and the connecting joints. Thus having it can cause you lots of pain. There are several symptoms of TMJ, which can help you diagnose it and thus seek the appropriate treatment.
- The first symptom is definitely the swelling of the jaw joints. Your face may swell up especially near the joints.
- You will feel extreme pain in your jaw. Especially activities like eating, chewing gum and even drinking water may be difficult for you.
- In TMJ syndrome, the pain that you feel will usually be concentrated in front of the ear area.
- You will feel a pain in your ear. In fact, this is one of the common symptoms, as most people will go to an ear doctor thinking that they are suffering from an ear infection.
- You may experience ringing in your ears.
- In TMJ syndrome, you can experience muscle spasms which can also lead to difficulty in swallowing.
- Yawning becomes extremely difficult.
- Your teeth will feel “funny” especially when your jaw is pressing together.
- Your jaw may not close or it may get into a distorted position.
- In most cases with people who are experiencing TMJ syndrome, the person affected will hear popping and clicking sounds emanating from their jaw. Usually these sounds will also be accompanied by pain and these clicking sounds may be loud enough to be heard by others around you.
- In some cases, the symptoms of TMJ will be very light and thus you may not even be aware that you have TMJ. But even in the light cases of TMJ, you will have difficulty chewing gum.
- In extreme cases, the symptoms of TMJ might include vomiting, dizziness and even light headedness. Of course, this symptom must be combined with one of the symptoms above, in order to diagnose that you have TMJ.
As you can see, there are various symptoms associated with TMJ or Temporomandibular Joint Disorder. Although TMJ is not life threatening, it can cause great discomfort, pain and reduced functionality due to not being able to eat, chew, yawn or even sleep. If you are experiencing any two of the symptoms explained above, then you may be suffering from TMJ Disorder. However, you must be careful to not self diagnose, as the symptoms stated above may also be caused by ear infections, jaw dislocations due to severe trauma (such as getting punched in the face) and even by infected teeth which may cause swelling in the same area. You should seek the services of a physician for a complete diagnosis.
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