hbep

Hi there Unduly worried,

A couple of things in your initial post caught my eye -the dull feeling in your wisdom teeth and also the crackling in your ears. Also the fact that you may have experienced this before and it's gone away. Sounds like it could be tempero mandibular joint disorder. This can be caused by clenching or grinding of the teeth, although there can be other factors involved. If you have a mild case, it could be treated by wearing a simple mouthguard made by your dentist to suppress clenching.

It's hard to say, as the light headed sensations could also be inner ear, it's just when you say you have experienced this before. Especially in the early stages tmjd can be defined by flare ups, probably brought on by extra stress induced clenching, then the irritation in the muscles dies down again, and it goes. I experienced my first spaced out, tight ear sensations 2 ish yrs ago, because it only lasted a few days I ignored it. A lot of people with tmjd initially think it's their wisdom teeth feeling dull or hurting, because it's so close to the jaw joint. TMJD can, and often does, cause a lightheaded sensation, also a stiff neck. I have it and my physio says for some reason people with muscular probs in their jaw and neck get this, along with the stoned, foggy headed feeling. It can also cause a feeling of full ears.

I can't say for sure, like I said, could be inner ear, but it's a hard one to get diagnosed, regular dentists don't have to do further training in tmjd, and often miss it. Especially if people don't have the obvious popping and clicking jaw symptoms. Do you happen to know if you have a clenching or teeth grinding problem? Some people only clench hard at night in their sleep and are unaware they're doing it.

Anyway, thought I better mention it as like I said, it's often missed as a diagnosis. I have it, and Anastasia who has replied above also has it. No one spotted mine apart from finally my dentist. I also have labyrinthitis. If it goes on get your ears checked out, and if that proves fruitless, try a dental hospital, see what they say. If you do have this you don't want to ignore it - it starts off mild but if you don't stop the clenching with a mouthguard it can get worse. I wish someone had told me what it was 4 yrs ago during my first attack - would have saved me a lot of horrible stuff later down the line.

Like I said, don't know, but wanted you to be aware of it, just in case. By the way, when my dentist told me some of my ear/dizzy problems could be caused by my jaw I thought she was mad, now I know more about it I realise it's very common. Should your 'wisdom teeth' start to hurt more, you'll know where to look.

[This message has been edited by hbep (edited 08-22-2003).]

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hbep