Marlene

This is for those members who have been posting recently about how their doctors don't think TMJ is related to their ear symptoms or tinnitus. (Maybe these doctors should read it! LOL)

In the developing embryo, the jaw and ear bones start out as one and the same. As the embryo grows, these bones separate. The tiny bones of the ears are the smallest bones in our body (the hammer, anvil, and stirrup). The movement of the hammer is controlled by a muscle called the tensor tympani. This little muscle is responsible for controlling the vibrations of the ear drum and protects our inner ear from loud sounds.
Because the ears and jaw were so closely related in our embryonic development, the nerve which controls the tensor tympani muscle happens to be the same nerve which controls our chewing muscles. Consequently, any signals sent through this nerve can affect both the muscles of the jaw and those of the ear. The jaw is attached to the skull by two joints just in front of the ears. The part of your skull bone which separates the jaw joints from the ear canals is paper thin.

Hope this is "informative"!
Marlene