3 questions - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

navymid · 04-01-2006, 11:32 AM

My first question is about tenderness on the joint area. My joint is very tender to touch in the outside and to feel my left joint(the injured one) compared to the right, the left one is much larger- as though the bone in the joint is sticknig out farther. I have asked several OS and sepecialists about this and they all just say they do not know why it is like this.
My second question is about ear swelling. My left earlobe sometimes gets very red and swellls and makes the whole left side of my face feel like it has a fever. Some drs have told me this is from inflammation in the joint, but I don't understand why my ear lobe would swell?
The third is that sometimes my bite is off(around 4mm) to the right and sometimes it is not. I sleep on my back and have found that if my head is tilited towards the right side, then my bite is off and if it is to the left, then it is not off when I wake up in the morning. Why is it off some days and other days not?

Thelma-Louise · 04-09-2006, 12:00 AM

You are obviously experiencing what is so frustrating about tmj. I have one joint that sticks out further as well. It has to do with structural changes in your cranial/facial alignment which often accompany's tmj. The swollen lobe thing is probably inflamation as they said. For years I got beet red hives under my jaw and behind my ears. Now I can actually tell how bad the pain will be for the day by the number of hives I wake with in the morning. The bite should be looked at - that was also one of the first things I noticed before being diagnosed with tmj. Its off when the jaw is unbalanced - sometimes the jaw can realign itself or make adjustments within certain limits. Sometimes your teeth will grow longer or start to move to assist the jaw in staying balanced as well. You should bring this to your dentist's attention - if he doesn't think it means anything significant find another dentist.

navymid · 04-09-2006, 06:52 PM

I also have the red hives under my left jaw area and I keep wondering why it was doing that as well. I have seen several doctors about my bite and I am actually having open joint surgery in 2 weeks. Before this, I have had two arthrocentesis and an arthroscopy that have all failed. My doctor now is very concerned about my bite and that is one of the main resons he is doing the open joint. That makes sense about the jaw being able to realign itself to a certain extent. When my bite is centered, I am unable to move my jaw to the right at all- it feels as something is blocking it from moving. Then, when my bite is out of line, it is much more painful and I cannot move it to the left- as though something is blocking it. Hopefully this surgery will be the last(at least for a while) and will help me get off this liquid/mush diet I have been on for 7 months.
Thanks for your reply... it really helped explain a lot of things I was wondering about.

sunflower8 · 04-10-2006, 06:40 AM

My right ear also gets red & hot......it feels as though it is swollen but hardly ever is. Right under my lope and down the side of my jawline gets puffy & hot....it is such a pain especially becuase I cannot ice it during the day while I am at work.