Earaches Cary North Carolina

A person may visit the primary care clinic with ear pain assuming that they might have an ear infection. After a thorough checkup and diagnosis, a physician may recommend such a case to a dedicated TMJ dentist for earache treatment.

There are many causes of earaches beyond infection in the ear, and patients are often surprised to learn that their earache could be due to TMJ disorder.

The Temporomandibular Joint(TMJ) is a joint that connects your lower jaw and the skull. The TMJ has muscles, bones, and ligaments that act as a hinge, which enables the movement of the jaw in forward, backward, and also side-to-side directions. Any discomfort in the TMJ is called TMJ disorder.

TMJ disorder is one main reason for an earache. If there is any dysfunction in the TMJ point or misalignment in the joint, it will lead to an earache. Treatment by TMJ dentist Dr. Charles Ferzli at the TMJ and Sleep Therapy Centre of Raleigh-Durham in Cary, NC, can help.

Many patients initially believe they need ear infection treatment, but later discover that the source of their pain actually comes from TMJ-related issues.

Before looking at the symptoms of ear pain, let’s look at the problems associated with a TMJ-affected jaw.

A few of the most common TMJ related jaw problems include:

• Clicking, popping jaw points
• Grating sounds near Jaw point
• Pain in cheek muscles
• Uncontrollable pain while jaw and tongue movements

The above problems of the jaw will lead to pain in the ear.

Symptoms of Earache:

• Hissing, buzzing or ringing sound in the ear
• Decrease in hearing
• Ear pain or an earache with respect to infection
• Clogged, "itchy" ears

Some of the above are also signs of an ear infection. But when combined with jaw discomfort, they may point to TMJ disorder.

The reason for ear pain due to TMJ:

The disordered teeth bite or malocclusion, teeth grinding (also known as Bruxism), stress, and biting hard foods can put pressure on the muscles of the TMJ. This in turn radiates the pressure on the ear. This pressure on the ear results in ear pain.

Other times, individuals who have been in an accident or sustained injuries to their neck or head will wind up with displacement of the jaw, which, in turn, often results in trauma or facial pain.

Patients often ask, “What causes an earache if there’s no infection," or “What causes ear infections versus jaw-related ear pain?”. The answer is that earaches can be triggered either by infection inside the ear or by external stressors and misalignment affecting the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Ear pain is also caused due to irregular habits. If your regular habits are not good, then they are supposed to feel all these problems.

A few of the regular habits that can cause TMJ disorders are:

• Bruxism or Teeth Grinding
• Stress
• Poor Posture of sitting or sleeping
• Arthritis
• Jaw Injury
• Misalignment of the teeth or Jaw

How to treat this TMJ disorder:

Our TMJ Dentist Dr. Ferzli is one of the demanded dentists in and around the city of Cary North Carolina. He gives the best treatment for TMJ disorder at TMJ and Sleep Therapy Centre of Raleigh-Durham.

• Bruxism or Teeth Grinding: If you are one who grinds your teeth in the night, then we have a custom made night guard which is made from biological plastic material for you. It stops you from grinding your teeth and reduces the harmful effects of tooth clenching.
• Stress: Every individual has their own family/work pressure. Regular exercise, meditation, and yoga will help in stress management and reduce stress.
• Poor Posture of sitting or sleeping: Your posture while sitting at the office, walking and also sleeping matters a lot. Poor postures will also affect your TMJ and you may end up with a disorder.

If the trauma is severe, then the proper medication and sometimes surgery may also be required in treating the TMJ.

Contact Us for Lasting Relief from Ear and Jaw Pain

If you are facing any Earaches, then without any second thought kindly make an appointment to treat the problem at the earliest and lead a peaceful life. Our team will evaluate whether you need earache treatment linked to TMJ, and will also help educate you on how to treat an earache caused by an ear infection, ensuring you receive the right level of care for lasting relief.