pain

[Jenniferdiana]

hey guys. i got some bad pain going on near the side of my face head and ear. i had jaw surgery 11 years ago and i think that may be the cause of it, im not sure though but the pain is pretty bad and i cant stand it when i try to open my mouth. it really hurts so bad. i can hear a clicking sound on the side of my ear when i open my mouth. i am thinking TMJ but i am not sure...i am afraid this will get worse

 

[Jenniferdiana]

gee not one response..lol

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Sorry to hear you have pain. Will pray that it goes away and you get some rest from it.

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

TMJ can be the issue. Have you seen a physician? Usually the sooner the better.

 

[Jenniferdiana]

TMJ can be the issue. Have you seen a physician? Usually the sooner the better.

not yet but its getting pretty bad, i can hear my bone cracking when i open my mouth...

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

Until you see a doctor - try to avoid opening your jaw unless you really need to. I know when I had some TMJ symptoms, I think I made it worse by constantly "testing" my jaw to see if I could hear the noise, and when I forced myself to stop doing that, it seemed to get better. Whether you have a structural problem or inflammation, the frequency of jaw movement can only aggravate it. And if you happen to be like me, it could help a lot.

 

[Jenniferdiana]

Until you see a doctor - try to avoid opening your jaw unless you really need to. I know when I had some TMJ symptoms, I think I made it worse by constantly "testing" my jaw to see if I could hear the noise, and when I forced myself to stop doing that, it seemed to get better. Whether you have a structural problem or inflammation, the frequency of jaw movement can only aggravate it. And if you happen to be like me, it could help a lot.

ok but what do you mean structural problem though? and what caused your tmj? it still hurts really bad.

 

[Porpoise]

hey guys. i got some bad pain going on near the side of my face head and ear. i had jaw surgery 11 years ago and i think that may be the cause of it, im not sure though but the pain is pretty bad and i cant stand it when i try to open my mouth. it really hurts so bad. i can hear a clicking sound on the side of my ear when i open my mouth. i am thinking TMJ but i am not sure...i am afraid this will get worse

Hi Jenniferdiana,

You say your jaw surgery happened 11 years ago. If I were in your situation, I would be careful about jumping to the conclusion that this past surgery caused it, which can be a little depressing to think, because it puts you in the situation of regret and not knowing if it will get better (I have a history of health problems--including TMJ- and I've done that lots of times). TMJ feels really awful, I personally think the jaw is one of the worst places to have pain. But it's actually a really common and usually mild problem, it often comes on because of stress and goes away on its own in a few days or weeks. What it basically is, is muscle tension. If you had tension in your back, or your neck, or shoulders, you probably wouldn't think you had a serious problem, you might say you're just stressed or had bad posture. When the same tension happens in our jaw, it's not more serious but it usually feels more painful because the jaw is more pain sensitive.

So I don't think it's something you need to worry too much about. I know the pain from it is really intense, I've had it too. It does go away, it might take a bit of time but I think it should go away on its own. One thing that helped for me was to relax my jaw throughout the day. And another thing I think helped was to move the tension to a different part of my body (my back) by tensing that area instead.

 

[Jenniferdiana]

Hi Jenniferdiana,

You say your jaw surgery happened 11 years ago. If I were in your situation, I would be careful about jumping to the conclusion that this past surgery caused it, which can be a little depressing to think, because it puts you in the situation of regret and not knowing if it will get better (I have a history of health problems--including TMJ- and I've done that lots of times). TMJ feels really awful, I personally think the jaw is one of the worst places to have pain. But it's actually a really common and usually mild problem, it often comes on because of stress and goes away on its own in a few days or weeks. What it basically is, is muscle tension. If you had tension in your back, or your neck, or shoulders, you probably wouldn't think you had a serious problem, you might say you're just stressed or had bad posture. When the same tension happens in our jaw, it's not more serious but it usually feels more painful because the jaw is more pain sensitive.

So I don't think it's something you need to worry too much about. I know the pain from it is really intense, I've had it too. It does go away, it might take a bit of time but I think it should go away on its own. One thing that helped for me was to relax my jaw throughout the day. And another thing I think helped was to move the tension to a different part of my body (my back) by tensing that area instead.

yea i have been ignoring it but its kinda hard to do that when i get flares from it..well the pain was really bad before but for some reason its subsiding now. hey i never noticed until now..theres little pain now..thank you haha

 

[Unqualified]

Do you clench your teeth at night? I did that for awhile and it caused pain and teeth grinding. You could get a mouth piece for sleeping at a pharmacy. It would keep teeth separate with a cushion and relax and heal. See a doctor too.