Therefore, the forces of chewing can be distributed over a wider surface in the joint space, which allows healing to occur rapidly in between chewing times. The pain may be sharp and searing, occurring each time you swallow, yawn, talk, or chew, or it may be dull and constant. It hurts over the joint immediately in front of the ear but pain can also radiate elsewhere. It often causes spasm in the adjacent muscles that are attached to the bones of the skull face and jaws. A very common focus of pain is in the ear.
Many patients come to the ear specialist quite convinced their pain is from an ear infection.
When an earache is not associated with a hearing loss and the ear drum looks normal, the doctor will consider the possibility that the pain comes from TMJ dysfunction. There are a few other symptoms besides pain that TMJ dysfunction can cause. It can make popping, clicking, or grinding sounds when the jaws are opened widely. At the other extreme, TMJ dysfunction can prevent the jaws from fully opening. Some people get ringing in their ears from TMJ trouble.