When that spot wears down to the nerve endings, pain occurs. The usual focus of pain is over the joint, immediately in front of the ear, but pain can also radiate elsewhere. The pain often causes spasm in the adjacent muscles which are attached to the bones of the skull, face, and jaws. Some people have attributed migraine, sinus trouble and backaches to the TMJ, but that would be difficult to explain with our present-day knowledge of anatomy and physiology. 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. In some patients the TMJs make popping, clicking or grinding sounds when the jaws are opened widely. Some people get ringing in their ears from TMJ trouble, which is an exaggeration of the ear-ringing that most people can normally produce by clenching their teeth together hard. Stop clenching, gritting or grinding teeth.