Patent ID: 8460377

Claim:
A method of treating discomfort in a joint between a mandible and a corresponding temporal bone, the method comprising: inserting a prosthesis into an ear canal in an ear having a tragus, wherein the ear canal includes an isthmus, wherein the prosthesis comprises a substantially rigid structural body having a predefined shape substantially conforming to a contour of a portion of the ear canal which extends approximately between an entrance to the ear canal and the isthmus when a jaw is in an open position, the structural body having a rigidity such that it does not compressibly deform upon insertion into the ear canal or when the jaw is in a closed position, the structural body being hollow along its length to facilitate sound transmission, the structural body including a proximal base portion positioned adjacent to the entrance of the ear canal, the structural body further including a distal end portion adapted to extend an effective distance into the ear canal, the structural body further including a scalloped indenture extending away from a boundary edge of the proximal base portion, wherein the scalloped indenture is an opening into the hollow structural body, the scalloped indenture including a length dimension extending in a longitudinal direction of the structural body from the proximal base towards the distal end portion with a wall of the structural body disposed at least partially about a perimeter of the scalloped indenture, the scalloped indenture being positioned behind the tragus of the ear.