How To Treat TMJ Ear Pain

Most ear pain is caused by an infection in the middle ear. However, if you don’t have symptoms of an infection and your ear pain has persisted for longer than a week, then it’s possible your ear pain is being caused by dysfunction in your temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

The TMJ is a joint that connects your jawbone to your skull. It’s used every time you move your mouth, like when you speak, chew, yawn, and swallow. Since the TMJ is located very close to your ear, it can cause ear pain or ear pressure when it’s damaged or inflamed.

How do you know whether your ear pain is caused by TMJ disorder or another type of ear problem?

What is the TMJ?

To understand what the cause of ear pain may be, it is important to understand the physical structures surrounding your ear. The closest moving anatomical structure to an individual’s ear is the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The TMJ is located on each side of your head and connects your lower jawbone (mandible) with the bone on the side of your skull (temporal bone). These joints are located just under the ear canal and enables you to move your jaw forward, backward, and side-to-side. While ear pain may be the result of infection or trauma, joint pain in the TMJ can also cause significant pain or discomfort when it becomes damaged or inflamed.

Why TMJ Ear Pain Happens

Why does the TMJ cause ear pain when it’s not even a part of your ear?

Each of your TMJs are located just 0.5 centimeters from your ear canal. When the TMJ is strained, or the muscles surrounding it become irritated or inflamed, pain or pressure is registered by nerves that are connected to your ear. The TMJ is connected to a large web of nerves in your body, so you could also feel muscle pain or discomfort in your ears, head, face, neck, and shoulders.

What causes the TMJ to become swollen or irritated? Here are a few common causes:

• Overuse: Excessive yawning, loud talking, singing, and wide movements of your mouth puts stress on your TMJ.
• Teeth Grinding: Teeth grinding is one of the main causes of TMJ pain. Many people develop a habit of clenching or grinding their teeth when they’re stressed, and TMJ is often diagnosed in people who are struggling to cope with stress in healthy ways.
• Eating Hard Foods: You put stress on your TMJ when you eat too many hard or chewy foods.
• Physical Trauma: You might be feeling TMJ and ear pain if you’ve recently suffered physical trauma to your head or face. A blow to the head could have caused your TMJ to become swollen or it might have even displaced the disk.
• Degenerative Joint Disease – Osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis can impact the TMJ which degrades or inflames the tissues surrounding the joint.

You shouldn’t worry too much if you have occasional TMJ discomfort because it’s a somewhat common occurrence, however, treatment may be recommended for persistent or intense TMJ pain. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, TMJ pain affects roughly 5-12% of the population. It’s more common among young people and occurs in twice as many women as men.

TMJ Pain or Ear Infection?

Not all ear pain is the result of TMJ disorders. Usually, a middle ear infection (otitis media) is the most common cause of ear pain. A virus or bacteria spreads to the middle ear, which causes swelling and excess fluid. Your ear becomes clogged and puts pressure on the nerves and structures in your ear, which causes the ear pain. Ear infections often happen soon after a cold or flu.

However, ear infection symptoms are often similar to symptoms of a TMJ-related issue and nearly 75% of people with TMJ dysfunction report ear related pain or discomfort. While TMJ related ear pain is usually felt in front or below the ear and pain related to ear infections are typically felt inside the ear, differentiating the 2 problems can still be difficult due to their close proximity. How do you know which is causing your ear pain?

Similar Symptoms of TMJ Ear Pain & Ear Infections

You’ll experience the following symptoms with both an ear infection and a TMJ problem:

• Dull and aching or sharp and shooting ear pain
• Ear pressure
• Ringing in the ears (also known as tinnitus)
• A sensation that your ear is “full” or “clogged”
• Difficulty hearing
• Headaches

These symptoms may range from mild to severe.

Ear Pain Symptoms that Are Different

Here are symptoms or circumstances unique to ear infections:

• You’ll often feel pain inside your ear
• You currently have or recently recovered from a fever
• The area around your ear feels warm
• There’s discharge coming from your ear

Remember that ear infections usually occur after you’ve been sick, so if you’ve recently been ill then your ear pain is likely from an infection. The body often heals from viral infections on its own and your symptoms shouldn’t persist for more than a week or two.

Here are symptoms that may indicate your ear pain is caused by the TMJ:

• You feel pain in front of or below your ear, and not inside your ear
• Your pain sharpens when you move your mouth
• You are experiencing other TMJ related symptoms

If your doctor has confirmed that you don’t have an ear infection and your symptoms don’t resolve on their own or with antibiotics, then it’s possible your ear pain is being caused by your TMJ. 

Other Symptoms of TMJ Dysfunction

Ear pain isn’t the only sign you’re suffering from a TMJ problem. These symptoms may also indicate TMJ dysfunction:

• There’s a clicking or popping sound when you open and close your mouth
• Your jaw locks when you move your mouth
• You have difficulty opening and closing your mouth
• There’s a ringing sound in your ear
• You feel pain behind your eyes
• You feel discomfort around your face and/or mouth
• You have neck and shoulder pain

Seeing a qualified TMJ doctor if you have one or more of these symptoms for more than a few days is recommended to determine if your source of ear pain is TMJ related.

How to Treat TMJ Pain in Ear

In most cases, TMJ ear pain is only temporary and can be relieved through a variety of treatment methods. These methods include:

• Medicinal Treatment
• Wearing a Mouthguard
• Lifestyle Changes
• Exercise and Stretches
• Change in Diet

Medicinal Treatment

Your doctor might prescribe anti-inflammatories or muscle relaxants to relieve tenderness in the joint and reduce pain. Steroids like cortisone and prednisone are often effective in relieving TMJ ear pain.

Need quick relief while you’re waiting for your doctor’s appointment? Aspirin and ibuprofen can give you minor relief, and you can apply a heat pad to the area around your ear to help soothe the muscles around your TMJ.

Wearing a Mouthguard

Is your TMJ pain caused by teeth grinding? If so, then you could benefit from a mouthguard. Wearing a mouthguard while you sleep prevents your teeth from grinding together, realigns your jaw, and relieves tension on your TMJ.

Lifestyle Changes that Can Help Prevent TMJ Ear Pain

Your ear pain might be caused by your personal habits. Consider making small changes to your lifestyle to keep your TMJ in good shape. These changes might include:

• Finding healthy ways to reduce stress so you won’t grind or clench your teeth
• Practice maintaining a better posture (slouching or leaning can put stress on you TMJ)
• Avoid biting your lower lip and fingernails
• Limit how often you make big jaw movements
• Do facial exercises before activities like singing or lecturing
• Use an ice pack after doing activities with heavy jaw use
• Eat softer foods
• Eat foods that are less chewy

Changes in Diet

Hard foods and chewy foods put strain on your jaw and TMJ. These foods might include hard candy, chocolate bars, chewing gum, and frozen desserts. You also might get TMJ pain if you frequently chew on ice.

Opt for softer foods that are easier on your TMJ.

Exercise & Stretches

Facial exercises can help improve joint movement and strengthen the jaw and surrounding muscles. Over time, these exercises will lead to a healthy and painless joint.

You should not perform facial exercises if you’re experiencing extreme discomfort.

When you do a facial exercise, you might feel some resistance but there shouldn’t be any pain. The resistance should also improve the longer you do the exercise—stop doing the exercise if the resistance gets worse.

Jaw Muscle Relaxation Technique

Keep your upper teeth and lower teeth separated. Rest your tongue behind your upper teeth. This position allows your jaw to relax.

Rest on a Pen

Gently rest your front teeth on a pencil or pen. This is another position that allows your jaw to relax.

TMJ Muscle Stretch

Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Open your mouth slowly until your tongue is just barely touching the roof of your mouth. Hold for 15 seconds.

Side-to-Side Jaw Exercise

Open your mouth and slowly move your jaw from side to side, and stretch gently on each side.

Opening Jaw Exercise

Place your thumb under your chin. Open your mouth but use your thumb to give a little resistance. Open your mouth 10 times using resistance.

Closing Jaw Exercise

Place your hand against your chin and give a little downward resistance. Close your mouth 10 times using resistance.

When to See a Doctor for TMJ Ear Pain

Do not ignore your ear pain. Untreated TMJ may cause long-term issues like hearing loss or blocked eustachian tubes. See an orofacial specialist as soon as you can so the problem doesn’t get worse.

TMJ ear pain is a complex issue. Symptoms are diverse and may vary from case to case. An orofacial specialist can help you:

• Diagnose the problem
• Provide you with physical therapy
• Teach you strength-building exercises for your jaw and joints
• Prescribe medication to relieve swelling and pain
• Build a custom mouth guard to prevent teeth grinding

In rare cases, surgery may be required to repair more significant joint damage. An orofacial specialist can help you sort through your options.

How a Doctor Will Diagnose TMJ Ear Pain

A TMJ problem is difficult to diagnose on your own (after all, quite difficult to look inside your own ear). It’s best to make an appointment with an orofacial doctor. The inspection is fast and simple.

1. First, the doctor will review your medical and dental history to make sure there’s no prior work or health episodes that may be contributing to the pain.
2. Then, the doctor will do a visual inspection of the problem areas. The doctor will look inside your ear to quickly verify whether or not there’s an ear infection, and then will look inside your mouth for signs of cracked or worn down teeth.
3. The doctor will listen to your jaw for popping or clicking sounds, and then feel your jaw and facial areas for swelling. If needed, additional diagnosis (like x-rays) will be run.

After running these inspections and exams, the doctor will be able to tell if your ear pain is caused by TMJ and, if so, what caused the irritation to begin with. Then they can recommend treatment so you can relieve your TMJ ear pain and related symptoms.

Contact a TMJ Doctor

If you think you’re suffering from TMJ ear pain, see an orofacial doctor as soon as possible so you can relieve your pain and prevent the condition from getting worse. Make an appointment with the Headache TMJ clinic in Los Angeles. Dr. Omrani and her team will figure out what’s causing your ear pain and provide you with treatment options so you can make a fast recovery.

TMJ Ear Pain FAQs

How do I get rid of ear pain from TMJ?

For mild TMJ related ear discomfort, over the counter pain medications and simple lifestyle changes may provide enough help to relieve symptoms. For more severe or persistent TMJ related ear pain or discomfort, a qualified orofacial pain doctor can help provide effective treatment options. These options may include more powerful medications including muscle relaxers or creating a personalized mouthguard.

What does TMJ ear pain feel like?

TMJ ear pain is usually identified by a sharp or throbbing pain felt below or in front of the ear accompanied by tinnitus, the sensation of ears fullness or difficulty hearing, headaches, pain or discomfort when moving the jaw, and possibly jaw popping.

How do I know if my ear pain is from TMJ?

Determining if ear pain is related to the TMJ usually requires that an ear infection be ruled out. This usually requires a physical inspection of the ear to determine if there is infection, but ear pain accompanied by localized warmth, fever, or discharge is usually indicative of ear infection.

Does TMJ ear pain go away?

Mild TMJ ear pain may fade if certain aggravating circumstances are reduced. This could include stress or certain activities like eating chewy foods or nail-biting. However, if TMJ related ear pain is persistent or severe, it is recommended that professional help is enlisted to determine the best treatment plan.