Right side of head and Jaw burning and pain

[cutlass]

Pain symtoms are sometimes quite frustrating for all. I'm glad to see that you're persistent.

It's not clear to me whether the problem is directly pressure related. Responding to the OP, both doctormike and TSandM also seemed to have doubts. Such confusion is the great hazard of open forum discussions.

At the risk of further stirring the pot: Did this happen before? If it did, was there also node/gland swelling? Besides submergence, does anything else bring on the pain or make it worse? Does anything or anytime give relief? Besides pain, tingling, or burning, have you noticed any changes in facial sensations or muscle tone? Have you noticed any changes in the left-right symmetry of facial expressions: e.g. brow wrinkles, eyelids, smile, skin tone etc.? Any changes/differences of eye dryness or changes/differences of ringing or buzzing sensation in the ears?

The sensations of burning and tingling are often associated with nerve entrapment or compression. (Numbness, also common in such cases, wasn't reported here.) Doctormike pointed to the possibility of TN or tic involving the trigeminal nerve, CN V. Irritation of the facial nerve plexus CN VII is another possibility. This would be consistent with the pain pattern of ear toward brow and jaw. One possible irritation source are the reported swollen "nodes/glands"; CN VII is closely associated with the parotid (salivary) gland and the nearby preauricular lymph nodes.

 

[FrankPro1]

Pain symtoms are sometimes quite frustrating for all. I'm glad to see that you're persistent.

It's not clear to me whether the problem is directly pressure related. Responding to the OP, both doctormike and TSandM also seemed to have doubts. Such confusion is the great hazard of open forum discussions.

At the risk of further stirring the pot: Did this happen before? If it did, was there also node/gland swelling? Besides submergence, does anything else bring on the pain or make it worse? Does anything or anytime give relief? Besides pain, tingling, or burning, have you noticed any changes in facial sensations or muscle tone? Have you noticed any changes in the left-right symmetry of facial expressions: e.g. brow wrinkles, eyelids, smile, skin tone etc.? Any changes/differences of eye dryness or changes/differences of ringing or buzzing sensation in the ears?

The sensations of burning and tingling are often associated with nerve entrapment or compression. (Numbness, also common in such cases, wasn't reported here.) Doctormike pointed to the possibility of TN or tic involving the trigeminal nerve, CN V. Irritation of the facial nerve plexus CN VII is another possibility. This would be consistent with the pain pattern of ear toward brow and jaw. One possible irritation source are the reported swollen "nodes/glands"; CN VII is closely associated with the parotid (salivary) gland and the nearby preauricular lymph nodes.

Great Response Cutlass! Now where do we start?

1. Did this happen before?
Never happened before. I've been free-diving pretty aggressively for the last two years and was an on and off again snorkeling before that. In all the time in the ocean, pool, lakes... etc... never happened.

2. If it did, was there also node/gland swelling?
My nod/glands have been swollen for a few months... I know.. I know.. but money's tight and no insurance.

3. Besides submergence, does anything else bring on the pain or make it worse?
Early on after the injury, tying my shoes or bending over would aggravate the area.

4. Does anything or anytime give relief?
Its been on and off... Even now as I type I can feel a tightness and slight burn around the ear/jaw. But for the most part I can't usually feel anything.. that is until I get underwater.

5. Besides pain, tingling, or burning, have you noticed any changes in facial sensations or muscle tone?
No, I haven't had anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes I get a slight muscle twitch in my neck and face... But that hasn't been acting up recently.

6. Have you noticed any changes in the left-right symmetry of facial expressions: e.g. brow wrinkles, eyelids, smile, skin tone etc.?
No none.

7. Any changes/differences of eye dryness or changes/differences of ringing or buzzing sensation in the ears?
Have had ringing in the ears not only recently.. but in the past as well. On and off again for almost as long as I can remember

 

[doctormike]

Yup, these discussions often are pretty wide ranging, and unlike a formal, in person workup, we tend to cover a lot of ground! Still, the discussion itself is often helpful, in advance of more data.

If the symptoms really are reproduced just by "a slight head dip in the water" I would still say that any sort of pressure related condition (like sinus squeeze) is unlikely. That is, unless a slight dip means going several feet under water..? If it just means getting your head wet, then that wouldn't go with barotrauma.

If, on the other hand, it happens at some appreciable depth (e.g. more than a foot or so), and gets worse with descent, then the over-under swings back towards sinus or dental squeeze.

A CT scan of the sinuses would settle that question, but it's probably better to see a doctor in person with ENT / diving experience first...

Mike

 

[FrankPro1]

That is, unless a slight dip means going several feet under water..?

Mike

0-3ft: I can feel noticeable tightness but its more of a uncomfortable feeling then a pain. During my free dive after the accident I dived at 2 spots on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The first spot "Old Marineland" was earlier in the morning and I was wearing a hood. The pain was much more noticeable at the dive and was aggravated very easily. The second dive "Abalone Cove" I was wearing no hood and I could easily go down more then a few feet without it hurting much. During both dives going vertical in the water created minor aching pain in the right side of my head.

Now more then a week later, I can tie my shoes and move my head around without any pain. I still get a tingly burning tightness at times but its very minor. I'm hoping at this rate it will go away on its own but regardless I am going to get a dentist and Ent to check me out.

Thanks again for all your help. You've all been very helpful

 

[doctormike]

0-3ft: I can feel noticeable tightness but its more of a uncomfortable feeling then a pain....
Now more then a week later, I can tie my shoes and move my head around without any pain. I still get a tingly burning tightness at times but its very minor.

Yeah, if you are still having burning sensations several days after a dive, and if the symptoms are made worse in the first foot of water or so, I would think that sinus squeeze would be pretty unlikely... but I might be wrong!

Looking forward to hearing the follow up. Sorry I don't know anyone in your area...

Mike

 

[FrankPro1]

My doctors appointments are still a week away but I wanted to give an update. I went to my grandmothers "club house" for a work out and decided to take a swim. I went down about 3-4 ft... no problem... went down to the bottom 8/12 ft no problem... So it looks like whatever occurred is mending itself just fine. I'm still going to get a reg doctor, dentist, ENT doc check me out. But I was wondering if this might jeopardize the doctor diagnosing what happened and possibly risk it not being treated properly / having it occur again later on down the road ?

 

[doctormike]

My doctors appointments are still a week away but I wanted to give an update. I went to my grandmothers "club house" for a work out and decided to take a swim. I went down about 3-4 ft... no problem... went down to the bottom 8/12 ft no problem... So it looks like whatever occurred is mending itself just fine. I'm still going to get a reg doctor, dentist, ENT doc check me out. But I was wondering if this might jeopardize the doctor diagnosing what happened and possibly risk it not being treated properly / having it occur again later on down the road ?

So hard to say, such an odd symptom. It may be that the ENT doc finds nothing, and this will just go away and you will be able to dive again.

But I can't imagine anything very serious that would be "masked" by you slowly trying to dive..!

Mike

 

[Dive-aholic]

What was the temperature difference between open water and the pool water?

 

[FrankPro1]

What was the temperature difference between open water and the pool water?

The pool dives were considerably warmer than the open water dives, but I highly doubt its a temp issue. I've dove in the winter many times. Also on my first two open water dives there was a significant thermocline. But on the island dive "which is where the incident occurred" there was very little temp change.

 

[scubaren]

I can only tell you what not to do. My friend had a toothache and it hurt so much he punched himself in the face. He kinda missed where the pain was originating and ended up going to the dentist anyway. The dentist gave him a puzzled look and said he could see where the problem tooth was but he couldn't understand swelling in an unrelated area. My friend told him that he punched himself in the face.

Don't punch yourself in the face. It doesn't work.