TMJ? Or Ear infection?
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JoyfulNoise
Contributor
I thought I'd just add my 2-cents since I've been treated for TMJ for many years. The night guard will help alot! My jaw, neck, and shoulders used to hurt so bad from my clenching that the muscles would go into spasms (sometimes causing earaches!). Heat helps (warm shower, heating pad).
My DH got me a moldable mouthpiece (SeaCure 2, which you heat and then place in mouth and bite down) for my reg and it made a huge difference in my comfort while diving. Sometimes when diving with a regular mouth piece on my reg, I'd get pain in the jaw and just didn't feel comfortable in my mouth. I was always fussing with it.
You should go to the dentist and explain your pain. Living with untreated TMJ is painful and you can end up with more problems with your teeth. You can find moldable night guards at Walmart, Walgreens, and other drug stores. You warm them and then place them in your mouth and gently bite down to get a custom fit. These types of night guards run about $20.
I hope your pain gets under control quickly!
My DH got me a moldable mouthpiece (SeaCure 2, which you heat and then place in mouth and bite down) for my reg and it made a huge difference in my comfort while diving. Sometimes when diving with a regular mouth piece on my reg, I'd get pain in the jaw and just didn't feel comfortable in my mouth. I was always fussing with it.
You should go to the dentist and explain your pain. Living with untreated TMJ is painful and you can end up with more problems with your teeth. You can find moldable night guards at Walmart, Walgreens, and other drug stores. You warm them and then place them in your mouth and gently bite down to get a custom fit. These types of night guards run about $20.
I hope your pain gets under control quickly!
Laurence Stein DDS
Medical Moderator
Hey Budgirl,
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's most likely a....duck!
You were applying pressure to your chin, you yawned, it went crunch...most likely some form of trauma to the joint. You likely forced the head of the condyle (the ball part of the joint attached to the lower jaw) off the supporting disc ( which lies between the ball and the socket) or stretched some of the ligaments surrounding the joint. This results in something like a sprain and some local inflammation and discomfort. Treat it like a sprain for now.
TMJ or TMD is a neuromuscular response to repeated stress to the joint and the supporting muscles which leads to some spasticity to the muscles of mastication and then a failure to properly syncronize these muscles in normal joint function. TMJ is NOT the actual injury to the joint but a response to that injury or excessive stress.
This does not rule out an ear infection but the motion that immediately resulted in the internal noise, pain and residual soreness is most likely a form of joint trauma that has lead to acute tenderness to the affected side(s).
Anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen, Naproxen or even Aspirin can be helpful if you are able to take them. Moist heat to the joint can help. Avoid chewing gum, large bites of food, sleeping on your side or stomach...anything that can strain the joint.
Can you get a TMJ condition from this? Yes. Immediate treatment will probably result in a full recovery if you have not had joint issues in the past. Certainly, if the pain persists, see your dentist. No one dental specialty has a "lock" on the treatment of TM joints. I would start with my regular dentist first and then be referred as appropriate.
As long as you can hold your regulator in your mouth, I don't see any reason to not dive. Other posts referring to bite guards and SeaCure mouthpieces may become appropriate if resolution is not achieved by early treatment of this injury.
Laurence Stein, DDS
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's most likely a....duck!
You were applying pressure to your chin, you yawned, it went crunch...most likely some form of trauma to the joint. You likely forced the head of the condyle (the ball part of the joint attached to the lower jaw) off the supporting disc ( which lies between the ball and the socket) or stretched some of the ligaments surrounding the joint. This results in something like a sprain and some local inflammation and discomfort. Treat it like a sprain for now.
TMJ or TMD is a neuromuscular response to repeated stress to the joint and the supporting muscles which leads to some spasticity to the muscles of mastication and then a failure to properly syncronize these muscles in normal joint function. TMJ is NOT the actual injury to the joint but a response to that injury or excessive stress.
This does not rule out an ear infection but the motion that immediately resulted in the internal noise, pain and residual soreness is most likely a form of joint trauma that has lead to acute tenderness to the affected side(s).
Anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen, Naproxen or even Aspirin can be helpful if you are able to take them. Moist heat to the joint can help. Avoid chewing gum, large bites of food, sleeping on your side or stomach...anything that can strain the joint.
Can you get a TMJ condition from this? Yes. Immediate treatment will probably result in a full recovery if you have not had joint issues in the past. Certainly, if the pain persists, see your dentist. No one dental specialty has a "lock" on the treatment of TM joints. I would start with my regular dentist first and then be referred as appropriate.
As long as you can hold your regulator in your mouth, I don't see any reason to not dive. Other posts referring to bite guards and SeaCure mouthpieces may become appropriate if resolution is not achieved by early treatment of this injury.
Laurence Stein, DDS
deborahdelamar
Contributor
I used to have TMJ spasms so bad that I couldn't yawn without dislocating my jaw -- what a pain in the rear, not to mention the head and pocketbook (always an emergency room trip & IV valium to break the spasm -- got to know the on-call oral surgeons very well.) This went on for 20 years.
Though a bite plate may help long term, I never went that route as my trouble was stress-related. Relaxation is incredibly beneficial to TMJ sufferers -- going to Cozumel, slowing down, diving -- these are all good!
Stay away from the gum, bagels, carrots, etc. Try hard candies instead of gum - but don't bite them! (I've gotten addicted to Atomic Fireballs.) After you get more dive experience, you'll also relax the reg in your mouth rather than chomping on it -- try to practice on this trip -- once you get the hang of it, it's easy to let the reg kinda hang there without inhaling water. Also, the Sea Cure mouthpiece is a good product, but it may be too big for your mouth if you have a small bridge -- if that's the case, it will make things worse and you should look for a standard, small mouthpiece.
Though a bite plate may help long term, I never went that route as my trouble was stress-related. Relaxation is incredibly beneficial to TMJ sufferers -- going to Cozumel, slowing down, diving -- these are all good!
Stay away from the gum, bagels, carrots, etc. Try hard candies instead of gum - but don't bite them! (I've gotten addicted to Atomic Fireballs.) After you get more dive experience, you'll also relax the reg in your mouth rather than chomping on it -- try to practice on this trip -- once you get the hang of it, it's easy to let the reg kinda hang there without inhaling water. Also, the Sea Cure mouthpiece is a good product, but it may be too big for your mouth if you have a small bridge -- if that's the case, it will make things worse and you should look for a standard, small mouthpiece.
OP
Budgirl
Contributor
Thanks everyone for the input. I am all better now. We just got back from Cozumel and I had no problems diving! We did 10 dives over 4 days and my ears were great. The soreness I initially experienced lasted about 5 days and now I only feel a little twinge occasionally when I yawn, so I still need to see my dentist.
deborahdelamar
Contributor
Excellent news! Sounds like the pull is healing -- no more head propping when using the computer in bed, OK? Glad you "talked" it over here and took that trip!
OP
Budgirl
Contributor
Me too! Scubaboard is such a great resource!
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