Can TMJ Cause Fluid Behind the Ears?

The reason I ask this is that last night I was woken up because my top teeth clicked down on my bottom ones. I was half asleep and I don't know whether it just happened - just because, or whether I was dreaming, but I wanted to ask. I know I have fluid in my ears because the doctors have seen it and I myself can hear it when I turn over.

I don't think it is TMJ because if I were just to move my jaw without breathing I don't feel anything happening in my ears - no popping/clicking, only when I breathe and do it i.e. yawning. I can open my mouth fine, eating is not a problem, though I do have pain sometimes round my sinuses which I read could be a symptom.

A few weeks ago when I was eating I did get pain in my ear as I was chewing - like cringe-worthy pain. However, it reminded my of when I'm on a plane and we are descending, and I'm sucking a sweet and every time that I suck it would cause pain in my ear. That would be consistent with ETD I think, but I wanted to know whether people think that is a sign of TMJ.

So really my question is could TMJ cause these symptoms, particularly the fluid behind the ears?

 

I don't know about the fluid but my daughter developed very loud T out of the blue a few years ago, had NO symptoms of TMJD, no pain or bite problems, nothing, but eventually she ended up with a dentist who found her jaw had become misaligned and that was causing the T. She wore a repositioning splint 24/7 for TWO YEARS and finally it completely cured the T. This is a condensed version of a long story obviously, but I now believe everybody with T should consider assessment for jaw problems.

 

Seems interresting, but there could be proof to this as disalignment of the jaw might pull on certain muscles wich in turn would signal tinnitus. I can change my tinnitus by opening my mouth wide open, aswell as shrugging up my shoulders and turning my head to the extreme!

Yet i am not sure if i suffer from TMJ or what ever should cause my tinnitus! Only thing i am certain about is that i cought my tinnitus after a series of colds, and started with a watery sound in my ear. Wich eventuelly went away and was replaced with tinnitus

 

Thank you. If my T hasn't gone by mid-April I am going back per doctors orders, and I might mention it to him.

That's good news about your daughter - I bet she was thrilled. When/how did you get your T?

 

Your T does sound like it has to do with muscles if it changes when you move. Whether it is TMJ I don't know, but maybe be something to consider.

 

I have no idea what caused or causes mine, but I am going to have a dentist who specializes in TMJD do an X-ray. As we age we can get osteoporosis in any of our joints including the jaw joint, and that can cause a misalignment. Her dentist told her it only takes a very tiny misalignment to cause pressure on the auditory nerve.

I am willing to learn to habituate to this t if that's what I need to do. But first I am checking out all reasonable possible causes before I give up. My daughter only went to this dentist because her friend nagged her to death to go, right up to the day of the appt she was saying okay okay I will go but I have no symptoms of TMJD!!!

 

I agree - I could live with this (as long as the pressure and ear pain disappears) but I am going to do everything I can to sort it out, even if that means giving it time.