Ear Pain, Ringing, Congestion

Are you coming unglued by your ears?

Your ears are driving you crazy; painful, ringing and congested. You’ve been to doctors and specialists with no diagnosis. They’re doing everything right; completing a thorough investigation, sending you for tests, and listening to your symptoms, but they are unable to find the problem.  On top of the noise, pain and congestion, you sometimes feel so dizzy you need to stop and sit down.

Maybe the reason a diagnosis is so hard to come by is because the problem isn’t originating in your ear but your jaw. Your jaw is a complex system of muscles and nerves. If your jaw is misaligned, the muscles and nerves throughout your head, including the ones in your ears, can be affected. The most common symptom of TMJ associated ear problems is persistent ringing or whistling in the ears.

Other symptoms of TMJ include:

  • dizziness
  • vertigo
  • ear pain or discomfort (earaches)
  • impaired or restricted hearing
  • congested or stuffy feeling in your ears
  • sinus pain

Your ear has two important muscles:

1The tensor tympani. This muscle stabilizes your ear drum from the excess vibration caused by loud sounds.
2The tensor levi palatini. This muscle attaches to your Eustachian tube and equalizes pressure within your inner ear.

When your jaw is misaligned, your jaw, face head and neck muscles all work extra hard to compensate.  Over time these muscles become over-tired, strained and tight causing problems in other parts of your body, in the case, your ears.

Give your ears a treat (ment)

Luckily, by simply, stabilizing or realigning your jaw so that your bite returns to its normal position can relieve the ear problems you’re experiencing.

TMJ treatment can range from

  • Relaxation or massage  to relieve your strained jaw muscles
  • Dental appliances that can put your jaw in a comfortable position while awake, or protect your teeth from grinding at night
  • Orthodontics to reshape an underdeveloped jaw
  • Dental veneers, crowns, bridges or implants to restore missing or damaged teeth

Get relief by seeing the big picture

By using neuromuscular dentistry, Dr. Mike Westman, a Racine dentist, doesn’t just fix your teeth; he looks at your jaw joints, how your teeth fit together and the overall health of your teeth, muscles and nerves to arrive at a correct diagnosis and choose the most effective treatment. There’s no need to suffer from undiagnosed ear pain any longer. Let Dr. Westman evaluate your jaw to get the diagnosis you need to bring silence and ease back to your ears.

Ready to Schedule Your Appointment?

* All indicated fields must be completed. Please include non-medical questions and correspondence only.

WIND POINT DENTAL

Office Hours
Monday - Friday: 7am - 2pm

Accessibility Toolbar

Scroll to Top