Is Your Headache Caused by TMJ?

TMJ and Ear Pain
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Category: TMJ Disorder

If you suffer from repeated headaches, you are probably desperate to find and eradicate the root of the problem. Chronic headaches can be debilitating, and rob you of your quality of life.

However, without properly identifying the cause of your headache, you could waste time on ineffective treatment methods, or wind up taking dangerous, unnecessary medications. It’s important to seek the professional expertise of a medical team that can diagnose your type of headache and recommend appropriate treatment.

Here, the Headache and TMJ Center of New Jersey shares a few signs that problems with your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) could be causing your headaches. TMJ headaches are one of the most excruciating yet least-understood and misdiagnosed types of headaches.

1. Your jaw clicks when you open/close it.

Healthy and functioning joints should not make any noise. If you hear a clicking or popping noise when you open or close your jaw, the lower part of the jaw joint may be positioned incorrectly, and you may have temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD).

2. Your headache is accompanied by an earache, pressure or ringing in the ears.

Problems with the TMJ commonly cause pain, pressure and/or ringing in the ears. Dizziness is another slightly less frequent, yet severe symptom of TMJ problems.

3. Your headaches occur in the morning.

If your headaches are TMJ-related, they may often occur in the morning; this is because you probably clench/grind your teeth at night as you sleep, without even knowing it.

4. Your partner complains that you snore.

To be fair, there are many possible factors that lead to snoring — but one of them involves the lower jaw being out of alignment. When your jaw sits slightly too far back, it pushes your tongue back, too. The tongue can then vibrate against the soft palate, closing off your airway and causing you to snore. When your jaw is thrown out of alignment, there is a strong possibility of a TMJ-related problem.

If you believe TMJ could be causing your headaches (and other painful symptoms), the Headache and TMJ Center of New Jersey can help. Through advanced diagnostics, we can confirm that it is, in fact, a problem with your TMJ that is causing your headaches. Or, we can rule out TMJ problems as the cause of your headache and refer you to another medical specialist for help.

Please contact our office at (855) 865-3627 today to make an appointment with our team.