The appearance of painful sensations in the ear cavity when performing chewing movements can be caused by for various reasons. Directly from what negative factor associated with the occurrence of painful, often intolerable symptoms, depends on the nature and intensity ear pain. It can be constant, aching or dull, radiating into the ear at the slightest movement of the jaws, or appear in the form of a sharp, shooting sensation when making a chewing movement.
Most often, pain in the ear when chewing appears if a person begins to develop eustachitis, inflammation eustachian tube connecting the middle ear to the laryngeal region, or otitis media, an inflammatory process in the tympanic cavity.
Symptoms and manifestations of ear pain when chewing
It can also lead to painful sensations the following diseases and pathological conditions:
- a number of dental diseases and problems (exposure to mechanical or thermal irritants on teeth, untreated caries, ostiomyelitis);
- prosopalgia ( facial pain) vascular, neurogenic, psychogenic or atypical in nature;
- disturbances in the functioning of the temporofacial joint;
- mumps (mumps), pharyngitis or tonsillitis;
- neuralgia of the trigeminal or glossopharyngeal nerve;
- arteritis affecting the facial artery.
In young children, ear pain that accompanies chewing movements is most often associated with teething. It can worsen even when opening the mouth and causes the baby to lose appetite.
Inflammatory diseases of the ears and nasopharynx, as the main factor in the development of the pathological condition
Most often, when performing chewing movements, pain in the ear appears in the case of the development of an inflammatory process in the nasopharyngeal region or directly in the organ of hearing, which is associated with complete communication between the ENT organs. Nerve endings connecting the ear, oral cavity and pharynx instantly transmit pain that occurs when chewing or opening the mouth to the laryngeal region and ear canal, provoking severe symptoms.
Most often, ear pain combined with the chewing reflex is caused by the following:
- (angina). Usually this pain is referred. Acute painful sensations in the throat radiate to the ear, and do not become a consequence of the development of an inflammatory process in it, but consult a doctor if such a symbiosis appears negative symptoms, aggravated by chewing, is extremely necessary.
- and , (inflammatory lesion inner ear). Painful sensations in the air cavity located behind the eardrum intensify when chewing movements are performed. It's connected with physical influence moving jaws onto the inner inflamed surface of the muscles hearing aid. Left untreated, the disease can lead to hearing loss (partial hearing loss).
Important! Any ENT pathology, according to otolaryngologists, in the absence of adequate therapy threatens the development of serious, often life-threatening person, complications. Experts strongly recommend that if pain appears in the ears, which intensifies during chewing, not to ignore this negative sign, but to seek professional medical help.
Why do pathologists of the temporomandibular joint provoke ear pain when chewing?
Often, the prerequisite for the appearance of severe pain in the organ of hearing is disturbances in the functioning of the joint, which is the point of contact between temporal bone skull and movable jaw.
Dysfunctional disorder in this area can occur for several reasons:
- defects of the lower dentition (partial or complete absence molars);
- mechanical impact (strong blow to the cheek);
- Constantly chewing gum.
The influence of these factors provokes the appearance of specific clicks in the chewing person that occur when closing or opening the mouth and pain syndrome, spreading to the ear located on the side of the damaged joint.
The occurrence of ear pain due to tension when chewing the ligaments and muscles of the parotid region
Acute pain that appears in the organ of hearing may be associated with excessive tension of the ligamentous apparatus and muscles of the parotid region. Along with pain, a person may feel tingling and pressure in the ear, and also feel compression (squeezing) of the lower jaw, making it difficult to move when eating.
Parotid, medial pterygoid and masticatory muscles, may be in a state of hypertonicity (excessive tension) due to the influence of the following negative factors:
- missing teeth or incorrectly placed fillings;
- psycho-emotional problems and stressful situations;
- pathology of the cervical or thoracic spine.
With these pathological conditions It is difficult for a person to open his mouth, and when chewing, congestion and pain in the ears almost always appear; sometimes the appearance of ear noises and ringing is noted. These symptoms may be accompanied by enlargement and pain. cervical lymph nodes. Also, the appearance of pain in the ear when chewing is directly influenced by swelling. salivary glands. Treatment of all muscle tensions in the neck and facial area, regardless of the reason for their appearance, is carried out using physiotherapeutic procedures and manual therapy.
Dental problems are one of the causes of the pathological condition
Reasons that cause pain that appears during chewing sharp pain in the ears, often involve dental pathologies.
The main influence on the occurrence of a negative condition is exerted by the following diseases of dental etiology:
- Carious lesions of teeth. Overt or hidden caries can influence the appearance of pain in the ear while chewing and swallowing.
- Pulpitis. An inflammatory process developing in the dental pulp ( soft tissues, permeated with nerve endings), can cause very severe ear pain during chewing. In addition, the ear of a person who has developed pulpitis may hurt not only when he begins to chew, but also at night, and also under the influence of temperature changes.
- Periodontal abscess. If ear pain occurs due to this dental disease, patients usually complain of the appearance while chewing severe weakness parotid muscles, making it difficult to open and close the mouth.
Neurological diseases that provoke ear pain when chewing food
When your ear hurts while chewing, and when opening and closing your mouth causes obvious discomfort, you should think about the development of a disease that is neurological in nature. Most pathologies nervous system accompanied by pain when swallowing and chewing, radiating to the ear. Experts, in response to their patients’ questions about why this happens, explain that the appearance of pain in the ear is provoked by inflammation of the upper laryngeal, trigeminal or glossopharyngeal nerve. Moreover, not only the intra-ear cavity hurts, but also the tissues located in close proximity to the organ of hearing, which prevents a person from opening his mouth and chewing.
Neuralgia, one of the common causes of ear pain, aggravated by chewing and swallowing, can have various manifestations, depending on which nerve is affected:
- Glossopharyngeal. The pain has a short-term paroxysmal nature;
- trigeminal. The pain usually occurs in the evening and is noted only on one side;
- guttural. Soreness appears immediately after a person begins to chew, and is felt simultaneously in both ears.
The best ways to treat ear pain that occurs when chewing
Treatment of painful sensations that occur in the ear cavity when a person begins to chew food should only be carried out by a specialist after a series of diagnostic studies, allowing you to put accurate diagnosis. The ban on self-therapy for this pathological condition is associated with the danger of aggravating the situation. After the provoking negative symptoms the disease is identified, the patient is referred to a specialist doctor, but in any case, the treatment process is carried out with the direct participation of an otolaryngologist. A doctor of this specialization prescribes symptomatic therapy to relieve ear pain.
Typically, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drops are used for this purpose, eliminating the symptoms accompanying true, resulting from the development of the inflammation process, or false, associated with irradiation of pain into the ear from other parts of the head, neck or shoulder girdle, otitis media
The drugs of choice in this case are:
- Candibiotic, a drug with an antibacterial effect.
- , an anti-inflammatory agent.
- Anauran, combined drops with glucocorticoids.
Important! Any medications, allowing to relieve ear pain that occurs during the chewing process, should be prescribed exclusively by a specialist, depending on the nature of the pain, its cause and general condition sick.
Additional assistance measures and nutritional rations
If discomfort and pain in the ear occur when opening the mouth and chewing movements, it is necessary, along with drug therapy, appointed by a specialist, review your diet. The food consumed by a person suffering from painful sensations in the organ of hearing should help strengthen the immune system, because all pathologies of the ENT organs are directly related to a weakened immune system.
To reduce the risk of a pathological condition, it is necessary to supplement the diet with foods containing an increased amount of minerals and vitamins necessary for the full functioning of the body. These include any types of nuts, legumes, herbs, vegetables, fruits and berries. All of the above can be consumed both fresh and after heat treatment.
It is also recommended to completely eliminate or minimize the consumption of red meat (beef), refined sweets (cakes, pastries, sugar), eggs, dairy products and fried or fatty foods. In addition, experts insist on a categorical refusal bad habits, which can aggravate the course various diseases and at the same time increase the manifestation of pain in the ears.
Informative video
Sometimes painful sensations in the ear become acute under certain circumstances - when swallowing, a sudden change in head position, or when chewing. This symptom cannot be ignored, since it can signal the development of serious hearing problems in the organ of hearing. pathological processes. What does ear pain when chewing indicate? What diseases are accompanied by this symptom?
The appearance of pain in the ear when chewing can accompany a lot of specific diseases, not always related to the field of otolaryngology. To correctly determine the cause warning sign, it is important to evaluate its character together with general symptoms.
Ear diseases
Otitis. Sharp pain, worsening at night, and chewing, associated with discomfort in the organ of hearing, can signal the progression of inflammatory processes in the ear. The infection is accompanied by specific symptoms: the temperature may rise, migraine attacks and dizziness may occur, a feeling of pressure inside, congestion and hearing loss may occur.
Eardrum. Due to the connection of the muscles and nerves of the jaws with areas near the organ of hearing, sharp and strong pain when chewing and opening the mouth may appear in pathological conditions eardrum. When it is drawn in during periods of pressure changes or is injured, the chewing process can cause significant discomfort to patients.
Sulfur plug. Pain during chewing movements may occur due to the accumulation of sulfur masses in the auditory canal. Blockage of the ear canal, in addition to this symptom, is characterized by severe ear congestion and hearing loss. Pain in this case occurs exclusively when the jaws move and is accompanied by a specific “clicking” or “tapping”.
Labyrinthitis. Dangerous inflammation of the inner ear, in addition to pain when moving the jaws, is characterized by a noticeable decrease in the quality of hearing with the parallel appearance of “compensating” subjective noise. Due to the impact of pathological processes on vestibular apparatus, the disease begins to be accompanied by nausea, dizziness in the patient and impaired coordination.
ENT diseases
Throat diseases. Due to the connection of all organs of the ENT system with nerve fibers, sharp and chronic diseases the throat can “reflect” to the area of the hearing organ. Thus, with tonsillitis or sore throat, patients quite often complain that, in addition to the “usual” discomfort when swallowing and tickling for these conditions, it became painful for them to chew. This symptom does not mean that infectious process switched to the organ of hearing - this is a manifestation of the connection between the ENT system, but still, to control the course of the disease, you should see a doctor.
Eustachite. This disease, due to a narrowing of the lumen of the Eustachian tube, is characterized by a decrease in pressure in the ENT system, which leads to a change in the position of the eardrum. During the movement of the jaws, the concave membrane also begins to move, which leads to sharp pain in the organ of hearing.
Other diseases
Dental diseases. Dental problems are often accompanied by pain that radiates into the ear when the jaw moves. In this case, the symptom is characterized as pronounced, pulsating and intensifying at night.
Nerve damage. Inflammatory processes or of different nature damage can affect large nerve fibers responsible for different parts of our face. So, facial nerve may be affected by the herpes virus, the trigeminal may become inflamed due to dental diseases, the glossopharyngeal may be affected by abscesses and neoplasms in oral cavity and larynx. Irritation of these nerve fibers leads to pain radiating to the ear and back of the head.
Diagnosis and treatment
Therapy program this symptom will be directly determined by the underlying disease.
Medicines for the treatment of pain in the ear when chewing should be recommended by an otolaryngologist or a specialist (for example, a dentist, if pain in the hearing organ appears due to inflammation of the teeth).
First of all, to find out the reason why your ear hurts when chewing, you should contact an otolaryngologist. The specialist will conduct a visual examination of your hearing organ, perform an otoscopy and evaluate the condition of the ear canal and eardrum.
- If necessary, to assess the conductivity of sound vibrations, patients are prescribed audiometry and tuning fork tests;
- for diagnosing patency auditory tubes Politzer blowing is carried out;
- To assess pressure, ear manometry is performed;
- to check the mobility of the eardrum and auditory ossicles the specialist will perform tympanometry;
- if the ear hurts when opening the mouth after a skull injury, MRI and CT are prescribed;
- in the presence of an inflammatory process, general or biochemical analysis blood.
The treatment program will be drawn up by an otolaryngologist based on the results of the diagnosis of the underlying disease that caused ear pain when the patient chews or opens his mouth.
- If otitis media or inflammation of the nerves is detected, the doctor will prescribe a course antibacterial therapy- medications for oral administration, combined, if necessary, with topical ear drops.
- If there is a wax plug, the specialist will immediately rinse the ear canal.
- If your ears hurt due to a violation of the ventilation of the ENT system, the otolaryngologist will prescribe you a course of physiotherapy that will help restore the patency of the Eustachian tube.
- To treat a sore throat, an otolaryngologist will select for you the optimal treatment program that will allow you to effectively overcome the disease.
- If you have ear pain caused by dental inflammation, your dentist will treat you. As a rule, after eliminating the root cause, the unpleasant symptom immediately goes away.
Prevention
To ensure that you no longer experience excruciating ear pain when chewing, you should follow the following preventive measures:
- Don't get too cold and dress appropriately for the weather.
- Support your immune system by regularly taking multivitamin courses.
- All inflammatory diseases should be treated under the supervision of a physician, and the course of therapy should be continued until complete elimination pathogenic flora, and not until symptomatic relief.
- Check with your dentist regularly and do not delay dental treatment if pain occurs.
According to doctors, ear pain in an adult can occur for a number of reasons, depending on many factors, in addition to pathological abnormalities.
Among the most common reasons are the following:
- cold or viral disease;
- inflammation of organs that are located close to the ear;
- mechanical damage to the auricle, ear canal, internal part of the hearing organ.
Ear pain does not always force people to consult a specialist, so you should know how to treat otitis media at home.
The main thing is to provide the right help for sharp, shooting, aching pain in the ears, especially if the pain occurs at home and there is no way to see a doctor.
First aid includes the following:
- To relieve pain in the ear, you need to take a small piece of gauze, fold it into four layers, cut off the corner in a small semicircle so that when you unroll it you can get a cutout the size of the auricle, and make an alcohol compress.
- Then put a down scarf or something warm.
- You can add 4-5 drops of tincture bay leaf. To prepare this tincture, take 5-6 sheets and pour boiled water for half an hour.
- The passage into the auricle is covered with cotton wool to retain heat.
Ways to treat otitis yourself
If there is no material or physical ability If you seek help from a doctor, you should try home remedies for ear pain.
Effective and safe compresses and turundas for the treatment of otitis media
One of the most dangerous ear diseases is otitis media. To treat it, alcohol, oil and dry compresses are used. When applying a compress, measure the temperature, because at a temperature, heating is prohibited.
The most effective of all compresses is oil. The oil helps retain heat for a longer period.
Both camphor and vegetable oils are suitable for compresses. Heat it in a water bath to approximately 36-37°. It is applied with gauze to sore spot, wrapped in cellophane.
It must be taken into account that it can stain linen and clothes, so after applying gauze and cellophane, a thick cap is also put on the head. After the procedure, wipe off the oil with a damp alcohol wipe.
If you have ear pain, you can learn how to treat it at home from this article. Many people know how to treat ear pain at home using dry compresses.
- Treatment with a blue lamp effectively removes inflammation around the ear;
- Dry heating 200 g of sand or salt, which is heated in a frying pan until high temperature, and pour it into a special bag or a clean old sock. To prevent it from getting too hot, wrap it in gauze or a waffle towel;
- A brick heated on the stove, wrapped in a towel or cloth, helps a lot;
- You can also use a hot egg. It is boiled, wrapped in a towel and placed on the sore spot.
Dry compresses are kept until they cool down.
Some people want to know if their ear hurts, how to treat it at home without applying a compress, because this is not always convenient. 
Turunda is often used to warm the ear. Turunda is a cotton swab twisted into a wick.
The turunda is made like this:
- Make a wick from sterile cotton wool. The length of the wick is about 3 cm.
- Turunda is soaked in any solution as for a compress.
- Next, the turunda is inserted into the auricle.
The use of turunda is prohibited if:
Camphor oil
Many people know how to treat ear pain at home with camphor oil. This is the most famous and widespread remedy for this pain.
It is dripped directly into the ear canal, a compress or turunda is made.
This oil is used:
Baked onions with honey
Ear treatment at home can be done with bee honey along with baked onion juice as follows:
- Unpeeled onion onions bake in the oven until the juice appears.
- Take out the onion and squeeze out the liquid, add honey in a ratio of 1:1/2.
- The resulting mixture is instilled into the ear 3 times a day, 6 drops.
- The course of treatment is 6 days.
Black bread
If your ear hurts, you can treat it at home with a crust of black bread.
The bread crust was heated in a water bath in a colander, and the resulting mass was placed in the form of a compress in the ear area.
Be sure to fix the mass with gauze and cellophane, and wrap it in a warm down scarf. 
After a few minutes the pain began to go away. If necessary, the procedure was repeated.
Tea mushroom If there is an infusion of two weeks kombucha, then you can make a warm compress from it
, while gauze is soaked in warm infusion, covered with cellophane and insulated. Apply the compress overnight.
Beetroot with honey
Ear pain, our grandmothers know how to treat it at home. They suggest squeezing fresh juice from finely grated beets through cheesecloth and mixing it with melted honey. For the mixture you need 1 tbsp. spoon of juice and 1 tbsp. spoon of honey
(preferably May), then drip 7 drops into one ear and the other. It is important to know! 
To enhance the treatment, put a little honey in the squeeze, add flour, get a not very stiff dough and make a compress on the ear area and insulate it. Treat until complete recovery.
Aloe leaf juice should be slightly warmed, no more than 36°.
To get it, you need to grind the aloe leaf in a meat grinder and squeeze it through gauze, take a full pipette of liquid, drip it and immediately insert a cotton wick into your ear for a quarter of an hour. Instill juice up to 5 times a day.
Application of celandine
When your ear hurts, you can cure it with ointment from celandine leaves:
- 40 g of dry powdered celandine;
- 20 g lanolin;
- 20 g Vaseline.
Grind all ingredients thoroughly, within 7 days, insert a tampon with ointment into the ear canal. 
Treatment of ear pain (otitis) with boric acid at home
Widely used method of treating ear pain boric acid. Before it is dripped into the ear canal, it is washed with 5 drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide.
After instillation with peroxide Auricle wipe with a clean swab and introduce boric acid. More often, a cotton wick soaked in acid is inserted at night. And in the morning he leaves.
Treating an ear infection with hydrogen peroxide
It is 3% hydrogen peroxide that is the main enemy of ear infections. It is not used as an independent medicine, but it cleanses the auricle from purulent infections.
To clean the ear, take 5 ml of warm peroxide into a syringe and pour it in, hold it in the ear a little until the tingling stops, and pour it out of the ear. Repeat this action again. 
Rinsing the auricle with folk remedies
People have always been famous for their medicinal properties onion, which is why it is also used for washing the auricle.
Peeled onion is grated, the liquid is squeezed out of it, diluted with boiled water 1/1 and 7 drops are dripped into the ear canal. The bacteria will be destroyed.
An excellent way to clean the ear is with onions baked with cumin in the oven.
To obtain juice, cut the onion in half, add cumin to the middle of the onion and wrap it in foil, then in the oven for 15 minutes. Cool, squeeze and instill up to 5 times a day. 
Another folk method ear cleansing - a mixture of garlic and camphor oil.
The liquid obtained from 3 cloves of medium garlic, crushed by garlic, and 5 drops of camphor oil, is slightly heated in a tablespoon, the turunda is moistened with the resulting juice and placed in the auricle.
Camomile tea
You can also treat otitis media with chamomile infusion. Take half a glass of chamomile and pour boiling water over it. Leave for at least half an hour.
The ear canal is washed with this infusion or a cotton pad moistened with the infusion is inserted.
Contraindication: purulent otitis media.
Sorrel root decoction
A reliable, proven remedy for washing and treating ears is a decoction of horse sorrel root.
The fresh root is washed, passed through a meat grinder, and the dry root is pounded in a mortar.
Take 20 g. sorrel and half a liter of boiling water, cook over low heat until it evaporates to a glass of liquid. The broth needs to be filtered and cooled. Rinse with warm broth 3 times a day.
The best means for instilling a sore ear
The best effective means The following remedies can be used for instilling a sore ear:
Vegetable oil for ear pain
Warm vegetable oil perfect fortreating ear pain at home conditions.
It is necessary to bury it in sore ear and cover with cotton wool. Next, the ear is warmed with a warm scarf.
After a few treatments you will feel significant relief.
Propolis with honey for ear pain
To prepare a potion consisting of propolis and honey, first take 5 g of propolis and 100 ml of vodka or alcohol to obtain alcoholic propolis.
Further, take 50 ml of alcoholic propolis and 50 ml of melted honey, mixed and this mixture is instilled into sore ears or a cotton wick is made, which is moistened with this mixture and inserted into the ear. Through a short time the pain goes away. 
Bay leaf for ear pain
Very affordable and effective option Treatment for ear pain is bay leaf tincture.
Take 6 bay leaves and pour in 250 g of boiling water, simmer in a steam bath for 2 hours, cool and strain. Drip 3 times a day, 10 drops.
To get the best results, drink a few sips of the tincture. Treat with infusion for 5 days.
Juice from Kalanchoe, golden mustache and geranium to relieve ear pain
Several recipes:
Treatment of ear pain with steam baths
The ear hurts and traditional medicine knows how to treat it at home. She advises giving the sore ear a steam bath using yarrow or nettle herbs.
They arrange it as follows: take a large saucepan, maybe a bucket, and put the grass in it, fill it halfway with water, cover with a lid for 5 - 10 minutes.
The lid should be opened and cooled a little so that the steam does not burn. Tilt your ear over the steam and cover with a towel. Warm up the ear for 10 – 15 minutes. Then instill garlic or onion juice, slightly diluted boiled water or honey. 
How to remove wax plugs for ear pain
Earwax is difficult to remove painlessly if you have a sore ear. But there are options.
To remove the cork, instill almond oil, onion juice, and a decoction of birch tar. They instill it overnight, and in the morning the sulfur flows out on its own.
To make it easier to remove wax plugs, use vegetable oil or a soda solution. Can be washed ear plug furatsilin solution using a regular bulb or syringe.
To do this, fill a full syringe or bulb with a warm solution and forcefully inject it into the tilted ear. You just need to wait a little and the sulfur will flow out. Then close the ear with a cotton swab. 
Treatment of ear pain with medications
After examining a patient with ear pain, specialists make prescriptions depending on the nature of the disease.
Many drugs with antibacterial and bactericidal effects have been developed:
What not to do if you have an earache
No matter how much your ear hurts, treating it at home without knowing the rules is dangerous.
Forbidden:
- Warm in case of fever or purulent otitis media;
- Use drops without consulting a doctor;
- Do not use hard or sharp objects to administer ointments.
Important to remember! Traditional and folk recipes ear treatments can be used by following important rule"do no harm". 
The first thing you should do if you experience severe, persistent ear pain is to seek help from an ENT or otolaryngologist.
Be healthy and take care of yourself!
This video will tell you what to do if you have ear pain and how to treat it at home:
This video will tell you how to cure a sore ear yourself:
Jaw pain when opening the mouth is a common complaint among people of any age. To think that discomfort will pass by themselves, in vain. The disease that caused them will progress if left untreated. This will lead to other serious complications, pathology of the temporomandibular joint, and other health problems.
Structure and functions of the TMJ
The TMJ, or temporomandibular joint, is a paired organ in which movement occurs synchronously. This ensures chewing functions and correct articulation. The joint is complex and subject to constant loads. Its structure and proximity to the nasal sinuses, ear and dentofacial apparatus makes the organ vulnerable to infectious lesions.
The lateral pterygoid muscles additionally participate in the movements of the jaw joints, which pull the ligaments, providing motor activity. There are several functions of joints, each of which is unique. These are frontal movements when opening, closing the mouth, and articulation. There are also movements to the side and vertically when chewing food, and sagittal movements for protruding the lower jaw.
A healthy temporomandibular joint has the following structure:
- ellipsoidal articular head of the lower jaw;
- the articular fossa, divided in half by the petrotympanic fissure;
- joint capsule - a durable shell made of connective tissue(it protects the joint from bacteria);
- tubercle - a cylindrical protrusion in front of the glenoid fossa;
- a plate of cartilage tissue (disc) between the articular surfaces, thanks to which the joint moves in different projections;
- ligaments that regulate movements: lateral, sphenomandibular, temporomandibular.
The structure of the human TMJ changes after tooth loss. Articular head gradually resolves, reaching the state of a fossa. In addition, the posterior tubercle becomes flattened, which leads to limited mobility and impaired functioning.
Joint dysfunction occurs due to different situations, which can disrupt the bite, lead to facial asymmetry, and jamming of the jaws.
The nature of pain and the mechanism of its occurrence
When it is painful to open your mouth wide, or it is completely jammed, this almost always indicates an inflammatory process, a violation of the anatomy and functions of tissues. The pain can spread to all areas of the face, shoot into the ear, cause migraines, and discomfort with visual strain. It can be different - long-term and short-term, aching and acute, which is taken into account when making a diagnosis.
Aching pain in the lower jaw accompanies the inflammatory process, and burning pain is a concern with neuralgia. Cutting pain is usually diagnosed as a bone injury. People who find it painful to chew or open their jaws wide often blame pathology of the skeletal system as the cause. However, the disease can also affect surrounding tissues. If the patient ignores the pain, soon unpleasant symptoms They will also bother you when your jaw is closed.
Under the influence of certain diseases, the jaw may jam, pain on the left or right side. Pain on the left side may indicate poor circulation or problems with the blood vessels of the heart. Its right-sided nature is observed in neoplasms, inflammatory processes. If your jaw hurts everywhere and constantly, you can suspect an oncological factor.
It happens that the jaw cramps after sleep, and in the morning, at rest, cramps appear. You should not delay your visit to the doctor. Especially if the disease is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- spasms with fever;
- throbbing pain with spasms;
- severe pain radiates to any ear, eye (we recommend reading: what to do if toothache radiates to the ear?);
- swelling;
- mouth does not open;
- it hurts to chew for a long time;
- cramps in the lower part of the face.
When you open your mouth
Pain when opening the mouth is a consequence of a dislocation or fracture. If Lately There was no injury, these options are excluded. In this case, the cause of discomfort is osteomyelitis. Other pathologies that lead to sharp, aching or acute pain when working the jaws are dental diseases, among which caries ranks first. This also happens when dentures are installed incorrectly.
When chewing and closing teeth
If the jaw system aches, ache, bothers you when chewing or connecting teeth, you can suspect its dislocation or osteomyelitis. Other ailments that lead to discomfort when closing teeth include periodontitis, pulpitis, and complicated caries. When they exacerbate, the pain is pulsating in nature, radiates to the temple, and intensifies during moments of rest and night rest.
At chronic form pathologies possible periodic It's a dull pain, which worsens with chewing load on the affected tooth or gum area. Certain foods and alcohol can also provoke discomfort when chewing. Leading to spasm of the esophagus, they also cause muscle spasm and jaw jamming.
Pressure
Pain in the cheek area when pressing is different reasons. It can appear near the right or left side of the ears, or occur when palpating the upper or lower part. The cause of burning is often arteritis facial artery. With phlegmon, fistulas and abscess, the jaw will hurt even with a light touch at rest, and this symptom will be accompanied by others that cannot be ignored.
Pain when pressing on the teeth and gums indicates their pathology and dental problems. It often worries when there is abnormal eruption of a wisdom tooth, as well as accidental injury to the jaw.
Causes of pain in the jaw near the ear
Doctors often encounter patient complaints of pain in the jaw near the ear, pain in the ear when chewing. This symptom is not always associated with dental problems, and painful sensations can be caused by the following reasons:
Pain in the jaw near the ear and temple is often observed due to carotidynia. This disease is similar to migraine, which is characterized by aching pain in the ear area, radiating to the lower jaw and eye socket. The pain is monotonous, but it happens acute attacks, which last from a couple of minutes to an hour. Carotidynia occurs due to dissection temporal artery, tumors in the area of the carotid artery.
Associated symptoms
Any discomfort when the mouth does not open completely, or the jaw hurts on the right/left, cannot be ignored. Especially if it hurts a child. The accompanying symptoms will tell you that the pain is not random:
Diagnostic methods
If you complain of pain near the cheekbones when yawning, eating, or talking, a visual examination is performed. Afterwards, radiography, MRI, ultrasound, and ECG are prescribed (if heart failure is suspected). The disease is differentiated depending on the type of origin:
- dental problems;
- neurology;
- pathology of the cardiovascular system;
- ENT diseases;
- injuries;
- neoplasms.
Diagnosis of cardiovascular, bone and ENT pathologies is carried out on the basis of analyzes and examination data. X-rays and MRIs will help identify why the skin on the face or a tooth hurts, why the mouth cannot open, and identify tumors.
Oncology is much more difficult to diagnose. Tests for tumor markers, tomography and other help with this. modern methods. Based on the diagnostic results, treatment tactics are selected, the duration of which depends on the degree of neglect of the disease.
Which doctor should I contact?
Which doctor will help if it hurts? lower jaw? If it hurts to chew and the problem is in your teeth and gums, you should make an appointment with the dentist. After an injury, if the jaw joints are jammed or the mouth is not fully opened, you should see a maxillofacial surgeon.
Often the patient does not find the cause, and the discomfort progresses: the ear on the right, cheekbones, and the area near the neck hurt. In this case, you should consult a therapist. After the examination, he will tell you which doctor to contact, give a referral to an orthopedist, rheumatologist, neurologist, gnathologist, cardiologist, ENT specialist, gastroenterologist and other specialized specialists.
How to treat the jaw joint?
Analgesics will help relieve acute pain in the jaw joints. However, taking them will not solve the problem once and for all. It is necessary to identify and eliminate the cause of the pathology, which becomes:
Folk remedies
Folk remedies to combat painful sensations when opening the jaw, pathologies of its joints are used as an addition to the main treatment. They will not help if your jaw is jammed, but they will remove pain symptoms. After consultation with your doctor, you can use the following recipes:
Additionally, according to your doctor’s indications, you can do therapeutic exercises. The set of exercises is something like this (repeat 5 times every day):
- frown, then raise your eyebrows in surprise;
- squint your eyes;
- smile with closed lips, and then with an open mouth;
- stick out your lips like a straw;
- inflate and deflate cheeks;
- relax your face, stroke your temples and cheekbones.
Pain when opening the jaw has many causes, which are not easy to prevent. Experts recommend avoiding traumatic sports, monitoring your diet, and promptly treating gingivitis, caries and other dental pathologies. You should be wary of hypothermia, infectious diseases, stress, which adversely affects the state of the cardiovascular and nervous system.
Quite often we encounter such a problem as pain in the ear area when chewing. There can be many reasons for this condition, but doctors still call the most common one otitis media.
Insidious otitis media
This ear disease inflammatory in nature, which can manifest itself as a result of diseases of the nasopharynx - rhinitis, sore throat and many others. As a rule, these ailments are accompanied by a runny nose. When the disease is in the acute phase, the canal that connects the ear to the nasopharynx begins to swell and become blocked. As a result, fluid begins to concentrate in the ear, after which pain and an abscess appear.
The main symptom is pain, which intensifies during chewing and other jaw movements. Often, along with this, the maturation of the boil is observed.
Depending on the stages of the disease, hearing may deteriorate and body temperature may rise. Sometimes when yawning and swallowing, patients note that the pain becomes less noticeable. This is due to the fact that during these physiological processes, the pressure inside the ear drops, and the ear canal increases slightly.
At the stage of exacerbation of otitis, patients feel that the pain becomes stronger, and their hearing decreases even more. In turn, the temperature also increases. If treatment is not started on time, very soon the discharge from the ear will become purulent and the disease will take on an advanced form.
Treating otitis media correctly
Typically, two types of procedures are prescribed for otitis media - ear drops and compresses.
To prepare compresses, you can use many available means - vodka, Rye bread, salt. It is most effective to use the last ingredient. To do this, the seasoning is heated in a frying pan and then poured into a fabric bag. The mass should be at a pleasant warm temperature to the touch. The bag is applied to the site of inflammation and left for about half an hour.
You can also use ready-made drops medical supplies and means traditional medicine. Freshly squeezed beet juice, mixed in equal proportions with liquid honey, is an excellent remedy for otitis media. The resulting solution must be dripped into both ears. Similar manipulations can be carried out with saline solution.
