watervole | Vertigo - and TMJ disorder

adelheid suggested I try vestibular rehabilitation exercises - here are the Cawthorne-Cooksey exercises. I've been doing them for the last few days and they may be helping a little - they need to be done over a period of time for maximum effectiveness, so I'm going to carry on with them. They've also made me decide to try and learn juggling as a couple of the exercises resemble very basic juggling moves.

Another angle I've been following up on is a connection to all the toothache I used to have. Bruxism, night-time teeth-grinding is due to TMJ (TemporoMandibular Joint disorder).

Having a BRD (bite-raising device) fitted removed the tooth pain, but did not stop the actual grinding.

Acting on pure suspicion, I Googled for links between vertigo and TMJ (on the grounds that the pain in my jaw is very close to the ear canal) and promptly hit pay dirt. There is a connection and many people suffer from both. Here's one person talking about it.

So, what can I do? Well, I'm seeing the doctor again next week, but I've been looking for suitable exercises as it seems logical that anything caused by tense muscles will have exercises that will help. Here's the best one that I've found. A video on You tube.

And, brother, the muscle that she predicted would be sore, was indeed very sore.

This one was also useful (I prefer NHS sites when I can find them as they're less likely to have an axe to grind for an dubious therapy). It commented that TMJ Is often related to the jaw opening to one side and I think I may do that a bit. I'm pretty sure that I chew more on one side than the other, so I'm going to try evening that out and see if it helps in any way.

Will report back after a day or two of trying the TMJ exercises and let you know if they help.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TMJ can cause all manner of nasty symptoms. I'm thinking your shoulder pain might be exacerbated by that, too.

Sorry you're feeling poorly, my friend. Hope you feel better soon.

It's possible. I suspect that a lot of these tense muscular things run together to some extent.

Tracey has actually developed a new symptom. We were in a fairly busy and noisy cafe on Saturday and sounds coming from all directions triggered her vertigo. She said that she also sometimes now has difficulty knowing what direction a sound is coming from. Also, on Saturday evening she developed a ringing in her ears similar to what you get if you've been a loud rock concert, but we'd been nowhere that was anywhere near that loud. The ringing had gone by the following day. However, this to me suggests more like that it could be an inner-ear infection.

There's a test that will indicate if vertigo has a TMJ component.

Ask Tracy to put a finger between her lip and her upper jaw. Slide it along the gum above the teeth until you reach the soft spot at the back of the jawbone. If that soft spot is sore, then there's very likely a TMJ element to the vertigo.

I'm coming to the conclusion that some cases of vertigo may have multiple causes that would not quite trigger the problem on their own, but do so when added together. I suspect I may also have an inner-ear infection, but I definitely have TMJ trouble, so I'm doing the exercises for that on the grounds that they certainly won't do me any harm.

Does Tracey ever get the feeling of pressure in her ears, like when you drive up a steep hill?

Does she get the problem in one ear or both ears?

BTW, ringing in the ears is a known TMJ symptom. TMJ isn't the only possible cause of ringing in the ears, but it's definitely on the list along with ear infections, Meniere's Disease, etc.

I am not sure whether the connection between vertigo and TMJ is causal. What you can do is fix the TMJ symptoms (http://dentalcool.blogspot.com/2009/11/relapse-in-tmj-symptoms-joint-pain.html), for example with braces like I did and then see if vertigo persists

Vertigo - and TMJ disorder

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not sure about the connection