Posted by David Chalfant (208.30.14.169) on July 17, 1999 at 21:00:05:
In Reply to: TMJ posted by Donald A. Bradley on July 17, 1999 at 19:41:42:
This is interesting. Many CHers are misdiagnosed as having TMJ Syndrome this is one commonality among those going through a long gammit of other misdiagnoses. I am not sure I undestand what you are asking but as you must know, this type of headacheis related to problems with jaw. If you hear a poping sound when eating or talking, you may hve TMJ syndrome. The pain is felt in the forehead,temple,or ear. Thus, this might explain why you thought you had an ear infection. In a way you obtained a second opinion from your Doctor. So you may have TMJ Syndrome. You can feel this joint by placing your finger in front of your ear slightly above the ear lobe while you open and close your mouth.
To my knowledge, Cluster Headaches and TMJ Syndrome are NOT related. I understand that treatment varies. Oh another thing do you grind your teeth or clench your jaw? Any grinding during the night. This aggravates the pain and seems to be a commonality of TMJ sufferers. Dentist use a splint to be worn at night and ocassionally durin the day. I hear it is better to be treated by a Doctor because it is more of a medical problem. A.M Rapapport of the New England Center for Headaches states that dentist often treat the syndrome but they are often unsuccesful of relieving the pain. Usually a combination of treat ments are used and varies from person to person. Biofeedback is often reccomended. I know I grind my teeth and clench my jaw often, but i never get a CH as a result. I have heard others state that clenching the jaw can trigger a CH and as Gary says we need to keep our focus on the main symptoms as recognized by research on Ch's. Therefore, I am not attempting to play Doctor. The information I presented to you on TMJ Syndrome is solid empirical data and is based on Dr. Rapapport book "Headache Relief" Published by Simon $ Shuster. Both of my doctors-one, a very good friend-informed me when I asked the same question you are asking,if I am correct, They say the are unlikely to be linked to Ch's.
Sorry for being long , well , long for because I am slow typist but hope I helped answer your question
Pain free days. DC