TM Disorder sufferers experience a variety of symptoms- some so common that it seems almost everyone has experienced at least one of these at some time. Approximately in the order of prevalence here are typical symptoms.
- Pain when yawning, chewing or opening the mouth widely
- Clicking or popping sounds when the jaw is opened or closed.
- Sore or stiff jaw muscles
- Difficulty opening the mouth
- Headache
- Locking or sticking of the jaw
- A change in the bite
- Pain in or around the ear or face from the jaw joint, or pain from the jaw muscles.
Some of these warrant a few words of additional explanation.
HEADACHE: Many medical conditions may result in headaches, a common cause is tension of the muscles which close the jaw, especially the temporalis muscle. Headaches that do not respond to treatment need further evaluation by a neurologist.
CLICKING POPPING AND OTHER JAW JOINT NOISES: Often people will hear noises from their jaw joints. A normal healthy joint does not make any noise. However, people have jaw joints which produce sounds, and they do not develop any problems. When jaw sounds are accompanied by pain and dysfunction it is more significant.
