Due to the close proximity, a common focus of pain is in the ear. Many patients are firstly referred to an ear specialist convinced their pain is the result of an inner ear infection as they can experience ringing in the ears and hearing loss. When the earache is not associated with infection and the eardrum appears normal, a doctor will often consider the possibility that the pain is caused by a TMJ dysfunction.

TMD is a condition, which can take years to develop and commonly misdiagnosed as a neck or shoulder muscle problem. This can be because many TMD sufferers have constant chronic migraine-like headaches, facial and neck muscle pain.

Facial swelling can occur on the affected side and your jaw may lock wide open (then it is dislocated), or it may not open fully. In addition, when you open your lower jaw, it may deviate to one side. You may find that you favour one side or the other by opening your jaw awkwardly.

Your teeth may not fit together properly (malocclusion), and your bite may feel odd, some patients may also have trouble swallowing because of muscle spasms and even feel nauseous.