MISDIAGNOSED MEDICAL CONDITIONS:
IT'S A TMJ DISORDER PROBLEM
MENIERE'S DISEASE & TMJ DISORDER
Ménière's disease describes by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery as a set of episodic symptoms including:
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vertigo (attacks of a spinning sensation)
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hearing loss
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tinnitus (a roaring, buzzing, or ringing sound in the ear),
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a sensation of fullness in the affected ear.
MENIERE'S DISEASE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
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Episodes typically last from 20 minutes up to 4 hours
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Hearing loss is often intermittent, occurring mainly at the time of the attacks of vertigo
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Loud sounds may seem distorted and cause discomfort
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Usually, the hearing loss involves mainly the lower pitches, but over time this often affects tones of all pitches.
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After months or years of the disease, hearing loss often becomes permanent.
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Tinnitus and fullness of the ear may come and go with changes in hearing, occur during or just before attacks, or be constant
(American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery website)
TMJ DISORDERS IN PATIENT’S WITH MENIÈRE’S DISEASE
A study (Bjorne, 1996) of 31 patients who were diagnosed with Menière’s disease and were compared to 31 control subjects. TMJ Disorder symptoms of pain in the face or jaw; tenderness over the TMJs (temporomandibular joints), tenderness over the masticatory (chewing muscles), pain on movement of the mandible; fatigue of the jaws; and pain located in the vertex area, the neck/shoulder area, and the temples were evaluated in the patients with Menière’s disease and the control group.
TMJ Disorder symptoms occurred significantly more often with the patients with Menière’s disease.
Their conclusion was: “The findings indicate a much higher prevalence of signs and symptoms of craniomandibular (TMJ Disorder / TMD) disorders in patients diagnosed with Menière’s disease than in the general population.”
TMJ DISORDER TREATMENT AND MENIÈRE’S DISEASE
A study (Bjorne, 2003) of 24 Menière’s disease patients who underwent temporomandibular joint (TMJ) Disorder (TMD) and Cervical Spine Disorder (CSD) treatment.
The results of the TMJ Disorder (TMD) treatment and Cervical Spine Disorder treatment caused highly significant decreases in the intensities & frequencies of:
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vertigo
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non-whirling dizziness
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headache
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complete disappearance of pain located in the vertex area
It also caused a highly significant reduction in the intensities of:
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tinnitus
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feeling of fullness in the ear
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pain in the face and jaws
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pain in the neck and shoulders
The results showed that a coordinated treatment of TMJ Disorders (TMD) and Cervical Spine Disorders (CSD) in patients with Meniere’s disease is an effective therapy for symptoms of this disease.
REFERENCES:
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American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery website (http://www.entnet.org/content/menieres-disease)
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Bjorne A, Agerberg G. Craniomandibular disorders in patients with Menière’s disease: a controlled study. J Orofac Pain. 1996 Winter;10(1):28-37.
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Bjorne A, Agerberg G. Symptom relief after treatment of temporomandibular and cervical spine disorders in patients with Meniere’s disease: a three-year follow-up. Cranio. 2003 Jan;21(1):50-60.
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Seppo Kuttila. Secondary aural symptoms in relation to cranio-cervical and general disorders. ANNALES UNIVERSITATIS TURKUENSIS. SARJA- SER. D MEDICA-ODONTOLOGICA, OSA-TOM. 2003)