Posted 12/6/2014 7:38 AM (GMT 0)
I've had TMJ for almost 30 years. The enamel of my teeth have eroded. My pain consisted of headaches, earaches, ringing in the ears, sore throat, shoulder pain, neck pain, teeth pain, swollen lymph (left side mostly) Only in the past 6 months have I found relief with something that is so simple and inexpensive. First let me tell you what I've tried over the years: Meditation, jaw exercises, mouth guard (cracked two from clenching at night) acupuncture, braces (2 years) cranial-sacral therapy, bio feedback, massage, magnesium oil. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. In a nutshell, I tried everything I could think of.
Six months ago I happened upon a site (can't remember which) where a person talked about how they had major relief from taping their mouth closed at night. I thought what the heck. I picked up some tape at CVS. I still wear my night guard, but I closed my mouth tightly and put tape over my mouth. What the tape does is allow your mouth too close, letting your jaw stay relaxed. I couldn't believe how quickly it helped. I felt relief within 2 days. One night I was out of tape. I rely on it so much now, that my husband ran down to the store to get me some more.
I sleep well now, I no longer have to use sensitive toothpaste, jaw pain is gone, ear ringing has reduced by at least 90%, neck pain is gone, shoulder pain is gone, no more headaches, sore throats have reduced by at least 80%, swollen lymph has decreased by over half.
Anyway I hope that this helps you. I did have problems with the tape causing irritation, but then changed to a tape for sensitive skin and have not had any further issues.