I was diagnosed with TMJ about a year ago when I started having severe pain in my jaw and neck, as well as frequent feelings of lightheadedness. I was told by the DDS that dizziness can by caused by TMJ when there is pressure on the back of the ear, but I am not sure what all symptoms classify as "dizziness", and if what I am feeling is what that actually is.
The room doesn't spin, and I don't feel like anything is tilted, but I always feel like I am floating above my body and as if I am near fainting. I have terrible spatial distortion, and I have a difficult time judging the distances of things. If I look at my feet when I'm walking, I can feel them touching the ground, but I can't feel my legs attached to them (on the other hand, if I touch my legs with my hands, I can still feel it). It becomes particularly bad when there is pressure on my back--for example, if I am sitting in a car, or if I am exercising. I've never been drunk or high before, so I don't know if these are good examples of what I'm feeling, but I just feel completely detached from my body. Back when I was working 10-hour days and my TMJ was at its worst, it would be throbbing with pain, and if I put any pressure on the side of my jaw, the lightheaded feeling would come on strongly. However, the pain has greatly subsided and I don't have this sensation if I touch my face--the disconnected feeling just there all the time. Has anyone ever experienced this?
Another issue I have is that my eyes are extremely sensitive to everything, now. When the TMJ developed, my eyes became so red and irritated that I could no longer wear contacts. Now, my eyes are so sensitive to light that I can barely handle going out into the sun--it makes me feel like my brain is floating in a fog, or there's cotton balls stuffed in it, or something.
I've seen at least 8 different specialists at this point, and had numerous testing performed. All have come back normal. I thought it might be a pinched nerve--since these symptoms seem somewhat excessive for TMJ, but maybe I am wrong--but my neurologist said that it was unlikely. I haven't had an MRI yet, but I am wondering, does anyone else with TMJ have symptoms like these, or should I make another follow-up appointment with a neurologist (or well, I suppose I should do that anyway)?
