Hello again and thank you for your kind words of support. As I read through the latest posts from those "not yet diagnosed" I am inspired to continue to check in and provide updates as flier58 suggested. My Occupational Therapist has been a God-send! She has discovered things with me that I didn't know were trouble: clenching my jaw, jaw alignment not quite correct, right leg not in alignment with the rest of my body...etc. Her main focus has been with my jaw muscles and trigger point therapy to loosen things up a bit. I will say that the fullness in my ear has diminished considerably and I do not experience the ear pain that was becoming more than annoying. I still have every bit of the ringing in my ears but I am hopeful that continued treatments with the OT will reduce (hopefully ELIMINATE) that.
I was not able to establish a good relationship with my ENT so I have chosen not to go back to him. But this has not stopped me from seeking answers elsewhere. I managed to get a referral to the OT through my dentist, who, by the way, didn't think that my ear problems could be related to any dental issues. But, he made the referral. How did I find out about the OT? I asked around & told my story to enough people that one day someone said "You know, I was referred to an Occupational Therapist through my dentist for..." I have a great relationship my dentist so the referral was no problem. My GP has also been supportive in the OT treatments and provided an additional referral so that we can treat my lower body alignment as well. To briefly clarify; my treatments consist of muscle manipulation and massage specific to my jaw and neck. When she finds those trigger points it can make you jump from her table but it is worth the effort to stick with it. In addition, the OT has sent information to my dentist and ENT so that they can become more aware of symptoms such as mine.
I have yet to be officially diagnosed with "something". But it's beginning to come together. Years of stress, carried in my shoulders and jaw (clenching), could be the culprit. Tensing muscles along the way until they were in knots, creating inflammation in the muscles which then press on nerves, it's been an amazing study in human anatomy! This type of condition has also been called TMJ...but we don't use that because it is a misunderstood diagnosis and insurance companies don't like to pay
Next week I will be getting a custom-fitted mouth guard to help with my jaw clenching because I just don't recognize it when I'm doing it. You can search the web until you are cross-eyed looking for your own diagnosis but one of the most informative sites I have found regarding my condition is
www.tmjfacialpain.comPlease don't consider this information to be medical advice. It's my 3 year search for help that has led me down this path. Those of you with a diagnosis of AN are amazing and I do not want to diminish your "adventures". I hope that by sharing my story I can help someone else so that they will not have to endure a 3 year search for help.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me...
Grace
