Literal Pain

Do you all remember when I did that post about the ear infection that I have had since like July? Well, I have an update on that. Back at the end of October I went to the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) Doctor. He looked into my ears and said there was absolutely nothing wrong with them. But, he did say that he could tell I had TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome) which for those of you who don't know is a jaw issue. He gave me a pamphlet that told me things to make it better, like- use a heating pad on each side for 30 minutes everyday, don't chew gum, don't eat hard foods or foods that are difficult to chew, and take IB profin (or however you spell that). I guess these things are supposed to relax your jaw and make it better. Well, I have been having excruciating pain in my head above my ear- and I thought it was because of the so called ear infection that I don't have. Well, I did all those things, and it didn't even make a dent in the pain, and then my ears started bugging me again, so I went back to the ENT, and once again, he said nothing was wrong with my ears. When he said that I was so ticked--- HELLO, I have been in pain since July--- what the heck! But then, he checked my jaw again and said, "ok, based on what you are telling me. I need to send you to an oral surgeon. Soooo, I went to the oral surgeon yesterday, and they took an X-Ray then the doctor or whatever he is came in and started asking me questions like, "where is the pain? Does your jaw ever pop or click? and so on." I responded no to each of the questions and he just kind of stood there, seeming puzzled. I was thinking, "Oh, I am going to look like such an idiot. He is going to say nothing is wrong with me." He then walked to my X Ray and said, "okay, here is where I think the problem is, but I'm a little puzzled because you say your pain is on the left side." He went on to show me both of the joints or whatever they are to my jaws. On the left side-- it is normal, however, on the right side, he said the bones have flattened, like they have been rubbing together, and the connecting disk is not there. He told me that he needs me to have an MRI, so he can find out where the disk is and decide where to go from there. So within a few weeks I should know what is going on........ hopefully! So sorry to bore you all with this long post, but I thought I would share because a lot of you have asked about my ears and how I am doing. I am almost constantly in severe pain now, but I am glad that steps are being made finally. Thank you for reading this if you stuck with it!! I will post the updates when I find out!