Stress, Hearing Problems and TMJ

For anyone out there who has TMJ, or temporal mandibular joint disorder, you know how frustrating the symptoms can be. TMJ is related to head and neck aches, teeth grinding, clenching and jaw soreness or stiffness, as well as hearing problems. Until about 3 months ago, having TMJ had not really affected my life.

In August I noticed that I couldn't hear out of my left ear, so after 3 weeks of hearing issues I went to see my doctor. The doctor removed some wax and told me that I had fluid in my eustachian tubes, which was causing my hearing issues. She kindly prescribed me sudafed and sent me on my merry way. What I didn't know was sudafed has side effects such as increased anxiety and insomnia, which were already problems of mine given I was starting a PhD program at the same time this was all happening. Regardless of side effects, I took sudafed for two weeks until I had purchased the legal limit for a one month period. At that point I called my doctor and she prescribed me Nasonex. I took the Nasonex, side-effect free, for two weeks. At the end of two weeks I had not noticed any improvement so I went to a new doctor on campus who, to my dismay, proclaimed me to be completely healthy. As I was still having hearing loss symptoms, he gave me a referral for an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. Again when I went to the ENT, I was proclaimed to be perfectly normal and healthy. However, what I did learn was that my hearing issues are symptoms of TMJ. I had never heard of TMJ causing hearing problems. The ENT explained to me that TMJ can cause a feeling of fullness in your ears, which people perceive to be hearing loss, however, according to the tests I had just taken, my hearing was completely normal. He also informed me that in adult patients complaining of hearing loss, the most common cause of the problem is TMJ. His recommendation was to get a good dentist.

I still have not gone to a dentist about my TMJ issues, but I have consulted with a very good friend of mine who is a dental hygienist. She suggested that I wear a mouth guard to help with the teeth grinding. (I am not wearing a mouth guard because I don't seem to be grinding my teeth anymore.)

Through all of this I have not found anything that makes my hearing improve, other than running. For me running is a huge stress reliever, AND, when I run I relax my jaw muscles, which gives them a chance to stop being so tense and stop causing jaw pain and headaches.

I had never really stopped to consider the effect of all the stress in my life caused by quitting my job, moving to a new state, and starting a PhD program. I guess I had always thought of myself as stressed out but didn't think about the detrimental effect that stress could be having on my life and my health.

Now that I have pinpointed the cause of my head and neck aches, jaw pain, hearing problems to TMJ and I have linked my TMJ "flare-up" to stress I am making a renewed effort to change some aspects of my life to manage my stress.

A few tips I can offer anyone experiencing the same TMJ symptoms:
1. Do jaw stretches/exercises daily if not twice daily. Click here to check out the stretches that I love.
2. Spend at least 5-10 minutes a day doing breathing exercises in which you breath in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. This seems to help your jaw muscles to relax.
3. Do whatever it is that reduces your stress. For me this means running. I have committed to running 2 or 3 times a week to try to keep my stress in check and to help me stay in shape.

4. Finally be sure to remember to be present in the here and now. You probably won't enjoy every minute of your life, but try really hard to enjoy as much as you can. If you focus on here and now you won't be focusing on what you have to do next or later and it will help you to manage stress and be more productive.

I Love This Place

The Norwottuck Rail Trail is an 11 mile trail that goes from Northampton all the way to UMass. The trail has a bit of a bad reputation because the materials used to make it include an under layer of recycled glass. As time has gone on and the path has broken down some of the glass has started to work its way to the surface, resulting in more than a few flat bike tires. As soon as you get on this path you can actually see that it shimmers in the sunlight from all of the glass pieces. Despite the glass, I have ridden on the trial several times with no flat tire to report. The Norwottuck trial has more to offer than just the risk of a flat tire, about 2 miles from my house is this amazing bridge across the Connecticut River. The bridge goes from one side of the river, to an island in the middle of the river then to the other side.  I must say that there is something about running, biking or even walking across this bridge that appeals to my inner being. I love the vines and branches that offer partial shade, I love the the river, I love the peace and tranquility of this place.

The Foundry

So it's true, Northampton does have some good coffee places and the Foundry is one of them. Until now my coffee experiences here have been limited to Starbucks and Sam's Pizza and Cafe. Now, I will say that Starbucks offers the comfort of familiarity but I wouldn't call it good coffee. I'm pretty sure that the name Sam's Pizza and Cafe should tell you everything you need to know. The latte I had there was mediocre at best.

The second coffee hurdle that I had to surmount was the fact that I really only speak Starbuck-ese. I like my coffee sweet and creamy and every time I try to go to a "real" coffee house I end up ordering who knows what because I am too ashamed to ask what the difference between plain coffee and an americano is, not to mention the other 12 coffee variations listed.

Well my friends the good news is that if you don't speak coffee, the wonderful people at the Foundry would be more than happy to translate for you. I was greeted by two wonderful baristas who walked me through the difference between a latte and an americano and a dirty chai, etc etc. Not surprisingly I ended up getting a maple latte. It was sweet, frothy and delicious. The Foundry also has a great Burlington-esque vibe and for late night they have a pretty nice beer menu. Overall, the Foundry has been my favorite Northampton location yet.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

If you are like me and do not like pumpkin pie, this time of year and the holidays can be a bit disappointing in terms of sweets. Something strange happened the other day...for some reason I got a craving for a fall flavored sweet and decided to try to make pumpkin cupcakes for the first time ever.

This recipe ROCKS! And the maple is a wonderful addition to the cream cheese frosting. As a warning the cupcake recipe makes about 12 cupcakes, but the frosting is enough for 24. :)

Ingredients for the Cupcakes

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin purée (15 ounces), not pie filling

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Ingredients for Frosting

8oz of cream cheese

3 tablespoons of butter at room temperature

3 tablespoons of maple syrup

1-2 cups of powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Into a medium bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.

3. Divide the batter among the prepared tins  and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.

4. make frosting: Combine cream cheese, butter and  maple syrup in mixer. I used a whisk to make the frosting more whipped. Next add powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time until you reach the desired sweetness and thickness.

Frost cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting.