Imagine driving home late from work one night or a date, and noticing the headlights from the other lane burning brighter than usual. Road signs and street lights are doing it too and it gets harder and harder to not turn away. Scary right? That’s intense light sensitivity and it’s one potential symptom of temporomandibular joint disorder. This is TMJ disorder versus eyesight.
Location, Location, Location
TMJ disorder is notorious for affecting systems people wouldn’t expect. The truth is, the jaw joint is perfectly positioned to affect most of our major senses if it becomes dysfunctional. It’s located directly in front of your ears and can affect hearing, it opens and closes the mouth and can affect eating and taste too and chronic pain can do more still.
One of these commonly affected systems is the eyes. Pain from a dislocated temporomandibular joint can lead to referred pain and manifest as:
- Pain behind the eyes
- Bloodshot eyes
- Potential for your eyes to “bulge out”
- Sensitivity to light
Long-Term Effects of TMD-Based Light Sensitivity
If you suffer from light sensitivity due to a TMJ disorder, the consequences can be much farther reaching than one might expect.
- Aversion to fluorescent lights can keep you from being able to work in an office environment.
- Light sensitivity can keep you from driving, especially at night.
- Light sensitivity anxiety is a condition where the aversion to specific light sources can induce anxiety or nervousness.
- Severe light aversion can cause migraines.
TMJ Treatment at Balance Epigenetic Orthodontics in Lynnwood, WA
The effects of TMD extend far beyond the confines of the teeth and jaw. A dysfunctional TMJ can affect a patient’s ability to see, which can be incredibly dangerous as well as frightening.
To schedule a consultation with Dr. Buck and the experts at Balance Epigenetic Orthodontics in Lynnwood, WA, call our offices today at 425-361-7499.
