The TMJ and the middle ear: structural and functional correlates for aural symptoms associated with temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

Several anatomic relationships existing between the ear and the temporomandibular joint have been proposed to account for the presence of aural symptoms that occur in some patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction. There are a plethora of functional hypotheses for aural symptoms relating to disturbed functions of the eustachian tube (as well as neuromuscular relationships and neurovascular functions integrating with these hypotheses). Investigators explain the presence of aural symptoms relative to the anatomic relationship of the middle ear to the TMJ as hypothetically due in part to the "tiny ligament," the sphenomandibular ligament, or the diskomalleolar ligament. This article reviews hypotheses, explanations, and current research on this controversial issue.