Can braces cause you to have ear pressure problems and lose hearing in one ear?

Answer 1

I've had braces for almost 2 years now, and I've never had this happen to me, nor have I heard of anyone else who had ear pressure problems resulting from their braces.

here is a of a case of 11-year old Holly Ulrich of Minnesota. Holly, an apparently healthy girl, had a simple impacted bicuspid, so an orthodontist applied stainless steel braces.

On July 13 the top braces were installed. Shortly after these upper braces were installed, Holly complained of a pain behind her ear and that her "eyes watered." (Headaches are a common complaint with new braces wearers and are not considered a serious symptom of anything!)

Seven days later the lower braces were installed. Within a few days after that installation the left side of Holly's face became paralyzed. Her left eye would not close, her right eyelid closed down and her mouth was distorted into a grimace.

The family took Holly to the pediatrician. Julie Ulrich, her mother, told Search for Health that she "felt the braces had something to do with the problem." The pediatrician dismissed the braces as a cause of the facial paralysis and referred the Ulrich family to a "child" neurologist. This specialist also dismissed the mother's question about whether the braces may have had a role in this problem and referred Holly to an "adult" neurologist. This expert also ruled out the braces and referred Holly to an ear, nose and throat specialist.

The consensus of medical opinion diagnosed Holly with "Bell's Palsy." This is a facial paralysis named after Sir Charles Bell and the experts say it can be caused by trauma, injury or virus. In Holly's case they said it was a virus.

It gives one pause to think, when the medical experts admit that trauma or injury can cause Bell's Palsy, yet they give the obvious trauma of braces short shrift in this case, and likely in other cases. Millions of applications of braces clamp down on children's teeth, and some adults too, each year and the specialists are quick to point out that "nothing adverse happens" to the wearer.

Well, nothing we may notice. But I've yet to talk with the product of orthodontia who didn't complain of "headaches."

Also, has anyone questioned why so many millions have crooked teeth these days? God did not create crooked teeth. We have done something to interfere with optimum development in our children. Could it be malnutrition and pollution?

Anyway, back to Holly Ulrich.

For 10 weeks the medical specialists sought valiantly, but unsuccessfully, to isolate a virus, and at the same time young Holly was socked full of steroids, but showed no improvement.

Her mother related how terrifying it was to hear one of the doctor's tell her that a percentage of the damage to Holly appeared to be "permanent."

At about the nine-week mark, Julie Ulrich was beside herself with concern. She called her best friend's brother, who happened to be a neurologist who had served his residency at Mayo Clinic. He told her to "diligently pursue the braces" as a possible cause.

Returning to the orthodontist, who was appalled at Holly's condition, Mrs. Ulrich was told: "There is no way the braces could have caused the problem."

Intuitively, Mrs. Ulrich continued to suspect the braces despite the powerful and arrogant assurances of the various experts. Then she heard about Gary Jacobsen DDS of Minneapolis, who happens to be a disciple of Hal Huggins DDS one of the leading modern mavericks taking on the profession.

Dr. Jacobsen urged her to have the braces removed as soon as possible. To him, the girl's system was obviously incompatible with a material in the braces, or the electrical circuitry generated by the metal braces in her particular mouth caused adverse nerve reactions.

The family orthodontist agreed to remove the braces, but was not convinced it was even remotely related to the palsy. Two days after the braces were removed Holly hopefully pointed out that when she pinched her face that "it felt different."

After seven days she had movement in the paralyzed portions of her face and she was on the road to recovery.

The ear, nose and throat specialist saw her at this time. It was a different doctor, not familiar with the case. He noted that what he was seeing in Holly "did not go along with the chart."

"We had the braces removed," Mrs. Ulrich said.

The specialist did not see any reference to braces in the charts and, as Mrs. Ulrich reports, he "hemmed and hawed, but didn't have any comment."

The braces were removed October 6, 1992. By October 19 Holly was virtually back to normal. To his credit the family orthodontist planned to "write the case up and turn it in."

(I have also have problems from braces and don't know what I should do)

I have had braces for 2 years and i have had ear pressure problems so maybe but i dont know SRY

I have had braces for almost a year and a half and recently I have begun to suffer from ear pressure and jaw problems. Since I had no trouble before the braces, I have a feeling that their must be some relation.

I have had braces for almost two years and just earlier this month I've started to have problems opening and closeing my jaw. Also throbbing and slight pain near my ear. It got better when I stopped wearing my rubber bans for a few days. I just had my braces tightened and now even if I don't wear my rubber bans it's happening. If it doesn't stop soon I'm going to go to my doctor. My cousin after having her jaw stretched instead of teeth pulled developed permenant tmj problems. My father as well has permenant tmj problems after a fall. My father and cousin are not related so I'm worried that in both sides of my family we might be prone to tmj problems. If that's true I'm worried that my braces could cause me to have tmj problems. This site talks about your tmj: http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/topics/tmj.cfm