When functioning properly, these joints act as shock absorbers for the jaw but as people age misalignments become more common, with an estimated more than 3 million plus cases per year in the United States. Continuous stress from chewing can cause soreness and pain in the joints and surrounding musculature leading to jaw pain, headaches, dizziness, and earaches. What is the cause? Perhaps grinding the teeth, jaw trauma, uneven bite, dental work, gum chewing, stress and trauma. Symptoms include pain, asymmetries while opening your mouth, locking, swelling, dislocation, capsulitis, lockjaw, myofascitis, tendonitis, synovitis, and arthritic disease.