Air in your parotid?
Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 9:20 pm
I wanted to share something interesting. I began having a sort of buzzing pain below my ear on backside of my jaw after playing. Not sure what about my playing brought it on but the sensation was familiar. Ever get a burning under your ear after struggling to inflate a balloon?
I did some research and came up with "pneumoparotid", or air in your largest saliva gland. Apparently the intraoral pressure can force air up Stensen's duct. Usually benign but uncomfortable and can lead to infection. In my case it's never been severe enough to cause noticeable swelling.
See reference article about a tuba player:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMicm0706236
Anybody else ever felt this?