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Re: Open Mouth- Insert Blowhose
Don't know what segment of the tubebending population this might apply to,
but about a year ago I found it very difficult to open my mouth past a
certain point, when waking up in the morning, for about an hour.
All my life I've had a jaw that could "pop" at will; suddenly the same joint
was taking a turn for the worse.
Went to the doctor, whose nurse had had the same problem -- she told me all
about it. The "jaw-popping" phenomenon is common to a certain percentage of
the population. When it gets real bad -- she had to eat through a straw --
it's called a "TMJ" (for, I suppose, "totally messed-up jaw") and requires
surgery followed by re-learning how to speak. Seriously! The nurse said her
life was a mess for about six months...The surgery & therapy is most
commonly done with car-accident victims...
Anyways, the doc put me on soft-foods-only for a month (I still avoid very
hard foods) and together we figured out that me working very long hours with
a blowhose in my mouth had me keeping tension there most hours of the day.
The problem went away pretty quick (as did the heavy workload) but in case
it comes back I bought a Bob Dylan-style harmonica holder to hold my
blowhose, keep my jaw happy and relaxed. I'll let y'all know how it works,
should I need to actually use it...
-Ted Pirsig