If you have pain at the base of the ear and cannot open your mouth, you should consider the possibility of temporomandibular joint disorder, which can aggravate the pain when chewing and opening your mouth, resulting in the fear of opening your mouth, or observe for yourself if there is a joint murmur when opening or closing your mouth. If you have any of these problems, it is recommended that you visit an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and, if necessary, have an x-ray of the temporomandibular joint.