Source of Cracking

I've been experiencing TMJ symptoms for about a year and they seem to have gotten worse pretty quickly, but all the scans I've done (X rays and a CT scan) have come back clean. If no one has seen a problem with the joint so far, I have to assume that the issues are muscular, but that brings me to my first question. Is it possible for my issues to be muscular if I'm experiencing cracking? Also, I know that wisdom teeth can cause facial pain, but is it ever possible for them to cause cracking? I'm getting all 4 of them removed on the 9th and although it's unlikely, I'm really hoping that will relieve some of my pain.

My bottom right tooth is impacted and partially erupted, and I've been feeling throbbing and sharp pains in that area. The cracking occurs pretty low in my face, around the same area as the tooth. The cracking/popping/grinding sound occurs only when I move my chin down and back (kind of like a chewing motion).

Another big concern I have is once or twice a week, instead of the usual sound, my jaw will freeze up for a second and make a loud snap instead of the usual sound, then for the rest of the day, there will be a squishy crackling sound in my ear on the same side (right). What could that be about? The days that it happens are the worst ones for me so I'm very stressed about getting to the bottom of that. Please respond if you feel that you can answer any of these questions.