Amy - after my neck dissection, I too have swelling and numbness around jaw, behind my ear, etc. My physio therapist recommends massaging towards the back of the the neck and downward - starting from the outside in.. The first physio therapist i had was massaging inward and I started to feel like I was choking cause all the fluid moved to the front of my neck. As much as I hate them, I've taken digital pix of my face so when someone says - You're swelling is going down - I can compare cause it usually doesn't feel like it.