Concerned about whether this is friction or leukoplakia

[ArisL]

Over the past several months, I have developed a "scalloped tongue". It feels too big at the base in particular and my teeth leave indentions in the sides of the tongue. A handful of times, I have awakened myself "choking" so I was wondering if I might be developing sleep apnea. Also, my anxiety is very very high and I have noticed I am (unconsciously) pushing the base of my tongue bilaterally outward and also sometimes pushing upward to the roof of my mouth. I also "suck" my tongue tightly against the sides of my teeth. I believe all of this is anxiety related. I have woken myself up several times biting the left side of my tongue or my cheek. For whatever reason, the left side is bothering me more than the left. I have also developed intermittent jaw and ear pain. I went to an ENT and he saw no signs of infection. Last night I noticed my jaw was twitching intermittently. A couple of times, it twitched and I bit the front left part of my tongue. I have not been to a dentist as I don't have dental coverage.

What's concerning me is that below the scalloping on the side, there are indentations that I at first assumed were related to friction. But after browsing the internet, I'm now concerned that they resemble hairy leukoplakia (which I know is associated with HIV). However, they aren't white. All the ridges are tongue-colored. I have a bit of this on the right side too but only at the very back where my tongue rubs my last molar. I know it's hard from pictures, but can you tell what this might be?

 

[Gordon]

How about making an appointment at a dental school to get it checked out properly? Doesn't look like anything nasty in the photos btw, but there's no substitute for somebody looking properly.