7 Months On and I Don't Yet Have a Diagnosis and Yet I Feel So Close

It's been a while since I last posted. My tinnitus started suddenly for no reason on 11/1/18. I had no idea why and I still don't. It just kinda haooened. I am 14 years old, never listen to anything too loud and have never had a problem with ears in the past...

At first, I saw my GP who suspected I had Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, gave me some spray and told me to come back in 2 weeks if it didntd clear.
It didn't clear.
I then went back 2 weeks later where they gave me some strinstr studd.
It didn't clear.

Then, about a month into having this noise, I booked an appointment to see an ENT. He said he couldn't see anything wrong with me eustachian tubes and booked me a hearing test and appointment with audiologogy.

The 5 months between seeing the ENT and Audiologist were so awful. I became depressed and anxious and I still am at this point and feel I always will be until I get to the bottom of this all.

I went to see the Audiologis who first did a hearing test - it came out that my hearing was perfect so that rules that out. They then tested my Eustachian Tubes like the ENT did. They came back fine, but my right ear had slight negative pressure (although still in the normal range). She then looked in my ears which turned out to be fine with a small bit of scarring on my left eardrum bit again - nothing that she considered could be the problem.

Then, she asked me to put my fingers under my ears and open my mouth and listen for any clicking noises. And low-and-behold, my jaw was clicking, grating and grinding every time I opened my mouth. She told me to get this checked out by a dentist which I did 3 days ago.

I went to the dentist kind of expecting to be told I have a problem with my TMJ (which wouldve been a massive sigh of relief to me). He does a full checkout and says that yes, there is something up with my jaw. He says that my face muscles are very tense and that I should work on loosening my muscles. He also said that it's impossible for children/teenagers to have problems with TMJ which confuses me as I had looked up that basically anyone of any age can have issues with their TMJ

I'm not sure where I should go from here as I feel like I have something to look into and no way to follow it.


(If anyone needs any extra info, my tinnitus generally gets quieter when I take an Ibuprofen or Hayfever Tablet, as well as after coming out of the shower. I can't really open my mouth wide because it's slightly painful and feels tense.)

 

Hope you can get your diagnosis soon.

For the longest time I was convinced I had acoustic trauma, though after some tests, I have a strong feeling that mine is pulsatile. I hear a low hum and a low volume high pitch swoosh in the right in time with my heartbeat. I've noticed my right part of the jaw making a slight noise but no pain so I should be OK, though I've ordered a night brace just in case I need it. Don't want to get "proper" constant T. In the meantime I'm eating soft foods to give my jaw some rest, which should help with my weight too.

Really hope I can get treated soon, that would be a great feeling.

 

My problem is - I already have it constantly. Some noise can mask it but it is constant. For me, there's no way I can get a diagnosis. I have already spoken to everyone and I can't ecavtex book another appointment with my dentist to tell him that I think he was wrong. What am I supposed to do from here?

 

If you are taking ibuprofen and getting relief that’s a good sign to me. That should mean you are getting inflammation somewhere and that’s something that should/can be treated.

If I were you I would get a second opining from a dentist that specializes in TMJ. Any age can have TMJ....

Sometimes you have to advocate for yourself. Don’t get mad at the doctors or dentists in my opinion , just seek out multiple options/opinions and go from there. Everyone should do this as long as you have good insurance

 

Hey, I live in the UK so it's all covered by the NHS. However, we have dentists that are alloted to us and I wouldn't know how to go about seeing another one. Thanks for the reply!