Can Tinnitus Be Brought on by Stress? Mine Started During a Stressful Time

Hi there,

I began having tinnitus little more than a year ago after some tight tension headaches, nerve pain, jaw and teeth clenching that hasn't stopped for over a year, bad posture and tight traps/ neck muscles. This all started during an extremely stressful time in my life.

I find at night when I can hear tinnitus most, that I can actually lower the severity of tinnitus almost by thought. Does anyone else have that?

Can tinnitus be brought on by stress?

When I tap the back of my head hard (shown on YouTube), the noise goes away for a bit but returns.

Can anyone explain what type of tinnitus I have?

Thank you.

 

It's possible that your stress has made you become more acutely aware of any pre-existing symptom you may have had, but I don't think stress can actually cause it.

Given that you've had issues with headaches, nerve pain, and clenching, these could be contributing to the symptoms. Have you had your TMJ evaluated for any possible disorder?

I would consider trying out exercises in order to reduce the strain on your muscles. If your symptom lessens in intensity, it might be an indication that's the cause. Otherwise, there's no way of knowing for sure.

 

Welcome to the forum. Tinnitus can be triggered by a single or multiple causes. Some say this is cumulative damage and at a certain point tinnitus shows up when the damage reaches a certain threshold. This may be purely speculation and sometimes it is not easy to pin point the exact cause unless it is the obvious type such as acoustic trauma right after loud noise exposure or right after taking ototoxic drugs. Stress is sometimes stated by members as a probable cause of their tinnitus. But in your case you also have other issues such as possible TMJ and neck muscle issues that can also cause tinnitus. You need to check them out to see if you have a medical issue with them. Good luck. God bless.

 

I was also wondering the same thing about mine. I had tension headaches, took some medication and was also super stressed for about a week during the time as well as a couple of weeks before that. It's super frustrating not knowing what is causing it.