Can Wisdom Teeth Cause Tinnitus?

I've had tinnitus since the beginning of June. I noticed it after a night out however I rarely ever go on nights out so have not really accepted that that is the reason for my tinnitus. Before this I would have a few moments of a high pitched ringing which would startle me but that would quickly go away. But after that night out the ringing didn't go away.

I went to the walk in center a few days after i first got T as I was so confused as to what it is was and the doctor seemed to think I had an ear infection and prescribed me with an antibiotic ear spray which didn't help in the slightest. I have also been to the ENT doctor and he says everything is physically fine.

My wisdom teeth began to grow through around this time and all 4 are impacted. My tinnitus is a constant high pitched ringing noise in both ears and there is a extremely quick beating also that sounds like an earthquake!

I also suffer with neck and back pain not sure if that connects?

Has anyone found that their wisdom teeth have caused tinnitus and can removing them make it worse?

Thanks, Pheeb x

 

Short answer is...unknowable but would say a low probability. That said, I know a lot about wisdom teeth pathology associated with removing them and potential life altering neuropathic pain. My personal opinion is, if they are removed incorrectly, this has a higher chance of inducing tinnitus due to potential damage to the inferior alveolar nerve. So Phoebe, if you have them out, post before you do and I will advise what to consider. Btw, always better to get them out young and you look to be young in your picture and most unfair you have contracted tinnitus at such a young age.

Tinnitus again in my opinion is a cocktail of nature and nurture. You could have a friend that has lived the identical lifestyle you have and no T. So your anatomy is a factor and I personally believe a big factor. So...you have it now and wonder how you got it. This is the $64K question most of us ask. Reality is few of us know because of the genetic component aka the sensitivity of your hearing apparatus even including your immune system. Of course neck and back issues are contributing factors or at least can be. Its pretty easy to point to things like excessive sound exposure.... but you say this isn't really you.

What to do moving forward? All you can really do after you have visited all the doctors who find nothing is...protect your ears and live as healthy as you can with rest exercise and good nutrition and I believe in your young lifetime there will be help in terms of cures or at least therapies that will help you. It maybe 10 years out. If you don't have severe tinnitus, feel VERY lucky and to prevent your tinnitus from getting worse, protect your ears as much as possible. Read up on habituation aka CBT and TRT aka sound enrichment to help you habituate. And live life like you should pretty lady.
Good luck.

 

Wow thanks so much for the great advice. That is really worrying about the complications with wisdom teeth removal as they do bother me quite a lot but I guess not as much as my T does! Greatly appreciate taking your time to read my post and the support you have given me, I will take your words on board x

 

Hi Phoebe,

Welcome to the site!

I had my lower wisdom teeth removed when I was 32. I did not have tinnitus prior to or immediately after the surgery. However, as stophiss mentioned, any invasive procedure naturally carries an inherent risk and prior to the surgery, your smart dentist/oral surgeon will make sure you sign a hold-harmless agreement thus indemnifying him or her from any potential legal action.

Regarding the source of tinnitus, who knows. Have you been sick? Under lots of stress? Exposed to loud noise or music? Taken any medication? Regarding neck pain, that is a plausible source as the vagus nerve winds through there. Perhaps an MRI would be a good idea if you have not yet had one.

The best advice I can give is to try not to stress about the ringing. Ringing in the ear will not kill you. It is just your anxiety that is getting the better of you. Once your mind acquiesces, your nervous system will not perceive tinnitus as an intruder and it will be easier for you to ignore the ringing. Good luck!

 

Phoebe,
Sounds as though you maybe considering having your wisdom teeth removed. You said they are impacted but perhaps now erupting and starting to emerge and you feel related pain.

Uppers...generally no problem. Lowers can be. I am an example of worse case in fact. I have had perfect health my whole life...gifted with no health issues and great hearing btw. I didn't know I had a statistical outlier lower right hand side wisdom tooth that would change my life. So I had this tooth removed late in life with dire consequences and in fact perhaps a contributor to my tinnitus as tinnitus doesn't run in my family but I have been around a lot of loud environments that I would intermittently wear ear protection but in hindsight, I could have done more.

I know money it tight for everybody or at least most people. When you get your wisdom teeth out, get at least 'two to three' evaluations. You can request the x-rays from the first and take in hand to the second...I ended up having a cone CAT scan for mine because it was so problematic prior to surgery which was performed in a hospital because the local oral surgeon wouldn't remove mine because of anticipated risk which btw turned out to be true. I don't want to alarm you but better to be safe than sorry because wisdom teeth extraction should be done when you are young because of bone density in particular.

When you have your evaluation(s) ask the following questions.
- Are my lower teeth horizontally impacted?
- What is the distance from the tooth root tip relative to my inferior alveolar nerve on each lower tooth?

Those are the signature questions to assess risk of nerve damage when having lower wisdom teeth removed.

Copy and paste this post for posterity into a word file and save it on your desktop.
Your life moving forward after having your wisdom teeth removed will be the best possible outcome if you adhere to this advice. You don't want mouth/jaw/gum/tongue nerve damage + tinnitus like I have.

As to me, I had a true statistical outlier tooth in waiting that had to come out because of bone loss and pocketing that can occur if a wisdom tooth is left in later in life. Btw, if being a statistical outlier, I would have much preferred to the best rock guitarist or the best at something else. I have met with countless oral surgeons and neurology specialists. There is literally nothing that would have been done differently in my case. I went to the top facial surgeon in my state. My tooth extraction wouldn't even permit a coronectomy which is the sectioning of the tooth and leaving the root in place next to the nerve such that the nerve is less assaulted.

So...each of us are different. Wisdom teeth extraction can be a walk in the park...or...life changing...living with neuropathic pain. Just to let you know, I have corresponded with a hundred people like myself all over the world...seeking answers for their pain who have had their life altered by wisdom tooth extraction...other statistical outliers if you will. So wisdom teeth can be like tinnitus in that sense...unanticipated and many times beyond our control. Some day I may tell the story on there about one particular brave lady that has given me inspiration. She has endured pain that three people should have never experienced in their lifetime. There btw are even very few options to kill the nerve on some level as sometimes when a nerve is deliberately killed because of pain or sectioned to mitigate pain, sensation is lost which is real bad around the mouth as you may imagine for eating, speaking and intimacy...and pain can remain....perhaps you have heard of the concept of phantom pain when a limb is lost for example...same principle.

Lastly, find the BEST oral surgeon to remove your wisdom teeth...NOT....a local dentist. Ask around in your area who is the best.

Hope that helps and best of luck.

 

Hi Phoebe,
Can you tell me if you had your wisdom teeth out, and if it helped once you did? My son has the same symptoms; He has tinnitus, in both ears, and he can feel his eardrum vibrate in both ears. It is quite debilitating, and he is thinking of having his wisdom teeth out. Please let me know what if anything helped you.
Thanks!
Sandra

 

It did for me! I just had my wisdom teeth removed. I woke up hearing no ringing in either ear. I’ve suffered from tinnitus for so long, it’s very relieving to no longer have to hear the constant ringing. My bottom ones were impacted but not my top ones.

 

Has your son gone through the procedure?

 

Did you remove your top ones as well?

 

When you read what the causes are for tinnitus, the list is pretty long. But nowhere could I find if impacted wisdom teeth could cause tinnitus. It might not seem logical, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

So what is your take on this?