Could My TMJ/Impacted Wisdom Teeth Be Exacerbating My Tinnitus?

I'm not saying they're the cause but I'm just wondering if they can be exacerbating my tinnitus.

I have two impacted wisdom teeth as well as TMJ issues. When I press my finger down near the front of my left ear and open and close my mouth, I can hear clicking going on there...also feels like something is rubbing together. It doesn't do that on my right side. Coincidentally, my left ear has tinnitus worse than the right. My wisdom tooth is also fully impacted on the bad side, while on the other side it's come come out a bit. (Still impacted though.)

I can also create a somatic tinnitus sound if I clinch my jaw.

If I got my wisdom teeth pulled and my TMJ treated, do you think it would help alleviate my tinnitus somewhat?

 

treating my tmj with a splint had a mild to moderate positive influence on my ringing

 

How much did the splint cost? Would insurance cover it? Would a mouth guard yield similar effects?

 

$250.00 for a splint, I recently got one.

 

Not too bad. Was expecting it to be a lot more. Have you noticed any changes in your T yet?

 

I've read on here that it took them about 6 months to notice changes, I'm barely on my 4th night (I have fluid behind my eardrum right now so I have a spike).

 

Hey did you remove your impacted wisdom tooth. If so, did it make a difference to your T?

 

Just wanted to respond to fill in any gaps of info, as I'm in the exact same situation as you.

At first, I thought my tinnitus - new noises in my right ear - was caused by a brief noise of somebody yelling. But then it slowly came together that first, it was only a few seconds, from 4 feet away, and she didn't scream directly into either ear.

Secondly, the new ringing didn't actually begin until the following morning, quietly at first, but then it became increasingly bad as days went by and kept changing in tone. By day 5, I could barely open my mouth on the right side more than halfway. Even as I sit here, the Tylenol is wearing off and it's getting hard to so much as move my tongue to the back of my mouth because opening it is hard. The lower right side of my face has felt deeply inflamed and sore, like I got slapped, all the way into my sinus cavity. I'm getting shooting nerve pains into my right ear. The right ear tones alternate between a very pitchy whine that's on and off, a few seconds of silence before returning, a weird tinny, scratchy sound, and a higher tone underneath. Oh, and did I mention that the bottom impacted right lower wisdom tooth had tripled in size...? If I press down on the hinge point of my jaw I'll feel intolerable discomfort. Sneezing, gulping, and gargling hurt both the points where your bottom wisdom teeth grow.

I'm nervously awaiting making an oral surgery appt. tomorrow. I already have borderline severe TMJ (which doctors have blown off, unfortunately) so I second what Jay had to say about your situation. Yes, if you have an impacted wisdom tooth, it can make TMJ/TMD worse and therefore set off or worsen tinnitus. My story seems like a textbook case. I never had any sounds in my right ear prior to this disaster with my bottom right wisdom tooth.

As to why it all happened now, and not sooner, my theories are: A) in the last 3 months, I've been under immense stress due to work and the pandemic and B) to compensate for the soreness and pain in my left jaw and ear, I've been unconsciously chewing and biting down on the R side for months.

Moving on to the tinnitus and ear issues. I've had up and down/oscillating tones in my left ear since last spring, which I have noticed change with jaw movement. Well, what do you know...around the exact time the right ear and wisdom tooth began freaking out, my left ear ringing transformed and the jaw pain got way worse (not as inflamed as the right side, but definitely noticeable daily with sharp, stabbing pains). It's markedly different compared to how it was not even 10 days ago and has a higher pitch overall. The deep pains I'm getting inside my left inner ear, even as deep as what seems to be my tonsil... well, I actually got the same pains when I first experienced the ringing. Tons of NSAIDs, immediately getting a night guard, and 8 weeks of soft foods seemed to offer some improvement over the last year; it went from blaring to hard to notice unless I was in dead silence. But in the end, the regular approach to TMD clearly failed me BIG time, along with my shitty teeth.

I won't lie, I'm truly terrified of what will happen at the oral surgeon BUT at the same time I'm hopeful that he can help. The timing with my right ear is too coincidental. I also experienced zero acoustic trauma when my left ear started, so I'm hopeful that getting the left wisdom teeth extracted will reduce or reverse the dreadful tinnitus. (Seriously, if I had to map out the tones it'd look like a roller coaster - unless I manipulated my jaw/neck, in which case it made one awful symphony of humming notes, not the classic 'eee' ringing easier for habituation.)

As I mentioned, I have been keeping up with TMJ protocols, almost a full year of using the night guard, etc. but in the last eight weeks or so I've noticed classic TMJ symptoms returning... more clicking and popping in my jaw joints and ears, more tenderness in my bottom teeth, gravely noises in my left ear. I personally believe that the night guard does not remain effective for NEARLY as long as dentists advertise. For paying $390 to end up this way... well, I feel really jaded and annoyed.

You know what else is frustrating? Having seen an audiologist, 2 dentists, and an oral surgeon last year when my left ear began acting up and not having a single one say a word about wisdom teeth and tinnitus/jaw pain. Not a single mention of it. I thought a lot of people lived safely with the impacted teeth. Wrong.

This has all gotten so debilitating that I'm scheduled for Botox injections in late November, too. I will routinely get them for as long as I have to, even the rest of my life if that's what is suggested, so as long as I can live a pain- and tinnitus-free existence. Also, going to get braces as soon as I have a FT salaried job. I know that my kooky bite isn't doing me any favors, either.

TLDR: Teeth are fucking nuts, man.

@George Ablett If you're still around, this may help!

 

@Lyris Could it be from the someone yelling that you went to bed that night being upset where you either clenched or grind causing - your quote --- it wouldn't have mattered, as it would had happened anyways with a promised wisdom tooth or jaw since spring.

Part of my mouth situation is the exact same as your. I posted before what happened to me. Let us know what the oral surgeon says. When pressure is taken off the nerves in your jaw that go the ears, you hopefully will see improvement. I see my oral again tomorrow too.

 

Yes - I suspect that it was eventually going to happen anyway, probably soon, considering it literally took less than 5 seconds for me to hit the fulcrum point. It's pretty crazy how this has been ongoing since March of last year, and the guard only delayed the inevitable. In this case, I suspect I tensed up my entire jaw and upper body, as I'm apt to do as the result of fear and stress, and tipped over into a severe inflammatory situation.

Admittedly, I'm annoyed at the people who caused the screaming incident, but at the same time, this was clearly a long standing issue. We can't live in a bubble these days; if it hadn't been them, it would have been from a HIIT workout or hearing a siren or something. I have also become increasingly worse in the last 8 weeks with my TMJ/TMD, but felt helpless about what to do. I got zero support through telemedicine from the dentist who made my night guard, and I was torn about seeking a dentist for a new guard due to COVID-19...

Well...looks like it doesn't matter now, as I'll be headed to the oral surgeon this week and likely early next week for the extraction! But really, the sooner the better. I'm not a wimp but this wisdom tooth + jaw issue has worn away at my emotional stability and mental energy...on top of the pain, it has been exhausting dealing with all the new tinnitus tones as well. (Thanks for the Hugs, by the way.)

I hope your oral surgeon appt. goes well....let me know! I'm hoping the best for you, as well as myself. I agree that having pressure off the nerves will help. (Also, I didn't see your old posts but I have heard of some unfortunate stories on here that something to do with using the wrong drill triggered underlying tinnitus; I hope that wasn't the case for you!)

 

I'm not sure which rating I should give you for your post above. A hug, agree or optimistic. Gave you another hug. A lesson that I needed too learn. To keep head on headrest.

 

@Lyris, I don't believe you're active here anymore, but I was curious to know how your oral surgery ordeal went. Our current circumstances sound nearly identical -- in so much that we both initially misdiagnosed our tinnitus cause and even share the general tones we're experiencing.

@Greg Sacramento, I had one more question for you before my impending oral surgery since you were very helpful to me in a different thread -- one of the major anxieties I'm having with getting my wisdom teeth removed is actually the anesthesia. I opted for local instead of general initially, but now that I'm more informed, I'm considering just electing to stay conscious so I can be more proactive about any distressing noise or neck/jaw discomfort.

Everyone always advises anesthesia for the procedure, and for someone with average dental anxiety, this is understand. However in my case, I'm not worried about the fear or shock of having someone operating on me and shattering teeth in my head, rather my dread lies with knowing the potentially permanent repercussions on my tinnitus and hearing. So knowing that I'm spending 500 dollars on ototoxic anesthesia just to forfeit my ability to intervene and save myself from permanent damage to my ears/jaw seems questionable at best. Do you generally advise anesthetics with that in mind?

They also want me to take Amoxicillin and inject Toradol (ketorolac) beforehand, which I'm sure is standard fare, but are there any non-ototoxic alternatives I could request? Amoxicillin generally seems fine, but Toradol I've heard can prove detrimental. There's so many factors that can contribute to worsening tinnitus severity here, I was hoping I could eliminate a few of them to improve my chances. Also I was considering taking 1200mg of NAC before the appointment even though it might inhibit the healing process, would that be prudent? I have Prednisone on hand as well, but I wouldn't take it again due to the side effects I experienced unless it was really severe acoustic trauma.

Thanks again.

 

My choice for self would be to stay conscious so that I could be more proactive, more protective of noise and neck. Noise does has the same effects with anesthesia as with being conscious. With being conscious, one can make sure that the dentist isn't using noisy instruments or procedure for long periods over 10 seconds at a time without a ten second break. Myself, I would not trust a dentist under anesthesia to understand the noise tinnitus connection and use the correct protocol with getting 4 wisdom teeth removed within the same session.

Amoxicillin is fine for most all with tinnitus. Toradol should be OK, but some with tinnitus do have a problem. Myself, I would rather use Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen 5-325 Mg - one tablet every 4-6 hours. Also, a tablet before session. Dentist would need to call your pharmacy first. Besides NAC, I would also take one 400 mg tablet of Magnesium, one hour before session.

If you find having four wisdom teeth being removed in one day is too much, tell the dentist I had enough for one day.

Let me know how it goes.

 

@Lyris, did you end up getting your wisdom tooth out? Did it help?

 

How did it go for you?