Dental Work Ruined My Progress

Background: I got a permanent increase in my former mild tinnitus back in last September from an acoustic trauma. Multiple sounds; many ultra high frequency tones in my right ear and reactive loud & dull beep in my left ear. I cannot describe how hard it has been trying to cope, especially as my ears would keep changing the sounds and react to any loudness with horrible increases. Only for the last 1-2 months there has been noticeable progress: mainly habituation since the loudness has seemed to be the same - except in right ear in which the sound got lower and towards a more pleasant hiss. I finally started to feel like I could perhaps come in terms with it some day, finding the right masking sounds and sleeping with my quieter (right) ear on pillow, being finally able to sleep with left one's louder sound masked. This was before last Friday...

What happened on Friday: Last week was a total mess for me - horrible stress/anxiety and just everything going south. I even forgot to take my daily supplements (magnesium, NAC, vitamin B complex...) and then on Friday something got stuck between my teeth. I thought it to be a piece of toothpick and went to dentist for a quick fix. A huge mistake. Turns out the biggest filling in my upper right teeth was broken and they'd need to make the whole thing again - the gum was infected so they recommended it done right on spot.

As the loud drilling sound is unavoidable, I always thought if I'd need to get drilling done, I'd come so prepared with protective supplements and low-stress level. Now I was there with a head full of cortisol (just had a panic attack in the morning) and no supplies in my bloodstream to protect hearing. A recipe for disaster.

It took an hour to get the whole thing done and even when I asked the dentist to do the drilling in short bursts and explained I have tinnitus and hearing problems... Well, he just kept on drilling for long while at a time.:/ Needless to say, it was incredibly loud. Afterwards my ears felt really weird, as if there was this loud centralized brain T instead of my usual ear tones.

Now: My T has been so much louder. My usual masking routine has not helped anymore, in fact I feel like I can hear the crickets part (I play multiple sounds since there's no one masking that helps all my T noises) worse than before. I don't know how to sleep anymore, since my right ear is now just as loud if not louder than my left ear. My whole survival/adaptation method was to concentrate on masking the left ear and my biggest relief in the past 7 months has been when the right ear T started to go quieter and hiss-like. Now this happened and my right ear feels completely wrecked! Ultra high frequency just screeching on top of everything. Not sure how I'm supposed to handle this setback, I feel so depressed, helpless and know that if this stays, then it will only get worse with future dental work as well (unavoidable in my case). Just very lost atm.

You know the feeling right? There's this glimmer of hope that "okay, I got this, I can battle my way through this maybe!" and then everything goes to hell and kills that hope. That's how it feels right now - maybe it's just a spike but I've not experienced right-ear spikes like this - well not since I last time got it permanently worse (usually my left ear is the reactive one with temporary spikes and right is more stabile).

How have you guys coped with dental drilling and its effect on T? Have they caused just temporary spikes or something permanent? If you have T with usually no noticeable spikes, has there been (temporary) exceptions to it? Or if your dentist insisted on drilling for long periods with very rare pauses, did that damage you? Angry that mine would do that - I keep getting these experiences where doctors and other health carers just ignore my condition.:/

Any experiences and comments help, since I am right now just trapped in my own mind going insane.

 

This is very unfortunate to hear. Hopefully it is a temporary spike, or will improve greatly in general. I assume you have resumed taking your supplements now(?), as that may help your recovery.

Did you try any hearing protection during the dental procedure? I think I have seen some people say that earplugs were not useful for dental drilling because of the "occlusion" effect. I would speculate that earmuffs may be more ideal, but what about foam plugs and earmuffs? I have not had any dental drilling since getting my T, so I have no firsthand experience to offer (yet).

Sorry to hear the dentist was not attentive to your condition, it may be worthwhile to search around in advance and find a dentist who is more understanding. I wonder if some dental clinics have quieter equipment than others? surely there must be some advancement in technology out there. Though when it comes to drilling tooth enamel with metal, some sound may be unavoidable.

 

I feel like I am lucky when it comes to my dental experience. I have had two fillings since T and go to the hygienist every 6 months for cleanings and none of it has has any effect on t.

 

I didn't use hearing protection: I think almost all of the damaging loudness comes right through bone conduction and soft tissues between the mouth and ear do not isolate much noise. I do believe it would be worse with any kind of plugs and I think even earmuffs add some occlusion:

You are right that the only way to minimize to risk this happening again is to - in advance - demand a dentist who is willing to work with short bursts and pauses. I've read it should be something like 5 seconds of drilling, 10 seconds of pause etc. Maybe it would have made a difference, since my experience in Friday was more like endless drilling and a few pauses. Argh, so frustrating that I went in unprepared and didn't know what I was in for...

But yeah, really frightening that especially us with T from acoustic trauma will have to expose ourselves to unblockable super loud noise and there's not much that can be done about it. I have erosion damage in my teeth from (formerly untreated, didn't even know I had these) reflux and bruxism, so really not sure what the future holds for me, since I will prolly need a lot work done at some point. Really scary stuff.:/

 

That's good... Do you otherwise ever get spikes from loud sounds and if you do, did you get any temporary spike from dental work, or none at all? Also when you got your fillings done, was it a quick job and did the dentist drill in short bursts? Just trying to understand my situation, so asking a bit more about this, hope you don't mind!

 

No problem at all. Tbh i don't think i hae ever had a real spike other than fleeting t if that counts. I think each if them took around 30 mins, at the time I didn't even mention tinnitus but that was before i had visited this website and didn't know t was a thing that could get worse. When i go for my cleanings i do now mention t and she gives a little break but so far no problems.

 

Hi,

I have severe H and survived a lot of dental drilling this last year. Just one gave me a permanent spike but it was after a lot of appointments and quite heavy drilling. You'll most likely be fine.

 

@Foncky Did you use any hearing protection, or did you decide against it because of occlusion?

@NimQ That is a very helpful guideline for dental procedures about pausing every 5 seconds. It would be useful if there was some sort of "formal" literature out there, or even something we could piece together on this forum by citing various sources, where we could give a dentist a short paper outlining the nature of our condition, how dental drilling noise can potentially affect it, and what practices the dentist can utilize to minimize the risk to us.

 

To me it's worse with protection, so nothing. EXCEPT for ultrasonic cleaning and the polish after (in my experience).
There are several tips to know to protect you. I will write them when I have time.

 

Ear plugs or muffs for cleaning? I have an appointment in June and so not too far off.

 

If I recall correctly, the ATA recommendation for dental drilling is 5 seconds on, 10 seconds off.

 

Muffs.

 

Did you ask the dentist to work in short bursts? I mean the "5 seconds of drilling and 10 seconds pause" rule. Did you get any temporary spikes and the one that stayed - what kind of work was that from? Sorry to hear that it caused permanent increase in your T... The fillings I had done on Friday were kind of massive, since they needed to renew the whole thing covering two teeth and the gap between them.

 

I have nursed young people who have died from sepsis and cardiac complications due to dental infection. Its a hard call with what we juggle with, but to have left it could have killed you nastily.

 

Update: my right ear is still a mess. As said, before Friday it had been fading into a pleasant hiss and only my left ear was loud. After Friday my right ear has been as loud if not louder than left, and I'm afraid this will be permanent.:/ This is because the whole tone in my right ear has changed and now resembles - surprise surprise - the screeching sound of a high pitch dentist drill. The tone is also flat and evenly loud while usually my temporary spikes (which I've almost only gotten in my left ear) feel shaky and fluctuate.

Not sure if there's anything I can do at this point... I've been taking NAC, magnesium, vitamins (multi, C and B) ad L-carnosine. Took all of them after the visit when I got home. I'm trying not to think about whether I should have gone and tried to get prednisone (or whatever equivalent). Trying very hard not to be angry at myself and avoid thinking "what if I would have done this or that instead". Not very succesful for now.

 

With 23 years of experience in my humble opinion no supplements, food etc .. make a difference at all .. magnesium, vitamins, zinc .. nothing changes the tone ... but maybe placebo effects helps you .. but angry and asking question like what if do ... so maybe do not take anything but focus on being purely positive .. fear makes tinnitus worse ..

You can't fight it im my humble opinion, you have to let go of the fight ..and make it your strength

 

A very good point and so very true - there isn't much choice when it comes to dental work. And I don't want anyone to skip their visit to the dentist, if they come to this topic and get afraid of T getting worse. The later you go, the more work there is to be done... it's not something where we can prioritize T over other critical health stuff.

So if someone like that is reading this: go and get your teeth done, but be prepared. Put protective stuff into your body well in advance; especially NAC, magnesium and vitamins (multi, B complex and strong C) and make sure the dentist agrees to drill in short bursts; tell him the rule of "5 seconds drilling, 10 seconds pause".

 

Yes, short bursts. Also they have two kind of rotating tools, one is very noisy, the other is not rotating so fast and is far less noisy. But the work lasts longer. Ask. No to little suction. Be careful of the noises the dentist can make, while putting his gloves on next to your ears for instance.

It was like 20min of drilling because I needed a whole crown.

 

I did ask the dentist to work with pauses and short drilling times, because of my hearing condition. But he ignored it. I guess I need to consider how to make the demand more serious next time, since once the whole operation starts it's (literally) hard to say anything. I was thinking maybe you got root canals done or something like that, but 20 min drilling is something that is very close to my experience on Friday. Maybe even more, since the whole operation took close to an hour and just lots & lots of drilling. Was your permanent spike very loud and did it settle at all? How have you handled the visits next to the one that caused permanent spike? Did it not make you afraid of it happening again & again? Just looking for any tips to get in terms with this and the fact that in future there will be more dental work...

 

I have severe H, if you don't, you should not worry so much.

I have to go tomorrow again, there will be drilling, like 10mn. I have no choice, so I don't care about the consequences. Worrying will only make it worse.

If your dentist doesn't listen to you, just find another one. You should find someone kind, it's far easier then.

 

There are some drills that are real quiet...some dentists have them (they are new drills and they cost 500 euros a piece so not many have them)...I had a spike from dental work but it passed..can't remember how long it took for it to go away but it did I was so scared

 

@Foncky - Wishing you a succesful and trouble-free visit tomorrow Worrying makes things worse, I agree. I think even literally, since cortisol and other stuff mess up nervous system and whole brain.

@3ri0w - Will have to find out about those quiet drills, even when right now it's hard to think about any future dental work. Good to hear that your spike passed, gives me cautious hope that mine might as well...

 

Update 2: It's been 10 days now and there is absolutely no sign this will pass. I am terrified. The worst thing is that the new sound is very nearly unmaskable! It's so high pitched that even playing crickets from an app doesn't mask it, it just keeps on drilling my mind.:/ I hear it on top of almost everything and it is such an alien, horrible noise. It's stable in its loud volume, but there's like multiple tones squealing with each other, so it keeps getting my attention. Not sure how to deal with this - been trying to be brave and just do what I can to make it heal, but it really doesn't feel like an ordinary spike.

Question: I need advice badly from people who know about Prednisone and when to use it. I thought it should be used within like 24-72 hours, so I didn't even think about it (also was in doubt whether this was just normal spike, I should have listened to my own intuition which said this to be more serious!). Now I read that it could maybe work as long as 3 weeks? Is there any sense for me to try to get it now, when the cause happened April 22th?

What do you guys think? I'm worried the risks outweigh the small possibility of it helping at this stage. I mean if it only works quickly after exposure, then I'd be taking it for nothing and if something happens again, I would have used that card already (I've heard it should not be used more than once a year or something?). Then again, this current state of my T is absolutely wrecking me, so if there's a solid chance it still could help, then maybe it would be worth it... Any knowledge or experiences? I really can't think clearly about this now and don't even know if they prescribe the stuff in Finland for T.

 

I didn't read all the answers , only your first post, so forgive me if I write sth that has already been written.
I hope you took your supplements on your way back, which could still help your hearing cells and then kept taking them for a few days.
I also believe big part of it is your stress about the whole situation. You felt unprepared and so on. Did the drill go deep ? Sometimes they touch some nerves which makes T worse ,if they go into the roots .
It could also be ''reactive t '' which means it will get worse after loud noise for a while , even if no new hearing cells were damaged ( I have it myself. Sometimes .. there are no rules about it, really shitty .)
About prednisone, there are so many different schools that it's really hard to say anything..
The vast majority of people don't observe any worsening after dental work, so I hope very much for you this is temporary.

 

Sounds like my T. If you can tolerate the sound, what may work for you (depending on your T volume) is the shower, or frying something in a pan, and maybe the faucet. Yes, I know it's not practical for long term use.

 

I got 14 kHz T at 8/10 from dental work 6weeks ago. Predisone at day approximate 18 didn't help... But try anyway so you don't have regrets later.

Sorry to hear yet another sufferer like myself from dentist.

 

Yes, those are the only things that work. So many hours spent sitting on the bathroom floor just trying to calm down listening to faucet. Yet somehow app sounds of water don't do it.

Sounds exactly like my situation, then... Mine is at about 14k as well! What kind of dental work did you have - did the dentist drill long whiles or did you get this despite of short bursts with pauses? Has your spiked T gotten any better during these 6 weeks? Can you mask it at all? Really sorry you are having the same problem.:/

 

I had a crown put in. The dentist drilled and drilled and drilled... Not 5 sec on and 10 sec off.

I didn't have T before, now I have chronic T at 8/10 baseline. It hasn't gotten better... But it has had occasional spikes due to restaurant pizza, beer, wine, chocolate, processed meats, etc. Trying to determine if coffee makes it worse or just brings T up to baseline faster after waking up. Angry Orchard Hard Apple Cider appears to have no effect on baseline.

I have had 4 partial to full day remissions in the past 7 weeks... They have come after minimum full day fasting (or less than 400 calories) AND at least 9 hours sleep with only <= 1 nightly interruption. I haven't found any vitamin or supplements that help (yet).

I'm not able mask. It doesn't look good.

Go get yourself the Prednisone or predisolon so you are not questioning yourself 15 years down theroad why you didn't try it. I was on prednisone without success starting at 60 mg/day and tapering done over the course of approx. 12 days.

Ask if any corticosteroids are helpful.

Sorry I can't share good news.

Keep in touch if you encounter a breakthrough... I'll do the same.

 

Thank you for the answers. Since I suppose it's unavoidable at some point to go and have dental work again, then the only way I'm gonna agree to it is that the dentist promises to follow the 5 sec - 10 sec rule. No wonder the endless drilling can cause an actual acoustic trauma; it's so loud and inescapable, after all.

I really hope you'll eventually make some progress and at least be able to habituate. It's still early! As it says in my info, my more severe T problem started last September. It took 3 months for it to first start getting better, but then I triggered it worse in December by going to a loud Star Wars movie (even with earplugs...). Now again it was getting better - or I was habituating - just before the visit to dentist. In other words, there has been some progress, but seems like my ears are prone to setbacks and lost all the progress... At least for the next six months give your ears time to heal and don't take risks, that would be my advice from this point of view.

I'll start Prednisolon tomorrow and yes, will keep you posted if there are any breakthroughs or new coping methods to share.

 

@NimQ I've never been one to put stock in any supplements or medicines like prednisone. Tinnitus is a brain issue, and none of these pills affect the brain in a material way. Thinking a pill is going to make it all better will lead to disappointment and more distress.

The answer is time. Like you said - it took three months after your last setback to start feeling better.

I have intrusive and reactive tinnitus, and hyperacusis. I had a filling done last April, top left molar closet to my ear. My dentist was kind and did the short bursts, but there were times when she needed to do some sustained drilling for more than 5 seconds. I remember thinking to myself, this is the loudest sh!t I've ever heard. I am done for. I felt full and shaken for about a month, but my tinnitus returned to baseline, or maybe I just got used to the new sounds? You will too.

Hoping for a speedy recovery. Sending lots of good energy and positive thoughts to you in Finland.

V.