Double Jaw Surgery Fears Due to Tinnitus of Unknown Cause

I have sought alternatives, but I am ultimately faced with double jaw surgery for an underbite/crossbite complication, which may or may not have contributed to tinnitus and which may cause further complications down the line. I have had tinnitus for almost as long as I can remember, now being 24 and recalling faintly having it when I was around 7 or 8 or so. Perhaps it wasn't tinnitus at the time, it's hard to say. The exact cause of it is unknown. It could be due to anxiety (I have OCD which can be classed as an anxiety disorder), but it seemed to get worse a few years ago when I used headphones for a game for about a week. Again, it's difficult to say if it truly came from that, hearing tests returned no signs of hearing loss at all.

The one hope left for avoiding surgery is a procedure called MSE, but I am mentally bracing myself for the surgery, in case that too cannot be done. I am terrified of tinnitus worsening. When other sounds are present, it goes unnoticed but when in a quiet room, it's clear as day and pretty loud too. Perhaps there is some hope for cures that can allow me to both get rid of tinnitus and also fix the jaw problem, which I really really want to get done, but the dilemma is tinnitus. That darned tinnitus. Don't want the surgery to worsen it. I make music and have thoughts of getting into audio engineering after I finish my software development studies, since that seems to be something that'll fit me better than software dev in terms of relatively stable careers, most likely. In which case tinnitus is an inconvenient thing to have. And on the flipside, not fixing this jaw complication might also worsen it or lead to other complications down the road. I don't know what to do. This pairing of problems feels like some sort of curse.

When I stretch my mouth open, I get the idea that the tinnitus worsens a bit, and when I close my mouth again, it goes back to its normal level, which may hint at the cause here but I am scratching my head on where to begin with this. Any suggestions, thoughts, ideas, words of advice are welcome.

 

I can only comment on one thing.

Some 70-90% of everyone who has tinnitus can influence their tinnitus temporarily by jaw and neck movements.

It doesn't hint at the cause at all. Even those who have typical noise-induced tinnitus can often do this.

 

What ajc said.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about the surgery worsening your tinnitus. I had a TMJ surgery quite recently and the surgeon resected an innervated ligament inside the joint but there was no change to my tinnitus. I would even say the surgery might help you getting rid of it, depending on the cause of course. I would definitely recommend you talk to your surgeon about this in advance.

 

Are you sure it would be the same in the case of a double jaw surgery? I've seen some people report on their tinnitus getting worse and it's still a scary prospect.

I am already looking into treatments to see if I can possibly get my tinnitus lowered before then.

 

I can only offer you my personal experience. Talk to your surgeon.

 

I am facing the same dilemma! I need jaw surgery because I have breathing issues (sleeping apnea/UARS) and bite issues. Both jaws need to be advanced. I know this surgery can allow me to breathe and sleep better but I am really scared that it will worsen tinnitus. I don’t know what to do... Sigh having tinnitus definitely feels like a curse

 

That’s good to know! Do you know what was the cause of your tinnitus?

 

Unfortunately no. I'm losing my mind over it though.

 

Understandable, best of luck to you in regards to making a decision, I know it's difficult. I am leaning towards swallowing the risk and going for it, but first I'd like to see if there's any way I can figure out if there's something clear that alludes to the cause.

 

I went for a second, or technically third, opinion but it turns out they cannot use MSE on my case to negate the need for either one part of the surgery or its entirety, therefore, double jaw surgery is necessary to solve this.

The spike I had in the past week has seemingly subsided and the volume has gone back to baseline, which is a relief, and which makes me wonder, perhaps I'm of the recovery type who shouldn't worry too much about this.

 

Did you ever end up getting the surgery? I had my upper jaw moved forward and it feels worse after. But I am only like 3 weeks post op.