Grinding Teeth in Sleep, Waking Up Feeling Tense and with Low Hum Tinnitus

It’s been a while since I posted on here. I have anxiety and panic disorder and have been experiencing low humming tinnitus off and on in my right ear for a few years. Anyway it hasn’t been bothering me for a while.

However, I woke up this morning feeling tense and I was grinding my teeth in my sleep which has caused an annoying hum which is now in my left ear. The low humming sound is constant but varies in volume and is slightly higher in frequency than the low hum I have experienced in my right ear. I am finding this very distressing.

 

Test your hearing to make sure there aren't new Hydrops.

Get on steroids if you think it will help (bad idea for Hydrops or Otosclerosis, and I would only do this in an emergency as it is a gamble) and taper off very VERY slowly, or take a short course of Zopiclone (these drugs aren't to be taken lightly).

High doses of Betahistine and Ginkgo biloba also can help with low hums from what I've been through, the higher rings will get louder but its a good tradeoff. (The hums are suicidal I know, those meds are extremely safe.)

Some people say take NAC, Magnesium or Cocoa. I think very high doses of NAC and Magnesium do actually help, but with cocoa it's hard to say (steroids would be better than cocoa) and probably not worth it.

Mask it, try to stay calm, get lots of water (might help Hydrops). Make sure you're getting enough Potassium too (bananas). It will likely pass in a couple weeks (yes weeks), or at least get quieter or more sporadic.

Depends what caused your tinnitus of course (assuming noise), but this is the general mantra if you don't know or it's ear based. Occasionally an SSRI like Remeron helps but I'd only try this as a last resort as it's a crapshoot and can make things worse (temporarily unless you've taken them for months).

• Avoid alcohol 100%.
• Avoid "high" dose aspirin (you can try a very small dose like 20 mg if you think it's a circulation/inflammation issue, if you spike it more its very likely temporary).
• Avoid any other NSAIDs.
• Avoid any ototoxic meds until it either goes away or nothing changes for months (and even then only use them in low doses if you must).

 

How did you get diagnosed with hydrops? I have on/off low hum currently in remission, which behaves kind of strange. I don't have vertigo with it. I suspect it's either ETD (Eustachian Tube Dysfunction) related or atypical MEM (Middle Ear Myoclonus), but I'm not sure about hydrops either.

Also, I'm sorry, I can relate.