Hello! Tinnitus for 4 Months: It Started When I Turned My Head/Neck to the Right

27-year-old male first time posting in a forum so hope I’m doing this right (tinnitus has got me trying all types of new stuff).

I have had tinnitus for about 4 months now. It started with me turning my head/neck to the right and experienced very brief dizziness for a short time (2 minutes) twice in a day. Over the next few days I had muffled/full ear feeling and hearing on off and only last seconds. 3 days later I woke up with tinnitus and it’s been here in my right ear ever since. I have experienced neck and jaw muscle ache along with this and also ear fullness a lot of the time but no more balance issues. My left ear very occasionally ‘pops’ into tinnitus and lasts for like 30 seconds before fading back to normal.

Other relevant background information:

I work in loud environment but always have hearing protection.
I have semi regular hearing tests and never an issue.
I use a helicopter to travel to work 7 times a year.
I used to regularly use ear buds.
I occasionally used to turn my ears towards the shower water to blast my outer ear with water (bad I know) I didn’t realise it was bad.
Running water makes my tinnitus intensity go through the roof for a few minutes after hearing it.

I’ve seen 2 ENTs both who confirms it sounds like an ‘inner ear upset’ and may or may not go away which seems to be a common theme with ENTs and I’ve had 2 hearing tests and they confirm my right ear (affected ear) has experienced some hearing loss but I am still classed as category 1 hearing.

Going to get my bloods taken by GP tomorrow to check for other stuff like low levels and also going to see dentist the day after to have a look at grinding/ and maybe wisdom teeth?

Anxiety has been through the roof during all of this and looking for similar stories or advice or I don’t really know!

Hope this finds you well people of the tinnitus world.

 

Hey there! It sounds like more of an issue with the neck/jaw than an issue with the ear.

I have the same issue. I used to use headphones all the time but I am only 20 and haven't been doing it for long or very loud.

I also just woke up one day with tinnitus in my right ear. All the ENTs I saw were clueless as well because my hearing is fine besides the slightest bit worse in my right (the right is where the tinnitus started and is much louder, now I have quieter tinnitus in the left but it definitely is there), my eardrum is normal, and my ears look great inside. They also thought it was a problem with the ear but quickly realized it wasn't. I saw a dentist who said she did not see many symptoms of TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder/dysfunction, look into it because it could be a possibility for you).

Your dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon like mine did. They took an x-ray and found signs of clenching on the right side of my jaw. That, as well as wisdom teeth that need to be removed badly, may be causing all of this. I shared more than needed, but I want you to know that you may have the same experience as me.

Let me know what your dentist says when you see them!

I hope you can get everything figured out and I wish you the best on your tinnitus journey <3 Everything will be ok and will get better! If you need anything, feel free to private message me for more info or just someone to talk to. I know how hard this can be.