Hey! Tinnitus Increased a Month Ago — Original Cause Unknown (Noise/ETD/TMJ/Ototoxicity...)

Hello everyone,

Been lurking in here for a month so I guess it's time to introduce myself.
First of all excuse my poor English, but hey... I'm French and everyone knows that us, "frenchies" are more than crappy when they try to speak foreign languages...

I've been "dealing" with tinnitus for about 15 years: very mild, nothing more than an annoyance when it started and nothing more than nothing a couple of months later. The cause of the initial onset is unknown: it could have been anything.
- Noise? Maybe, I was playing drums in several rock/metal bands. The fact is that drumsticks were out of my hands for nearly a year when the ringing started. I'm sure my ears have been "fragilized" a bit by all those gigs so...
- ETD/TMJ? Maybe. Since the initial onset I had this sensation of fullness and all those popping, cracking noises that a lot of us, tinnitus sufferers, have when swallowing. Concerning TMJ, if I want to open my mouth, I'm obliged to "slide" my jaw to the right until I feel a "crack" then ONLY I'm able to open it "wide" (not sure this is clear).
- Ototoxicity? Maybe. I have a hiatal hernia and I swallowed PPI like candies for years.

That said, what brought me here is the new permanent (I soooooooooooo hope not) spike that occurred a month ago, "just like this", and turned a happy 45 years old man into a f.......g wreck trying not to drown.

Well, that said, glad I found this place.

 

You do seem to have something wrong with the jaw if you have that kind of problem with the jaw movement. So the first thing is probably to see a TMJ specialist to get an opinion. Have you done that yet?

 

Thanks for reply,

I've already tried it years ago, on my initial onset but it didn't improve things what so ever. And, as said that was a tiny tiny T so I gave up.

That time indeed I guess It will be my next move but finding a TMJ specialist is not that simple.

 

Hello from Brazil! I hope your tinnitus has returned to "normal".
I am experiencing something similar, I have lived with tinnitus for three years. At first it was very difficult, I thought I was going to go crazy. Gradually I was adapting and things returned to normal. I have a tmj problem, which I do not know if it is one of the causes and I have always heard music at high volumes which seems to be the cause. Anyway, since the problem arose I stopped the music and everything was fine.
Until last month, I had a peak from nowhere, this week plus one and yesterday another.
Suddenly that whole nightmare came back.
I can't find an explanation, maybe stress?
I just hope it stabilizes again.
I also apologize for my rusty English.

 

So, I'm almost at the one year mark. Last week, I told myself that, even it was not "perfect", I would write a, kinda, "success story" (in a @Lurius style).

But I forgot that this fucking tinnitus beast is ALWAYS lurking in the shadows, ready to tear you apart...

For a week now, my tinnitus is all over the place. My days are rough and my nights are awful. Last night, I had to rely on Valium to sleep, I didn't touch that fucking bottle in months...

So, happy birthday to me. I guess it's rince and repeat; back to square one.

Sorry guys, useless post but I needed to vent a bit.

 

Hello @Tatsopa,

I think I can relate, unfortunately. I've had quite good days in the previous months, once in a while. Tinnitus not gone but at a level that I thought "I wouldn't mind if it stayed that way." Alas, it never does stay that way. Back to square one has become a way of life it seems.

If you don't mind me asking, precisely what kind of heresy did you commit?

 

Very sorry for your setback. Did something specific trigger your worsening?

 

Ha, just being on vacation for a week. No loud sound, no particular stress, no diet change, no NOTHING. Just sitting on the couch playing video games, watching TV and being outdoors fishing. So heresy ? Yeah, maybe laziness then

Nope, absolutely nothing and that's the more terrifying thing. I can't say that knowing the underlying cause would improve my wellbeing but not knowing what is actually happening is awful.

 

Oh dear. It seems I was being misunderstood and I apologize for being incomprehensible. I was intrigued by your Avatar and was wondering what made you choose a picture of Giordano Bruno.

 

Haha no need to apologize I thought you were refering to my nickname (reverse of Apostat in French, Apostate in English?)

I surely had my share of heresies so...

I could spend days speaking of Giordano Bruno but it's surely not the proper place to do that.

 

I must admit I didn't recognize that.

Why, it's the proper place to introduce yourself. I think it is absolutely appropriate and on topic to explain why someone is a hero to you.