How Do I Help Myself Find the Cause?

My biggest wish currently, is that i will find out how i got my T.

My own idea is that i have some sort of TMJ issue, my symptoms is:

Tinnitus in left ear (Low-medium, rarely high-pitched) - very rarely in right ear.
Clicking when i move my jaw and chew
can be a little sore in the sides of my jaw under the ears.

The reason why i ask for opinions here, is that im going to my GP tomorrow and i got an appointment with an ENT in a little under 3 weeks.

What could i ask my GP and/or ENT for? who should i ask to go to for inspecting my jaw.. can a normal dentist help me here and maybe send me to a specialist? i would very much appreciate people with TMJ issues, who they went to at first..

I've already been to an ENT, but that was a very fast visit because it was holiday time, but the next ENT im going to is gonna take me into a longer test of my ears.

Thank you guys!

 

Many of us are like 'detectives' in the beginning of T onset. I know I was... maybe still are a little. However, in hindsight I would advice NOT to get obsessed about trying to find out the cause of T. The are two reasons:

1. T is still a great mystery and VERY hard to diagnose
2. Obsession with T makes it practically impossible or very hard to habituate

 

Christain_B
At the risk of sounding like a 'nay-sayer', I have to agree with @Sound Wave ; the auditory system is so complex (not to mention final perception of sound) that spending mental/emotional energy in that direction holds great potential to derail habituation. However, if I were totally transparent I must admit I am always curious about the cause of mine; furthermore, it is wise to 'check the basics' -- TMJ, chiropractic, head/neck MRI, blood work. Beyond that, it wouldn't surprise me if T wasn't one of the most elusive ailments on the planet; it has baffled and drained the resources from many.

I would simply tell the Dr what you just shared with us; then check with your dentist regarding TMJ. I would also ready yourself for a fairly unimpressive, flat response. You may need to press them for MRI and blood work. The fact is, none of them really know what to do about T; the medical community doesn't even have a working definition of T (much less any protocols).

I would suggest working with a good audiologist; one that has experience with T.

Don't let me discourage you, habituation is highly likely in your future; I just remember my first months of T, the urgency and angst I felt was like being lit on fire (no one can put it out fast enough -- I just wanted it to be gone and cured). Like I say, habituation is very likely for you -- hang in there.

Until then...prayers!

Mark

 

Hi @Christian_B, totally agree with the above two posters.

And let me add another reason, along with the others above, that its not a good idea to doggedly pursue your cause, something I did for my first three months:

It can cost you a heck of a lot of money trying to chase down an answer you may never find. And even if you do, as I finally (more or less did), it doesn't matter. You still have tinnitus and there still is no cure. Far better to spend your time and energy on good management treatments.

Rule out the few "fixable" things, like tumors or growths on the auditory nerve, severe ear infections that still are treatable, ear wax, TMJ. Some brain scans, blood work and a good dentist specializing in TMJ and bite alignment will take care of this.

Sorry about earlier post. Realized I addressed it to the wrong person!

 

I don't agree at all, husband of my mother's friend had tinnitus for 2 years while working on a ship, also another crewmate got tinnitus and they both tought they were flipping out and once their ship removed a machine that was broken but still used they both lose their tinnitus after a few months, it seems like that machine was making some weird field that influenced them.

Another person, a german had idiopathic tinnitus and he scanned every single thing in his head and finally he found a tiny inflammation in one of his teeth and once he removed the tooth his tinnitus stopped.

Many people find out that exactly SOMETHING is causing their tinnitus, for some it is diet, for some it is drugs, for some it is stress and so on. I know of a woman that had tinnitus while she was working, than when she quit her job after a few months tinnitus stopped, after she got employed again she got tinnitus again, seems she cannot handle it.

Now unlike most of the people who have noise or toxic tinnitus you have not found out what caused yours, no reason to just lie to yourself that you CANNOT or SHOULD NOT "waste time" finding out wtf is messing up your brain health!

 

I agree that fixating on the cause of tinnitus can slow habituation but I also disagree that you shouldn't pursue any avenues you can to try and cure yourself ... at least early on. To me it's part of the healing process. You can't give in and accept it until you have tried everything you can to rid yourself of it.

Curable tinnitus is very rare but it does happen. Generally there's a checklist of things you can run down through various doctors... your GP, ENT/audiologist, and a TMJD specialist.

1) Blood testing - Magnesium, B-vitamins, a few others can cause tinnitus when low. Thyroid problems can also be detected in blood testing and can cause tinnitus. I know there's probably a guide around here on exactly what to look for and ask your doctor to check for. This is something your GP or ENT can do.

2) ENT/audiologist - check your Eustachian tubes for proper functioning. Maybe your sinuses aren't draining properly either. Also make sure you have a hearing test done that goes above the normal 2-8khz range. They can also do some tests to see if an Acoustic Neuroma is likely but given what you say that would be a huge long shot... not something you really want anyway but not something you should exclude right away with 1 sided tinnitus.

The audiogram can maybe tell you if you have hearing loss related tinnitus or point to some clues for you. The ENT I saw told me that hearing loss from noise usually presents in the 4khz range. I have slight loss in the 8khz range and when I asked if that was indicative of how ototoxic hearing loss presents she said yes. Though I haven't seen the latter confirmed anywhere.

3) TMJD specialist. Dentist's can't really help you here... you really need a specialist. They will perform an exam, take some CT scans possibly, and go from there. If you have clicking when you move your jaw, a popping when you open widely, or pain in the neck or facial area then TMJD is a strong possibility.

I was recently diagnosed with it though I've had tinnitus forever. I'm not sure if it's related to the ringing and neither is the doctor but at the end of the day she basically told me that it couldn't hurt to try and fix it and see what happens with the ringing.


These are the 3 main leads you should run down in no specific order. The TMJD stuff is kind of controversial around here... there's a big thread in one of the treatment sections and a lot of people haven't been helped by traditional solutions.

Hopefully you can run these down and find something. And if not, maybe then you can let go easier.

 

Thanks everyone for your opinions and answers. I'm actually doing pretty ok with the habituation, i'm not feeling as bad as the first weeks of my T. That doesn't mean tho that i won't like to find my reason for my T.

About the TMJ/TMJD issues, should i go to a dentist first and they should be able to tell me about a specialist? i went to my GP yesterday and said i might had something with my jaw, and i could see she didn't know anything at all about T.

I just feel to little GP's know anything about T. i hope my ENT can tell me to go with my jaw, i can't seem to find the exact name for the TMJ specialist on Danish.

 

Personally for myself I found that finding (fairly easy for me) and then treating the cause doesn't get you anywhere.

Even if you find the cause chances are treating it will not cure T.

So I will agree with Sound Wave on this one.

 

That's is something that also bugs me a lot. I understand that the best would be go straight to habituation mode which I did after 2 weeks. I can sleep now and I feel like I easily and pretty fast habituated but the fact that I don't know the cause of my T still bugs me. And the fact that when I go to sleep with some crazy sound pisses me off. For me there are two possible causes: tooth work or listening to music. Until my tooth does not feel right I will always think that the problem lies there. It seems like getting your bite right is an art and can take lots of time and frustration. I had to switch dentist as my original dentist knows s about the bite. Sometimes I feel like T is just an outcome of being exposed to bad doctor.