How, When and Why Did My Tinnitus Start?

I'm hoping maybe someone on here can offer some suggestions or be able to pinpoint something and answer my questions. My T started in September 2013. About a month before this, I was haring every sound amplified. So much so, it disrupted my sleeping patterns. Disrupted sleeping patterns, eventually lead to 4-5 days of insomia. I did not have the T before the insomnia, nor did I have it the first few days of it.

I recall, during this time of insomnia, I had to get a deep drilling done on a bottom tooth. Sometime after the temporary filling was put in (because it was discovered the tooth needed a root canal), I was trying to fall asleep and something weird happened. My teeth clenched together, my right ear felt like it just "shut" on me and I had a few flashes of light in my head. I notice the ringing in the ear then. Obviously, I was not exposed to any loud noises.

Since then, the T got "worse". At times, it spikes... and the ears itch, and it actually messes with my head too as I get all foggy.

So, my questions are this:

1.) Could I have an ear virus that is causing this and no ENT has noticed it for this long?
2.) Is there any possibility that I have an aneurysm in my head? (MRI 2 months earlier didn't show anything, I was having head issues then).
3.) Could I have had a tiny stroke or seizure that caused this? Who should I see for this?
4.) Since the teeth clenching, I have not been able to stop with it at night. Could TMJ be the issue?

Thanks!

 

TMJ is definitely possible. My T started after heavy-duty dental work: 2 crowns in my lower left jaw. I went to an orthodontist later and had x-rays; he said the jaw joint is really close to the ear canal and can affect the auditory nerves with T as a result. He recommended jaw splint therapy to move my jaw forward, but after investigating this and seeing it probably wouldn't help while costing thousands of dollars, I decided to wait and hope the T would go away on it's own. Well, it hasn't gone away but it has gotten better and I feel I'm habituating. Do you clench your teeth when you're sleeping? You can get a stationary splint from the dentist to stop the clenching and that might help.

 

@DebS Happy to read a good story. habituation is a miracle. Do you know how you did it?

 

Hi deb, i fell 3 months ago hit my head and badly bruised my right chin and jaw. The next day i was unable to eat as my jaw was very swollen. Since then i have had unilateral tinnitus in my right ear. The doctors think its from a head injury (concussion)but i am beginning to think it has something to do with my right jaw slamming up with the mandible since this would explain 1 ear only.

I believe this as my hearing tests are excellent at all levels and my inner ear hairs are present. Thus my tinnitus is not tied to hearing loss. Its a great mystery so if you have insight please let me know.


Any input/advice? Thank you so much.

 

hi Deb, interesting story there too. I had 2 crowns on my lower right and ironically, my right ear is affected the most. I actually just got a good nightguard from my dentist last week since I do still clench at night. I've been reluctant to use it though because it's so tight but may give it a shot again to see if it helps any.

 

Verrrrry interesting. My T started in the left ear, same side as the new crowns. Let me know if the nightguard helps any!

 

Well, I'm not quite there yet, but the one thing that's helped me the most is the passage of time which is leading to acceptance. Over the last 8 months, I've tried massage therapy, went to a chiropractor, consulted an orthodontist, changed my diet, took lots of different vitamins, etc. And while I don't think any of those helped the T much, I think they helped me psychologically because I was taking action to fight the T and that helped me cope. I think when something bad happens to us, we want to "fix" it ASAP, but it's not always possible. I've gotten to the point where I don't let the T interfere that much with my life. I eat & drink what I want, go out and enjoy movies & music (but still use earplugs if necessary), and stay up late reading. I don't use any masking at night anymore, but I do like music playing in the background during the day. I've stopped talking about the T to my family and friends, and if they ask about it I just say "oh, it is what it is." I still have bad days and good days, but at least the bad days don't get me down anymore. I just find I'm more "annoyed" on bad T days, and sometimes I literally tell the T to "shut up already!" But then I get busy with something which helps push it to the back. One other thing; I use to be on this site several times a day, but now I only visit once or twice a week. How about you? Have you habituated?

 

Hi Deb! Well, I've only been using it for a week now but will see where and if there are improvements. I am pretty sure it's TMJ related because it seems like there are some issues with the neck. Some days good, some days bad. Recently more good days than bad (very difficult to sit in theaters and events with a bad neck too, which feels too weak to support my head). I too went to all these different places, to no avail. Also tried the same stuff as you with diet, exercise, vitamins, etc. I may try a prosthodonist next to see if it helps and if he can make any adjustments to crowns and such. They are supposed to be perfectionists at that. I did notice my T was less severe while on vacation, so being less stressed did help

Oh and don't you just hate the answer people give you? "oh it is what it is". Yea, right! If they had it, they would be going nuts. They definitely don't understand.

 

Hey @DebS: My tinnitus came on a year ago this month; I agree with you completely. I also have tried different stuff: vitamins, CBT (which really did help with the anxiety that came with my T, plus with the acceptance), acupuncture (maybe helped in a little in the beginning then not any more). I basically am where you are at, which I consider "almost" habituation. I am doing Neuromonics, however, so I am listening to that device every day. I probably will explore a few more things when Neuromonics is over in December, depending on how I feel. But I would not try anything as radical as stem cell therapy; I can't afford it, for one, and my tinnitus no longer bothers me to the point that I would try something that extreme. But do I wish it would go away? Sure, although I have accepted that it probably never will.

I wanted to mention to @luckyman316: I am the survivor of a cerebral hemorrhage from an undiagnosed brain aneurysm. So if for some reason you really think you might have an aneurysm, you want to get it checked out. They are fatal if they rupture the vast majority of the time. I just was very, very lucky.

An MRI or CT might not show an aneurysm. You need a MRA: a magnetic resonance angiogram. Typical aneurysm symptoms would be very severe migraine-like headaches, spasms in the muscles surrounding your eyes, blurry vision. But often, there are no symptoms prior to rupture. http://www.bafound.org/warning-signs-symptoms. And tinnitus is not a symptom.

Neurologists are the people who take care of aneurysms, as well as seizures or strokes. But signs of a stroke should show up on your MRI. Also, with a stroke you might notice issues with speech or muddled thinking.

Having said all this, I don't want to scare you. Honestly, sounds to me like you have TMJ or dental issues that are causing your problems. I just am hyper-vigilant about aneurysms as I DID have symptoms and still went undiagnosed by my doctors.