I Got Tinnitus Recently, I Was Wondering If This Was Also Tensor Tympani Syndrome?

Hi,

I got tinnitus about 2-3 weeks ago now, it was a side effect from the drug Mobic (Meloxicam) [I don't advise taking it] and it hasn't gone away despite stopping the drug a week ago. The specialist I saw yesterday verified that drug causes ear damage in some people and that's almost certainly the cause of the tinnitus (and it could be permanent as the drug would have damaged the inner ear). It's worse in my left ear which I can hear all the time, the right ear I can only hear in really quiet rooms. It's not anything else like wax or infection or sinus problems.

However in addition to the tinnitus (which is bad enough) I've gotten these other symptoms around my ear (the left one, where the worse tinnitus is). I don't think they started straight away with the tinnitus, although I might just have not been aware of them because the tinnitus was more distracting, it's certainly been there for quite a while. There's a feeling a bit like something pressing against my eardrum (only slightly, and a bit like when you need to yawn/are yawning or 'pop' your ears), but there are these weird sounds, I can hear a noise when I open or close my jaw, but also kind of a clicking, spasm-ing noise somewhere in/near my ear every so often. It's too hard to tell if there's some kind of actual movement during this time. I have a feeling that unlike the tinnitus these are real noises of things moving around (ie. maybe they even make a real noise that other things might pick up as sound) . I haven't suffered any noticeable hearing loss, even in the 'bad' ear. This clicking/spasming thing seems to happen every so often (eg. once a minute) even if I don't swallow or move my jaw. It's too hard to tell exactly where it is, just it's somewhere in the vicinity of the ear, inside, where I don't know.

I don't think I have the Temporomandibular joint disorder. I even asked the specialist about that yesterday and he claimed I didn't. I didn't really say anything about the symptoms above because at the time I was more worried about the tinnitus and didn't know what else to ask about anyway. I really can't go back to the specialist again to ask about this, and the first appointment I could get for a hearing assessment (where I suppose they might investigate it) isn't till mid March. I can feel slight pain and tension in the areas next to my ear, but not enough to think that it's necessarily the cause of the problem (for example, I might not notice it if I wasn't thinking about it.)

The only good thing about this is it's actually distracting me from the tinnitus noises.

I was wondering if it might be Tensor Tympani Syndrome? It's too hard to tell from the information I've found whether these symptoms are consistent with it. That seems to be more associated with acoustic shock and getting tinnitus from a specific loud noise (rather than from damage by a medication) but I suppose the tinnitus might subconsciously stress me while I'm asleep or something? I haven't suffered any kind of balance or dizziness problem. I haven't noticed being more sensitive to sound or anything. I'm worried it means some other part of my ear was damaged, in addition to the tinnitus (which the specialist tended to think is caused by the cochlear being damaged by the medication). At first I thought it was just because I was paying attention to my ear due to the tinnitus and maybe normal sounds of ear function were just elevated as well, but it really isn't going away and it actually seems to be doing that physical thing/s, which doesn't seem normal.

Thanks

 

I know how you feel caracal. I have the same issue but haven't been able to pinpoint why that is? Have you found any soltution to your problem?

 

All I can say is that the same thing happened to me since tinnitus started, only mine was caused by noise exposure. I think these noises are a form of tinnitus but I don't know much about this. They are a minor annoyance compared to the class tinnitus hiss though so I've never been too worried about them. I also used to, and occasionally still do, a clicking sound in my head when I go running as if something is loose up there. No idea what that is either but it just goes to show that all sorts of weird and unexpected things can happen.

It doesn't sound at all time TTS to me, just a normal part of tinnitus.

 

The jaw problem went away (the tinnitus didn't). I think it took a few weeks/month.
So I don't know what caused it but I have a few hypotheses:
- A tightened jaw is supposed to be a symptom of stress and anxiety. Perhaps since your body has this new, unusual noise in your ears 24/7 your subconscious mind becomes stressed until it gets more used to it. After a while I imagine this does result in physical problems that take a bit to heal (kind of like strained muscles)
- Also, since the body perceives it as a threat, maybe it's paying more attention to that area. So any noise there is suddenly loud and monitored by your body. And paying attention to it it maybe makes it malfunction, like when you pay attention to breathing.
-For a few days I tried earplugs in case the tinnitus was being caused by exposure to some unknown noise in my house. I imagine prolonged use of earplugs might interfere with swallowing etc.

I don't know if the jaw related noises are still there, maybe my body learned to ignore them.

...Actually, just thinking about it right now I can kind of hear them again. I guess I have learned to ignore them.