I Need Some Advice or Guidance — Possible TMJ? Upper Cervical Chiropractor Experiences?

I posted a thread a while back about an increase in tinnitus randomly overnight. I have been to an ENT who did a hearing test and my right ear hearing has gotten a little worse since my last hearing test seven years ago when I first got tinnitus in my left ear. Overall, I have good hearing with some high frequency loss. His response was "that is just tinnitus". My tinnitus is still in my left ear. The strange part is that I generally sleep on my right side at night and when I wake in the morning my tinnitus is more evident in my right ear and pulsates with my heartbeat. A few hours after waking my tinnitus goes back to my left ear as it has normally been. I have had a MRI and a CT scan and both were negative.

The other strange part is that when I chew or open my mouth my tinnitus increases. This never happened before. It would change if I would push strongly on my front teeth or clenched my jaw. My tinnitus seems to fluctuate when I walk just from the up and down movement of my head. Up until this last uptick about 9 weeks ago I could exercise on a recumbent bike or work out on the elliptical, but now it is this strange up and down sound of my tinnitus when doing anything strenuous. I has caused me to not want to do any exercise.

I am not sure what to do at this point. ENT's have been no help to me. I am going to a Tinnitus clinic to have a consultation with an audiologist in a few weeks. I have thought about maybe talking to my GP about seeing a neurologist or something along those lines. I had a very bad neck and the chiropractor did some adjustments on me and it didn't seem to help at all.

The only real variables I have to go on is that a week before this started I had some extreme neck and shoulder pain on my right side about a week before this new spike started or the night before this started I bit down on something rather hard and it really threw my jaw out of wack, but I didn't have any pain. I do now have some jaw popping when I open my mouth since I have been yawning so much. I did see a dentist , but they took Xrays and didn't see anything related to bad teeth in the area. No noise trauma that day or recently.

I am kind of stuck on what to do. Should I see someone about possible TMJ or some people have had some luck with an upper cervical chiropractor? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I am really falling apart at this time. This one has been really tough on me. I was/am getting close to getting engaged and it feels like my relationship is starting to fall apart and that is the last thing I want.

 

I think I am going to give the upper cervical chiropractor a try. I have a phone consultation with him on Friday. I don't really have anything to lose at this point. It is a bit of a drive for me, but if I can get any relief it is worth it. I will let everyone know how it turns out.

 

Sounds familiar to me. But I have not yet been to someone to check for TMJ. Just got a biting spling for the night...

I'm curious what you will report back.

 

My strongest possible advice is to avoid having a chiropractor do anything to your neck. I learned the hard way.

 

I use a small massage ball on my TMJ jaw muscles. It really helps to loosen them up. Get one thats not to hard/not to soft and roll it around your jaw muscles. Also a larger spiked massage ball on my neck muscles.

I also use Ibuprofen gel on the jaw joint. Seems to help me a bit.

Good luck!

 

Mattv- I remember reading your thread that you had some luck with some upper cervical care. You feel now that it has gotten worse for you after the improvement?

 

Yes. I had some initial (I thought ) success. But I went one more time and had an aggressive "adjustment" to supposedly correct the atlas alignment. I immediate experienced profound hearing loss in my left ear with a different type of tinnitus. Before that I had always comforted myself that at least my left ear was unaffected...
I have zero doubt the adjustment caused it because the hearing loss was sudden and significant and has lasted ever since. I suddenly cannot recognize voices (eg. phone) in that ear.

don't risk it. I profoundly regret it and I am more informed now. I , like many others, was desperate to try anything. It was a mistake.

 

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I am at least going to go to the consultation since it is free and see what the Xrays show. I have the appointment Saturday, so I will post what I find out.

 

I think if they do gentle "adjustments", there is little risk. The popping, cracking is very satisfying psychologically, and that's why I think people think its doing something...

 

Jesus, what did they adjust exactly? Sounds like they broke your jaw or something.

 

The maneuver is called a Chrane lift.

I just think messing with your neck and the delicate muscular, nerve, and vascular structures with is more likely to cause harm than benefit and is playing with fire.

 

Well just an update on the upper cervical chiropractor. I do have some optimism at this point. He had me stand on two scales and showed my how I carry my weight which is much more pronounced on my left side. He also did several Xrays and tests and for what I think is standing up straight my entire neck and spine is tilted to the left (my main tinnitus side). Also, the back part of my neck isn't a proper S shape. I did have a few car accidents several years ago and with the combination of working at a computer most of my life and digging some window wells may have kicked this new spike off. Here's hoping! Right now I can move my tinnitus ear to ear based on neck movements or it will change ears based on what side I am sleeping on (when I actually sleep). He has yet to officially say that he can help me and I have to meet with him again on Friday evening, but maybe this can help.

I certainly don't expect to be cured of tinnitus from this, but I think maybe I can get it back to its previous level. I will keep updating this thread as I go through this if it helpful to others.

 

Just wanted to add another update. I saw a really good nurse practitioner that took the time to listen to me and actually show some sympathy for what I am going through. She ordered some tests and cleaned out my ears. My ears were very full of wax and she stated after the cleaning both ears are red and inflamed. She put me on some steroid ear drops. Also she ran a vitamin deficiency test and a Lyme's test. Everything was clear except for the Vitamin D which I am very low in. So I am now on a Vitamin regimen as well as some antidepressants(Amitriptyline) to help me sleep and offered a referral for some counseling if needed. I don't think the Vitamin D deficiency has anything to do with this new spike, but here is hoping.

I was glad to actually get into someone who cared a little but after visiting with several other doctors. I still have some home that the upper cervical chiro can help me some. I really did have some suicidal thoughts over the weekend.

 

I had my first treatment today and it was interesting. It was very light and gentle. I had to put my head on a elevated platform that collapsed as he pushed on the axis. So far no change, but it is my understanding that it takes several times to get the body to adjust to this new location so I could be right back where I was. Based on some of the science and symptoms of this recent change I think there could be something to this. Luckily my insurance is covering this, but if it didn't I would be skeptical. I will keep you guys informed as I progress through this 3 month program.

 

I just thought I'd give everyone an update. I went to a local tinnitus clinic for some help and she was very helpful and cared and wasn't just looking at making money. She suggested she could treat me with some sound therapy, but now wasn't the right time. Based on me being able to move my tinnitus from ear to ear by head and neck movements and the ability to modulate my tinnitus by pushing on the back of my neck and several facial areas she strongly suggested I see a craniosacrel therapist. I have an appointment on Wednesday so I will report back. She also suggested continuing to see the upper cervical chiropractor.

 

I had my first visit with the craniosacrel therapist and it was very interesting. She worked a lot of the muscles in my face and the back of my neck. By tilting my head side to side she is able to move my tinnitus in my "head" from the left side to the right side. It is only four visits total once a week, so I am going to continue along with the upper cervical chiro. It was rather interesting that she was able to tell that I crossed my legs and rested my jaw on my hand based on her working with my muscles. Here is to some hope I guess.

 

Sounds interesting. I have been to chraniosacral therapy once in the early days ... but he did not have a clue about tinnitus and just did a standard procedure. Seems like I need to look for someone who knows what he is doing and try again. Thank you for reporting!

 

Wow, this is scary. I had been thinking of seeing an upper cervical chiropractor lately. Now I might bail on this idea and just see if daily stretching helps.

 

I saw the upper cervical chiro this weekend and he didn't do any adjustment since I am holding my correction. Very little change in this spike yet. I have been waking up in the morning with very sensitive upper teeth. I think I might just add a oral surgeon visit into the mix. This all started the night after I bit on something and I felt something hard in my food and it rather jolted my jaw. We shall see I guess.

 

Just make sure they don't do any aggressive treatments, I've been seeing one that does the gentle adjustments and instead of 24/7 neck pain, it's really good for about 4 days.

 

I would suggest finding a good clinical massage therapist that knows how to treat head/neck issues. It has helped my a lot with my somatic tinnitus. Perhaps its just placebo, but it works for me.... My chiropractic adjustment definitely caused a problem I never had before.

 

I always tell people here that massage therapists and physiotherapists use a lot more proven scientific things, but chiropractory doesn't have much science backing it up and be wary and is bordering on quackery. Someone I knew's GF had a stroke after a session and got a 50-100k settlement. Massage therapists and Physiotherapists know how to work on backs, you don't need to call a chiro just because you have a back issue. Chiro would be my last resort and I would only do it if my family doc signed off on it. I have had a lot of success with PTs and MTs fixing an ankle issue, an achilles issue, a wrist issue, and a neck issue. They know their stuff.

I feel like the best course of action is going to doc, they recommend a physio, go to the physio, do what the physio says, and sometimes if you aren't improving with physio alone they recommend extra sessions of massage to loosen up the tight muscles (muscles often tighten around an injury). Also the physio will give you targeted exercises to strengthen the injury area so it gets better and prevents re-injury and prevent things slipping back out of place.

 

I just wanted to post my weekly update. I saw the craniosacrel therapist again this week with no real change. I will see her two more times and that option is worn out. I have an appointment again with the upper cervical chiropractor on Saturday. I still think it may have something to do with the next since I can move my tinnitus ear to ear by tilting my head side to side and I can almost make it subside by tilting my head backwards. I also made an appointment with a maxiofacial dentist to rule out TMJ.

Does anyone have a fullness feeling in their tinnitus ear? It still constantly feels like I have water in my ear. I can rub around the area of my primary tinnitus ear and it sounds like there is fluid.

 

I had my 3rd upper cervical chiropractor appointment on Saturday and I was back out of alignment. I had my adjustment and no change so far. I can really adjust my tinnitus pitch by moving my neck side to side or looking straight up so hopefully with time that adjustments will help.

 

Well today has been a horrible day. I felt some relief over the weekend, but I woke up this morning with a throbbing sensation in my head and my tinnitus is pulsating right along with it. I so wish someone could figure this out and I could get back to where I was.

 

I went to craniosacral again and she really hasn't been able to help much. I credit her in trying. She suggested trying some acupuncture. She did find that if I push against my head hard right in front of my ears I can almost make the tinnitus go away completely. Perhaps there may be something to the TMJ issue, but I have no pain. I still occasionally have sensitive teeth and a fullness feeling in my left ear. I have another appt with the upper cervical chiro tomorrow so I am going to ask him his opinion on the pushing of the face to decrease the sound and see what his thoughts are.

 

A rather rough morning today. I woke up at 5 am with head pressure and pulsating tinnitus. It has since gone back to normal stable sound. I wish this nightmare would end. I just would very much take back my baseline. I am hoping Mutebutton turns out to be what they are saying. I will probably go to Ireland if that is what it takes.

 

No adjustment this week at the chiro. I flew this week and I was a little scared about ETD but no issues on the plane. Still no change in tinnitus. I still can’t nail down the cause of this spike. No loud noises exposure. there was some stress so that is still a possibility, but the stressful situation has mostly subsided. I would guess if it was stress it should subside, but maybe I the old brain is still going to town. I am still going to keep pushing through with the chiropractor. I still have the ability to almost move the ring from ear to ear by tilting my head.

 

Just another update to my spike saga. I saw the upper cervical chiro and my atlas has been holding in place and he did his first adjustment on the C2. No real change yet.

I went to my GP to check on my vitamin D levels and get a refill on Amitryptaline and she found I have a small hole in my right ear drum. Kind of crazy she found this after seeing several ENTs and they didn't find it. I guess it is possible it could have been from flying last week. Here's hoping that is the problem. I am starting steroid ear drops today. I am going to be pretty upset if that was the issue all along and two different ENT's didn't really even look for that.

 

Just another update. I went to the Upper Cervical Chiro again and no adjustment this week, so far my adjustments have been holding. Unfortunately, there has been no change in the tinnitus. I am still working on the ear drops for a puncture in my right ear drum. I did talk to the chiropractor about my ability to almost shut off my tinnitus by bending my neck and looking straight up or by pushing very hard around my temporal bone and he still feels strongly that the neck is where this new episode is coming from.

I have an appointment with a TMJ dentist, so we will see how that goes, but I don't have pain so it may be a dead end.