I'm a Newbie Looking for Advice

So, long story short, I was diagnosed with TMJ at the beginning of August. I began seeing a dentist who specialized in TMJ, and was made a repositioning splint to wear on my lower teeth (to bring my jaw slightly forward and stop joint clicking).

Well, I had developed tinnitus within a couple of days of wearing it, very mild and only in left ear. I was reluctant to wear it at this point for fear it would cause worsening of tinnitus, so I ended up switching to a more reputable doctor a little bit further away. He made me a new orthotic, and within two days after wearing that one, same issue. Tinnitus increased in my left ear and started in the right. I stopped wearing it all together and haven't been for about a month now, but my tinnitus is still getting worse.

Initially, it was just a high pitch ringing (low in volume), but now my ear seems to be reacting to certain sounds with an almost beeping type of tone, but also kind of similar to what you would hear if someone wet their finger and ran it around the rim of a glass. It's not loud by any means, and I can tune it out if I'm engaged in other activists (usually), but I just don't understand how to "label" what I'm describing.

I've read about hyperacusis but I'm not sure that's what I'm experiencing because it isn't dreadful, just noticeable. If I go in a quiet room I usually can't hear the beeping sounds, but if I'm in a room with just enough noise it seems as if my ear is almost trying to match certain frequencies around me.

Can anyone offer any advice about this?

And does anyone have any thoughts about whether the mouth guard/splint is truly to blame for the onset of my tinnitus, especially since it's only continued to get worse since I've started using it?

I want to believe it will help me, but as an anxious and controlling individual, fear is driving my decision making and I'm very reluctant to use it. Even though it DOES help with my jaw issues, which are likely the culprit in all of this. I have mild/moderate TMJ and was told there was a chance the use of the orthotic could even relieve my symptoms of tinnitus, not a guarantee, but at least 50% of his patients had it decrease or resolve completely after treatment.

I'm stumped and just so anxious about what to do.

Thanks in advance for any support/advice!

 

@Amanda Stedman The beeping description of finger going around a glass is somatic tinnitus. TMJ is somatic in nature. It hard to say in reference to the mouth guard. It could have been badly made. It could be pressing against a filling. Your jaw may be shifting so the guard is placing unbalanced pressure on certain teeth. Lifting while clenching teeth can worsen TMJ. Clenching while not wearing guard. Clenching while wearing the guard.

TMJ is caused by neck trauma about half the time, so maybe it's not the guard, but some imbalance in your neck. Neck problems can be muscle, spine or nerve related. Often it includes muscle spasms.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporomandibular_joint_dysfunction