Increased Somatic Tinnitus — I Can Make It Go Away by Moving My Neck

Hi guys,

First of all, I'm thankful for this forum and everyone here. I'm a 23F and I remember exactly how my tinnitus started. I was driving in my car in Feb, 2018 when all of a sudden my left ear went numb and a bit deaf.

2 days later the numbness and loss of hearing went away and instead, I started hearing this static buzzing noise. I noticed that I can make it go away with certain forceful positions of my neck. For example, if I push my head to the right, the tinnitus goes away. I wasn't too alarmed but I went to the ENT and they said it was tinnitus and there is nothing they can do about it.

Anyway, I kind of just managed to ignore it and lived a super normal life until this Feb, 2019. Exactly 2 weeks ago, my tinnitus got so loud it became overwhelming. I have been panicking, not been able to sleep, and the fact that I'm in grad school is really not helping anything.

Why did my tinnitus get louder? I have no idea.

What have I done about it? Throughout these past 2 weeks, I've seen an ENT, audiologist, chiropractor, TMJ specialist, acupuncturist, and I've started physical therapy. Nothing seems to be helping and I'm really worried that if it got louder once, it can get even louder than this.

Anyway, my hearing is great, there is no damage whatsoever. I can make the tinnitus go away in several positions of my neck, which the physical therapist said was strange because normally people who have somatic tinnitus increase their tinnitus with head movement, not decrease it. Another strange thing is that when I stick my fingers in my mouth and I push up on the roof of my mouth (palate), the tinnitus goes away. The tinnitus always return when I release pressing. Same thing for my neck, when I stop forcing my head in certain directions, the tinnitus returns immediately. Moving my jaw does not cause any change in my tinnitus.

Apart form being a student, I have worked as a waitress and I have carried really heavy trays on my right side. Sometimes around 40 pounds. I'm thinking maybe that can have something to do with my tinnitus?

Also, I'm 5'4 and 105 pounds so that was a lot of weight I placed on my body for 7 years (I've been carrying trays for 7 years).

Does anyone have a similar situation or any experience with somatic tinnitus?

 

I have not had such an experience, my T gets to a higher pitch when I yawn/sneeze, move my head to the very right/left, lift head from pillow, bend down to get something from the floor. Sorry I am no help on this.

Did you notice any temporary relief after seeing the acupuncturist or chiropractor? Why did you see the TMJ specialist? Thanks

 

Was the TMJ Specialist a dentist? It does seem odd that it gets quieter, my father has this type but it gets louder when he does what you describe.

 

@Greg Sacramento

 

Hey, I saw a TMJ specialist to see if I had a TMJ dysfunction and he said I do but it’s mild and my tinnitus doesn’t change from jaw movements at all. No treatment has helped so far ...

 

Yeah, I’m seeing a physical therapist who specializes in this and he said he has never seen it go away from neck movements. I must have a peculiar case ...

Ps. I saw a TMJ specialist who was a dentist/oral surgeon

 

There are professional articles that explain all conditions that you mentioned above and some conditional factors that may connect by systems(s) traveling association.

I have three questions. Do you have thick salvia? Is your throat sore and do you sometimes have a small problem swallowing? Have you had complete blood work done to check white blood count and thyroid? I seriously doubt thyroid complications other than maybe some enlargement.

Possible association. When you stick your fingers in mouth and push on palate, tinnitus goes away is key.

1. Thyroid
2. Dental - teeth nerve conditions
3. Neck with focus on sternocleidomastoids and C1 and C2.

Your neck - reduction of T - most likely because of a sternocleidomastoid muscle reaction to either tooth mouth trauma and/or thyroid. Your sternocleidomastoids are probably weak and unbalanced from side to side by walking with heavy trays on right side. So now this these muscles become involved with influence, but the oral cavity is most likely cause.

I would consider discussing with your doctor for a neck X Ray and standing MRIs of mouth and neck. MRIs unfortunately are loud and that needed to be considered.

 

Somatic tinnitus is hardly understood and even most tinnitus experts doubt that "such a thing" even exists.

Almost all tinnitus experts today have the following theory: sound trauma, hair cell damage, hearing loss and as a result a phantom sound with which the brain tries to compensate for the missing input...
This theory may be true for 25%, 50% or 75% of those affected.

And for 25%, 50% or 75 it just isn't right.....

 

Thank you for your very knowledgeable response. To answer your questions, my saliva is not think, I don’t have trouble/pain swallowing, my throat is not sore, and I have not had any blood work done in the past 2 years.

It is interesting that you think the oral cavity can be the cause. I have had all 4 wisdom teeth (impacted) removed within the span of the past 2 years but everything seemed to go smoothly. I even thought removing my top 2 wisdom teeth this past summer might make the tinnitus go away but it didn’t.

Im terms of my neck, there are about 5-6 positions that make the tinnitus go away. That led me to believe that it’s a neck problem. However, the whole “making my tinnitus go away by pressing up on my palate” thing really throws me off. The PT didn’t have an explanation for that either.

Also, I’m 5’4 and weigh about 105lb but I eat quite normally. Fast metabolism runs in the family and I’ve always wondered if this has any effect on/from my thyroid...

Ps. Can you please give me your opinion on getting an X-ray on my neck versus an MRI?

 

@Greg Sacramento I replied to your comment but I’m new to this forum and I’m not sure if I have to tag you!

 

Hi @M.K. From research - most is copied. A hyper sensibility of the reflex, including the mandibular nerve, is often assumed from wisdom teeth removal - hidden toxicity. With this is the suggestion that the contraction of the levator veli palatini muscle may induce variation of the pressure to the palate. Pressure to the soft palate can decrease tinnitus temporary. It distally inserts itself on the posterior aspect of the lamina of the thyroid cartilage of the larynx.

The palate is innervated by the pharyngeal plexus which takes its motor fibers from the vagus nerve (CN X) and the cranial portion of the accessory nerve (CN XI). The vagus nerve sends sensory information to the accessory nerve with help from neck muscles. The sternocleidomastoid and these muscles.
Scalenes, Trapezius, Semispinalis Capitis, Semispinalis, Cervicis Splenius, Suboccipital, Levator Scapulae
Fast metabolism does comes up in research.


Not really sure how to tie this case study research together. 200 cases reported with tinnitus, but there could be actual thousands.

Maybe a white blood count for oral infection and thyroid. At most would be enlargement of thyroid, not serious at all. Fast metabolism does come up in research.

PT for neck muscles mentioned above.

 

Hi @Greg Sacramento, thanks again for your information. I found something very interesting today that I wanted to share with you. I did some exercises last night and I noticed that when I push up on my palate with my fingers while in a sitting up position, my neck muscles activate and that what actually makes the tinnitus go away. I found that out by laying flat on the floor and pressing up on my palate, while my neck is completely relaxed and using no support whatsoever and the tinnitus didn’t decrease at all. My head just kept tilting back with no change in tinnitus. The moment I engage my neck muscles to keep my head straight while I press up on my palate, that’s when the tinnitus goes away.

What do you think?

 

Hi M.K. I have visited dental sites where dentist have discussions. There's thousands of postings and one dentist did mention what you describe. Physical therapists are not usually able to place interactions of neck and oral mouth together. I took interest in what this dentist said because I have a sore palate from deep hidden oral infection and also neck problems. Most of my neck problems relate to other things, but many of my problems relate to dental treatment trauma. Many times neck problems can only be discovered from an upright Fonar MRI.

I'm not sure what is wrong with your neck and what caused the neck problems. Posture and degenerative disease often plays a role. A straighten c spine can cause problems.

Getting back to this dentist. He said to check for hidden oral infection and to also check the sternocleidomastoids for tension and imbalance. It can be an open two way highway between these muscles and oral, facial, eyes and anything above the shoulders. The sternocleidomastoids can store infection as receivers or senders to other places. Most biology problems above the shoulders can travel to other places. There are also many places below the shoulders such as the complete spinal cord, acid reflex, heart, kidneys and lungs that can have input. The thyroid is under estimated as said by many researchers. I have flow charted hundreds of interacting conditions in relation to tinnitus.

What treatments should you get? Suggestions to discuss with doctors.
A complete blood panel.
X Ray of neck. Complete PT exams of neck muscles including the SCM and posture.
Then: Dental exam.
If X Ray of neck shows problems, then a standing Fonar MRI.
Ultrasounds and other tests may not be needed.

http://www.fonar.com/news/031308.htm
All with neck/physical tinnitus should read this - regardless of particular problem discussed.
Fonar uprights may be needed to fully discover any physical associated trauma problem.

 

Hi @M.K. -- You may want to check this out.

Tinnitus, TMJ, Headaches, Neck Pain, Facial Pain, etc. — Possible Treatment
...@Sjtof, Did you ever follow through with your interest in Atlasprofilax? Just ran across these video testimonials on how it worked for three...
Post by: Lane, May 1, 2018 in forum: Alternative Treatments and Research

 

@Lane I was looking at that post the other day. Is atlasprofilax similar to NUCCA?

 

Hi @M.K. -- AtlasPROfilax is actually quite different than NUCCA, and is generally considered to be a one-time treatment. AP practitioners prefer to use the word "repositioning" the atlas when referring to what they actually do. It was explained to me that repositioning the atlas is somewhat akin to moving a boulder. Not particularly easy to "position" into place, but once it's done, it's fairly difficult for it to move back out of place. Apparently, this is totally different from a chiropractic technique, which may manipulate or adjust the atlas, but doesn't reposition it. Thus, there's an easy tendency for a chiropractic atlas adjustment to not hold, because the atlas stays in it's misaligned position.

There's never any kind of "pop" when doing the AP as there often is with Chiropractic. Brief Description: A small vibrating tool with a soft felt cover is gently pressed up against the atlas (behind the ear). It normally takes a few minutes of methodical vibrating and gentle pressure to finally allow the atlas (and associated ligaments) to "let go" of their chronic position. It's apparently fairly easy for AP practitioners to detect when this "letting go" occurs and the atlas slides back into place. There's apparently two "pins" in the skull area that then keep it locked into place.

I feel the AP repositioning is actually far safer than traditional chiropractic "popping" techniques, and more effective than the gentle NUCCA techniques (I did NUCCA for many years, getting relief, but always needing regular adjustments). I'm not criticizing these techniques, because they do work. They just didn't work for me longer term. I should add however, that AP didn't "cure" all my structural ailments. I still continue to look for various techniques to address and help stabilize my structural issues. Nasal Specific and Egoscue techniques are high on my list of things that have helped me considerably.

I decided to do the AP realizing it may do nothing for me, but felt the risk of not trying it was greater than the risk of paying $250 for something that may very well help me. --- Over a period of several decades, I spent thousands of dollars for various kinds of chiropractic and physical therapy for chronic neck and back pain. The AP ended up doing far more for me than all this other care put together. So in my case, the one-time fee of $250 feels like a relative bargain price.

This 7-MIN video--Video: The AtlasPROfilax® method (English version, March 2012)--has some very good visuals (no audio) on the whole upper neck area, including the atlas and the axis, the first two cervical vertebrae.

This 9-MIN video--About the Atlas Orthogonal Procedure--describes the kind of specialized chiropractic care I received for many years, and which gave me a lot of temporary relief. I'd say it was the 2nd most effective thing that worked to alleviate many of my symptoms to some degree. This video also has some very good visuals, and I think gives more comprehensive perspectives than the Atlas Profilax video.

@Greg Sacramento

 

I'm noticing increased somatic tinnitus (e.g., while doing face massage, smiling, backward stretch) and reactive tinnitus (e.g., when talking or clapping hands, maybe vent sound). If I jump up and down, I get high pitched pulsatile T. Anything I should do before it gets worse?

Are there any exercises that help somatic tinnitus? Will yoga make it worse?

Do most people with somatic tinnitus have success finding trigger points and thus lessening the symptoms? I have not found points where the T goes away though.

 

@Greg Sacramento I'm going to a massage therapist. I have trouble turning my neck to the left and touching my ear to my shoulder (right isn't as bad). What should I have the massage therapist focus on? Also how long does it take for these muscles to heal, or other things like nerves, etc?

 

Do you have like a kink in the back of your neck? Like by your occiput, where you have to look up to crack it?? That's me.

 

I have something very similar. Had an MRI which showed nothing. If I open my jaw wide it almost goes away. If I swallow it come stronger. If I put my head down as far as possible it goes away. I think it’s jaw/neck related. I do grind my teeth sometimes.

 

Hi @Dc schneider, that’s interesting. It could be from your Tmj. Do you have problems with it?

Also, I read your initial post. How loud is your tinnitus now?

 

Hey Gstar, I'm in a very similar boat to you. I developed PT literally the week of lockdown! I'm based in London and literally have been ringing the doctor on a weekly basis.

I'm waiting for an ENT appointment in August and so far have been sent for an MRI which scanned just my ear. I've asked what else can be done and my GP is saying nothing until the MRI.
Seems like you've been able to get other tests done, how did you manage that?

For the record the only reason why my GP sent me for an MRI was because I had a private consultation with an ENT specialist on Zoom who referred me for an MRI.