Introduction — Tinnitus After a Night at a Club — Also Diagnosed with TMJD

Hi everyone!

I've been lurking for about six weeks now--ever since I got tinnitus from a night at a club. I don't club more than three times per year (yes, three times too many!) and am 23 years old. The tinnitus is pretty mild (tonal and constant) but inaudible except at night. I can mask it with my fan well enough.

At first I was pretty anxious about it. That would be an understatement--I was a mess! But I've started to think more positively. I took a short course of prednisone about 3-4 weeks after the onset.

Two days after the tinnitus started, my ear became a little painful, as is that side of my jaw/cheek. My doctor and ENT cleared me of anything sinister and suggested that it could be dental. I then went to an oral maxillofacial surgeon, who diagnosed me with TMJD. Weird coincidence or stress induced TMJD? We'll find out when I get my splint in two weeks!

What are my long term chances with the tinnitus? Is it possible that it will diminish or fade away?

Thanks!

 

Possible to recover? Yes. Possibly permanent? Yes. Join the good fight either way.

 

Thanks, @JohnAdams. Either way, this will prompt important changes in my life. I will go nowhere near clubs and concerts without proper protection.

People are not aware of how crippling this can be. And that a single acoustic trauma can cause it.

 

Did they test you for hearing loss?

 

Yep. I've had two audiograms and tympanograms since it started. Both came back normal.

The tinnitus seems to be in the left ear--the same side as the ear pain, clicking joint, ear fullness, and TMJ pain. It's very weird.

 

All tinnitus caused by loud noise means some degree of hearing loss has to exist.
http://hyperacusisfocus.org/innerear/#hiddenloss

I intentionally asked that question, just so I can show again and again that audiologist are ignorant it's well known on this forum or within tinnitus/hearing loss communities that ENT's are basically doing dis-services and that they don't keep up to date with research on hearing loss.



the inner ear is composed of sensory cells called "hair cells" and each hair cell has several ribbon synapses, during loud noise exposure the ribbon synapses attached to the hair cells die and don't come back. This causes trouble hearing speech in background noise. The tonal audiogram and speech test they give you only test for hearing loss within the human voice range and slightly above, 250-8khz,and does not test for speech in background noise or frequencies above 8hkz.

I'm not saying TMD doesn't also play a role in your tinnitus. Usually several factors are at play such as hearing loss + TMD.

 

Thanks for the info! I figured that they didn't test higher ranges. I guess that doesn't bode too well for it fading over time.

 

It can still fade even in the higher ranges. there's still hope.
one of the most important things you can do is to not make it worse. Here are my suggestions.

• never use headphones or ear buds
• I would avoid clubs and concerts even with ear protection for now. Maybe in a year. but not now. even then you are still playing with fire
• be careful of taking antibiotics unless your life depends on it, even then, ask the doc for one that it not autotoxic

 

Thanks @AnotherSean. Over the last week or so, it seems to have decreased from a pretty loud tone to a hiss. The tone comes and goes now.

Also, if anyone has muscle pain from TMJD, I highly recommend trying physio/therapeutic ultrasound. It is helping a lot.

 

Hi everyone. Thought I'd do a 12 week update:

Tinnitus:
I got my tinnitus after a nightclub. It is mild, bilateral, tonal and can only be heard in quiet rooms. It is even quieter in the mornings, but usually returns to baseline by nighttime. I have had a few days with lower baselines (ie. hissing) and no spikes, but I wouldn't say that it has decreased much yet. Not sure what to expect at this point, but I guess it's still early.

Pain:
My question for you: on top of some fluttering in my left ear and thudding clicks when I swallow, I've been experiencing weird ear, jaw and neck pain ever since the incident. I have never had jaw problems before, and doubt that my TMJ all of the sudden went haywire from a club with loud music. My oral surgeon does not suspect the joint to be the problem, but think that it could be muscular. Does anyone have experience with this after an acoustic trauma?

I don't want to spend thousands on unnecessary dental interventions and risk an MRI. Thanks!

 

If your Tinnitus was caused by loud noise then no reason to do an MRI or ear tests.
Please leave your ears alone and you will have mild T, if you keep touching it you risk of making it permanently worse. BE cautious of loud places (bars, cinema, club, concert) and (vacuum cleaner, leaf blower, blender, etc).You dont want to make this worse, you have no idea how bad this can get. I am literally right now in bed crying. I miss my mild tinnitus so much.

 

Fair @dpdx. I do not intend on having the MRI. That's why I'm wondering whether the good folk of this site can help me get to the bottom of this pain. The tinnitus is manageable right now, and any fading over time would be as good as a cure (since the baseline is low).

My issue is the jaw, neck and ear pain+clicking. It can get really bad and doesn't seem responsive to sound. I can wake up with it, even after a quiet day/night. This all started just two days after the noise induced T, and I'm not one for coincidences!

 

TMJ

 

I've actually been wearing a stabilization splint at night for two weeks, but am still getting the pain. Can loud noise really lead to TMJ?

I walked out of the club and my ears were ringing immediately after. But the tinnitus is louder on the side with the higher level of pain, fluttering, and fullness.

 

If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. The pain is bad. My ENT can't explain it and I don't know where to look.

 

I didn't just say higher ranges, (that as well) but also speech in background noise, and music. Complex listening environments are more difficult to hear.

That damage can effect day to day life and go unnoticed.

 

Does noise cause pain?

is it burning pain?

Do you notice some things sound abnormally loud?

 

Hi @Contrast. It's more of an ache. It can feel like a sharp pain at times. I haven't noticed that noise causes pain and things do not seem abnormally loud. I've obviously become a lot more "aware" of noise, but the ear/jaw pain can come at seemingly random times (ie. mornings).

The side with the louder tinnitus is more painful and the ear flutters in response to certain sounds. The other side also gets mild in-ear aches and rarely some masseter muscle pain.

After 23 years without jaw problems, I just find it unlikely that I developed TMJD while at a nightclub, or shortly after the obvious acoustic trauma. Plus I already have a nightguard (stabilization splint).

 

UPDATE: The volume seems to be getting consistently lower, even when I plug my ears. More often a hiss with a light tone than "ringing"--even when I plug my ears. Is this habituation?

Jaw and ears still feel "tight."

 

I have the same thing. noise induced t but also jaw and neck pain. mine were pre existing however but have gotten worse since.. I think one made the other worse. Maybe you had it but didnt notice it and since youre more aware of that area, youre more in tune with the pain.

 

If your T is caused or exacerbated by TMJD you might benefit from sleeping with a form-fitted, custom mouthguard. This would help from the inadvertent grinding of teeth during the night which could make the condition worse.

 

What appliance did you get? I am still waiting to start my treatment soon also.

 

Stabilization splint for nighttime wear. I don't think it helped much though, to be honest. I'll keep wearing it anyways. Can't hurt!

 

Daaam, give it some time. Hopefully within time, you’ll improve. You only got a splint? No therapy or other treatments along?

 

Been doing some weekly physical therapy and massage. But I think that my pain is ear muscle related, and not from the TMJ.

 

Does noise worsen the pain? how do you describe pain?

burning, swelling, numbness?

 

Do you remember exactly your diagnosis?

 

He has hidden hearing loss, audiologist don't care about hearing loss outside of speech ranges despite it causing tinnitus and pain hyperacusis. Pathetic this is actually the norm.

 

Nah, did speech in noise with no issues and I don’t have noticeable hyperacusis. If I have hidden hearing loss, it’s not something I can detect.

I mean I obviously have some degree of hearing loss—to the extent that everyone over the age of two days does.

My oral surgeon thinks that the pain is muscle related, which I agree with. But it’s originating from the spasms in my ear, which I actually had from a flight a month before getting regular tinnitus!