New to Tinnitus w/ Concerns

Hi! A few days ago, I was about to sleep when I heard a strange ringing in my left ear. It was fairly noticeable at first, a sharp mid-pitch belltone that wouldn't go away.

I pawed at it for a while and lost a lot of sleep that night until I put in some earbuds and turned on a fan.

From there, it only got worse. It was VERY noticeable, at one point, almost like a chorus of screeching bells when people were talking. My ears were extremely sensitive and even a pencil on paper hurt them.

Yesterday, we went to an urgent care clinic, and upon inspecting the ear they noticed a high level of wax buildup within. They washed it out with an irrigator and that made it feel quite better. It is now mainly confined to the left, an almost unnoticeable high electronic whine, like the hum old tv tubes produce.

However, since the beginning my T has been accompanied by earaches, and jaw stiffness along with limited ability to swallow comfortably. I am currently unable to yawn.

I have never been terribly abusive to my ears, I have only been to about 2 concerts, both very far away from the stage. I listen to music on my phone and laptop a lot but not very loud, I can still hear myself and things around me. I have passed my yearly hearing test with flying colors, it is not loss-related.

I am very hopeful it is temporary as I myself am still rather young and spry, in my first year of college. To me, hopefully, it is TMJ related and temporary as it is constantly fading in and out, changing sides and tone, and sometimes going away all together.

Either way, any advice and support is appreciated! It has been very hard on me lately.

 

A warm welcome to the forum Kitty.
If you think it is TMJ related,
Cut food up small so less chewing,
Cut Apple's in half,
Try not to yawn and over stretch your mouth,
No chewing gum or hard or chewy sweets.

If TMJ becomes a problem your dentist can make you a mouth guard wear at night.

Wax might have been the cause and could easy go away as your ears settle down.
Keep posting for support as we are here around the clock....lots of love glynis

 

Back at school today! I honestly can't tell if it's better... it has been 2 days since the wax cleared and I am unsure if things have improved. Maybe a bit fainter? I honestly can't tell! I am also unsure if it is completely my left ear or not... sometimes it feels like both or neither, just inside my head... again, I am still hopeful with it's ever-changing nature and inconsistency that it is temporary.

 

Got a doctor's appointment for 2 today. Judging by how it's mainly my left, with the earaches, changes in pitch, reduced ability to yawn and chew, sore throat, and jaw dislocation, we're feeling it's either TMJ-related or yet another ear infection (I got an infection in the same ear 2 years prior after a bout of untreated swimmer's ear) I'll update as things progress! For now, it's manageable. I'm very lucky my T is high enough that it is almost unnoticeable.