Somatic Tinnitus

Sums mine up nicely, jaw movement, head movement, pressing temple bone changes the tinnitus a lot.

I do have TMJ, arthritis and inflammation though.

 

When I clenched my jaw or pressed it inward or side to side or simply yawning, chewing it changes my T to a more higher pitch.

 

Ok just read this.

So if its musculatr tension ,are we saying ,no muscular tension no Tinnitus?

Seems to easy or is it very hard to achieve. I would say I my head ,neck ,shoulders full of tension and my TMJ is arthritic and inflamed.I have had my teeth sorted ,25 crowns,2 bridges ,5 that side is sorted.

But my teeth issue I believe has really upset my TMJ.For years through bad dentistry I had no teeth bottom left or top right ,Ialso have bad grinding at night so bad that a £500 nightguard bite plate I had specially made by a neuromuscular dentst,well I bit through it,which is crazy as you would need to have been the worlds strongest man to bend the thing ,the amount of pressure a jaw can give out is amazing.I wake in the morning in ears and area round it allways hurt.

In the new year I am seeing an osteopath who has an interest in TMJ and who is also a cranial osteo.I know the guy from previous and im going to give it a good go,by good go I mean at least 12 sessions.


In the past I have gone places had a couple of sessions and given up ,cost being an issue obviously.Plus in my mind I realised I needed to sort my teeth out if any of this was going to work
This time im going to take it to the point where I will really,really know if this will help.If thats twice a week for 6 months then so be it.
Good luck all,Pete

 

Does anyone else find that pulling on your ear can at times change the tone and lower the volume of your tinnitus? This works for me, but only temporarily. I'm not sure what it means. It's a little weird.

 

Also get some change in pitch and volume (less) by putting pressure on the neck, right behind the mastoid process, so I guess I'm putting pressure on the sterno cleido mastoid muscle. I tried pressing on the temple, as described by carlover, and changed the pitch, but not the volume. The muscle there, according to my chart, is the temporalis, but there are some fairly major blood vessels that traverse the temple.

Hadn't heard of somatic before, so this is quite interesting. Will check out the links now.

 

Thanks for posting about somatic...seems that I have it. I'm not sure why I have tinnitus, but assumed it was caused by loud noise, especially considering that there's one frequency that my left ear doesn't hear very well. However, there's no doubt at all that I am able to change the pitch and volume with applied physical pressure.

Also, some days are much louder than others.

 

Hi,
I was diagnosed with tinnitus approximately 2 months ago, of which the explanation was due to loud noise exposure. However, being of 18 years of age, I neither listened to my ipod at an inordinately high volume compared to some people, and only attended loud concerts maybe once or twice per year.
That being said, I've realised that my tinnitus changes volume (gets louder) when i turn my head left or right 90 degrees. Also, when i press against my lower jaw, it gets a little softer, while if i clench my jaw it is higher in pitch.
I'm wondering if you guys get any distinguishable differences in volume and tone when you move your head or jaw?
I just had an idea that maybe my gym sessions or braces may have an influence on my tinnitus?

 

Maydenger ,hello mate.Your not alone.....http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633109/ Happens tome as well.


..and funny for me If I put a tin bucket over my head and someone hits the bucket with a hammer ,my noises go through the roof.Dr said it was Tin bucket over head syndrome ,treatment was keeping bucket away from my head and I have to say for the first time in history a doctor got a tinnitus treatment spot on!!

 

Anyone know any decent doctors in Sydney?

 

Hi Maydengar;

I believe this phenomenon is quite common. Many people have a "somatic" component to their tinnitus and can adjust the perceived volume via head, jaw, or other body part movements. I can can make my tinnitus volume increase by pressing my right cheekbone or by pressing against the back of my head. When I first developed tinnitus, I was able to increase volume by thrusting my jaw forward; however, that doesn't work anymore.

The big question is whether somatic tinnitus is any more treatable than other varieties. I believe one of the leading in researchers in this area is Dr. R.A. Levine. You can learn more here:

https://sites.google.com/site/doctorlevinestinnitussite/home

-Golly

 

Daft as you like, sat loading straw bales on my tractor this afternoon (one hand on the wheel, one on the loader controls so no hands free) I was trying to clear a piece of stuck food from my teeth (yes, classy I know...) and I noticed that when I move my lower Jaw forward or clench my teeth hard together, my T goes very high pitched and very loud. As soon as I release it goes back to normal. Is this something others have experienced?

Cheers

 

Yes, I have noticed this too....

 

The nerve from the jaw and the auditory nerve are placed together. Influencing T by moving your jaw is very common.

 

Thanks for merging this in, it's put my mind at rest that this is pretty normal. Cheers

 

Hi Everyone, I have Somatic Tinnitus which started last year due to TMJ Dysfunction. Trying to get my TMJ resolved but all this muscle tension in my neck and face has caused the tinnitus . Would love to know what I can do about the tinnitus.

Regards

Nick

 

Hi Nick. Welcome. I have TMJD as well and am in the midst of recovering from a relapse. My tinnitus came before I was diagnosed with TMJD so am not sure if my tinnitus is due to the same issue. However, in my readings re tinnitus due to TMJD and my consultation with my dentist, some patients' tinnitus do go away with splint therapy. Well, mine didn't.

 

Hi Shan , Thanks for your reply. I've had TMJ A long time and did get rid of my tinnitus some years ago through splint therapy and having it constructed through the use of Muscle testing Methods. My Dentist who did this retired and have been unable to find anyone else who used his methods. My splint and partial Denture have worn down and muscle spasm and Tinnitus started again. Trying out Integrated Dentist who says the tinnitus is from the Lateral Pterygoid muscle as its on the same acoustic nerve going in the ear. I also understand that the SCM's and masseter muscles can also be involved. It' very annoying as you know . Trying to get myself to accept the situation but it's hard.

How are you coping Shan ? I'm at that stage of trying to re adjust.


Kind Regards


Nick

 

Are your jaw joints worn out? Mine are slightly worn out due to years of grinding and clenching.

The onset was horrible. I could go on and on about the horrible sensations and discomfort.But it was the pain! I went into depression after my whole body shut down. I told God to just bring me home. That was a year ago.

Where I am, TMJD is a relatively poorly researched condition and treatment is relegated to splint and heat therapy and painkillers. Alternative treatments are considered pseudo science. The peripheral issues like tinnitus, referred pain and emotional stress are brushed off. I think that was the worst aspect for me - the total disregard of my pain and fear by doctors.

I am still trying to adjust my lifestyle but it is way better than the onset. GP prescribed me with Arcoxia for pain management but I am afraid that it will worsen the tinnitus. The doc says no massage, no chewing of hard food, watch your stress and posture blah blah blah. I cried, I raged but I slowly accepted that this is part of living.

Neck stretches and pilates helped me with those tense muscles and tinnitus.

 

Hi Shan , Recognise all this myself. At present besides the Tinnitus have jaw pain neck pain shoulder pain . Spasms occur at random and it all really bothers me. Have had arcoxia but now have co coldamol as stomach getting upset. Also have diazepam. Been to Dental Hospital who said that besides the bio mechanics I had pschosocial issues ( emotional stress) and the best thing I could do was retire. I have retired , fortunately I am of an age that this normally happens and a lot of stress has gone . I do Pilates Tai chi and walking and keep trying to find a way out of this awful situation of TMJ and all its effects. Have tried acupuncture and osteopathy. When my last Dental practitioner retired who helped me control things I felt bereft , near panic but realise that with TMJD you can't afford to let things emotionally get the better of you ( easily said than done ) but I try.

I am sure there must be a way out , however long it takes.

I will let you know of any progress .

Regards

Nick

 

Hello all,

I have had T in my right ear for around 5 weeks and after exploring it i've noticed that it is greatly effected by head, neck and jaw positions. If i put pressure on the front of my chin, the noise amplifies. If i move my neck around, the noise sporadically amplifies. If i jut my jaw forward, the noise goes crazy yet if i do that and apply an upward pressure to the right side of my jaw, the T almost goes completely. Annoyingly not doing anything leaves me with the T. Standing up and walking around, doing daily things makes the T vary hugely in amplification from minute to minute. Also to add it pulsates very slightly to my pulse. I'm sure some of you good people have experienced the same as this. Could you offer me advice on its possible cause?

Cheers

Mark

 

This is called somatic tinnitus. I have it too. Usually related to neck or jaw problems or TMJ. Search somatic T on this site and you'll find lots of information.

 

Thanks DebS, it's driving me crazy. My jaw joints do crack, grind and pop but i have never experienced any pain with it. I take it that this jaw issue could be the cause and if it is, do i see a dentist first instead of a doctor?

 

http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/tinnitus-and-disorders-of-the-TMJ-and-neck

 

Damn, I found out this morning that when I move my jaw outwards, I hear T in my right ear, which hasn't had T before. I went to a neck-head massage yesterday, which could be the cause.

Another somatic T weirdness happened last week. My back of the skull (left occipitalis muscle) became sore for some reason and at the same time I noticed that if I press the side of my head on the left side, T spikes. After some days the pain in the skull / occipitalis muscle went away as did the T when I press my head. Weird stuff...

 

Here's a good diagnosis checklist of somatic T + guides on treatment

http://www.laser.nu/tlc/Somatosensory-tinnitus-diagnosis-vademecum2.pdf