A while back, I posted about how I developed tinnitus shortly after having my ears irrigated, and that I was suspicious that that was what caused it. Well, I went to my GP, and basically got told: "Everything looks fine, go see a specialist." So, in other words, that appointment was a complete waste of time, though I suppose I kind of expected that. But that's beside the current point.
Since then, I've grown to notice gradually increasing discomfort in my jaw, which peaked when I went to eat my lunch the other day, and encountered considerable difficulty opening my mouth wide enough to fit the sandwich into my mouth. As in, my jaw hesitated, and then popped, specifically in my right side. There wasn't much accompanying pain, but I definitely felt very uncomfortable.
Of course, I'm now growing to fully suspect that the whole problem is in fact because I did something to screw my jaw up. I neglected to mention that after having gotten my ears irrigated, I made the mistake of sliding my jaw left and right pretty much obsessively because I was so nervous about my ears and was "testing" to see if I could still hear the foamy liquid still sloshing around inside of them. I did this until at last my left jaw went *crack* and then any and all movement from it felt bizarrely grainy, like sand had gotten into the joint. It didn't hurt though, and it quickly went back to feeling normal after a mere few minutes. I suppose this is why I discounted it as a possibility.
On the next day, the tinnitus started AFTER having been doing something physically strenuous that prompted me to clench my jaw, which was the exact moment that it started. Fast forward to now, and my jaw feels quite tense. It still moves smoothly, to a point, but feels like it's shifting off to the right when I open it more than a little wide. The left side in particular feels a little swollen, and the tinnitus is now noticeably louder in that ear too. So much so that I can hardly tell that it's also in my other ear.
I'm starting to think it's a herniated jaw disc. Or two. Which is/are pinching my auditory nerve(s), causing the high-pitched, tea-kettle sounding noise. Either that, or I managed to wiggle my own jaw slightly out of place.
Since then, I've grown to notice gradually increasing discomfort in my jaw, which peaked when I went to eat my lunch the other day, and encountered considerable difficulty opening my mouth wide enough to fit the sandwich into my mouth. As in, my jaw hesitated, and then popped, specifically in my right side. There wasn't much accompanying pain, but I definitely felt very uncomfortable.
Of course, I'm now growing to fully suspect that the whole problem is in fact because I did something to screw my jaw up. I neglected to mention that after having gotten my ears irrigated, I made the mistake of sliding my jaw left and right pretty much obsessively because I was so nervous about my ears and was "testing" to see if I could still hear the foamy liquid still sloshing around inside of them. I did this until at last my left jaw went *crack* and then any and all movement from it felt bizarrely grainy, like sand had gotten into the joint. It didn't hurt though, and it quickly went back to feeling normal after a mere few minutes. I suppose this is why I discounted it as a possibility.
On the next day, the tinnitus started AFTER having been doing something physically strenuous that prompted me to clench my jaw, which was the exact moment that it started. Fast forward to now, and my jaw feels quite tense. It still moves smoothly, to a point, but feels like it's shifting off to the right when I open it more than a little wide. The left side in particular feels a little swollen, and the tinnitus is now noticeably louder in that ear too. So much so that I can hardly tell that it's also in my other ear.
I'm starting to think it's a herniated jaw disc. Or two. Which is/are pinching my auditory nerve(s), causing the high-pitched, tea-kettle sounding noise. Either that, or I managed to wiggle my own jaw slightly out of place.
