Thousands of Dollars and Thousands of Hours...

Hi, I have been away from the boards and have done most of treatments to help with my T.
Acupuncture, PT, hearing aids meds, supplements and psychiatry. Latest is RX from neurologist is Gabapentin. Anyone with experience with this drug? Today is such a loud day I have come back to those who can understand. So does caffeine, food choices and head position really make any difference? Seems like it depends on the specialist you see, dentist though it was from traveling and head position no TMJ, PT says maybe neck,
Slight hearing loss so audiologist says maybe hearing aids, psychiatrist says don't listen to it, I have tried meditation and yoga with no relief. So if it is in the brain and it is a symptom, what is the root cause? I know everyone here asks the same question.
Anyone who remembers me will remember my saying it is about the volume. When I read a post when someone mentions they have to be in a quiet room to hear it I am envious. Mine noise if there 24hrs loud and clear.
Anyone else?
Thanks for allowing me back and listening. Hello to those I have talked with in the past and welcome to all that have joined this supportive group.

 

Yeah, I don't have to be in a quiet room to hear mine. I can hear mine most of the time, with only a few exceptions, such as the shower. But rooms with fans don't mask my tinnitus.

What the root cause of tinnitus is... who knows? There are so many different things that can cause it from what I understand. In my case, if I move my jaw in certain positions, it seems to affect my T, not in loudness, but in pitch.

I think the prevailing theory is that the cochlea stops communicating to the brain for whatever reason, and the brain tries to amplify things to try to communicate with the cochlea. But, while that seems like it could be the case for the majority of cases, perhaps even yours since you mentioned hearing loss, it doesn't seem like it can be the case for all tinnitus. Because in my case, I don't have any detectable hearing loss, nor would it explain why I can change the pitch of my tinnitus by manipulating my jaw.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.
I appreciate your input.

 

@MattK , you don't need to have detectable hearing loss to have tinnitus. The loss might be anywhere from 1hz-20khz. Does you audiogram test for every possible frequency? - I really doubt it.

The jaw connections is something that most tinnitus people have. According to Dr.Shore and others, the somatosensory nerves innervate the same area, the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus (DCN), as the auditory nerve.
In tinnitus sufferers the DCN become hyperactive and any increased input (neck pressure, jaw movements, etc) interacts with the DCN as well, causing fluctuations in our tinnitus perception.

 

I

I did not know that. Thanks.

 

See here for more. Most folks with T can modulate with head neck movements, etc.
http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/tinnitus-and-disorders-of-the-TMJ-and-neck

 

Huh, I didn't know that most people could manipulate their tinnitus like that. I thought there was only a certain type of tinnitus that could.

I know I don't need to have detectable hearing loss to have tinnitus, because I apparently do.. as for my audiogram, no it doesn't test for every frequency, but the point still remains that as of right now, if I have hearing loss, then it hasn't been detected. Nor do I notice any hearing loss myself. It could be possible that I do at some frequency that isn't noticeable or tested for, but to say that I do at this point would just be a guess.

 

Ya learn something everyday I guess