Tinnitus Began Overnight — Doctor Suspects Neck/TMJ/Stress/OCD as the Cause

Just wanted to report that despite my tinnitus being a little bit louder than the last couple days, I managed to actually go to work today and get stuff done.

My wife is at work today and I didn’t freak out today that I would need her. So as sad as that might sound, that’s an improvement for me. I’m starting to be a little bit less afraid of it all.

I’ve also had my physiotherapist from the Cleveland Clinic, and a upper chiropractor say that I’m on the right track with my physical therapy t and to keep it going. My TMD specialist also thinks we can solve this. So there’s a lot of hope surrounding me. The fact that I can go from silence to tinnitus, and back to silence is a good sign, I think.

And even if all of that hope is for nothing, I think I can still cope with this and figure it out. I love life so much. And I love my wife and my family and I’m not going to stop living.

 

I went to bed last night and my tinnitus was really noisy. Then I woke up this morning to complete silence. Maybe my posture correction is beginning to help. Who knows.

 

I have now enjoyed a full day so far without a trace of tinnitus.

 

Happy to report that the last three days I’ve basically had a 90% tinnitus reduction.

And the last four out of five days I’ve been able to sleep and enjoy my wife, music and all that stuff.

The physical therapy has really been helping with posture correction. As well as my night guard. It really is neck and jaw related for me.

 

After about five days of really light to non-existant tinnitus, it's noisy again today. Feeling sad and hopeless. Letting it be for now. I have to remember healing isn’t linear.

 

And right back to "barely there" today. I think doing my chin ups flared up my neck yesterday. ‍

 

Hey folks!

I had my second physical therapy (PT) session on 6/2. He adjusted my neck a little bit more. Since that day I haven't had a bad day (where the tinnitus is really invasive). I have had days where it's annoying/irritating. But I no longer have any extreme tinnitus days. And often I have days where it's borderline not noticeable at all. So the PT seems to be working.

That said, I am also working with a tinnitus coach/therapist and I have identified that while tinnitus sucks, it's just another symptom (like twitching, palpitations, and more) that I have had in my life that I am blaming all my problems on. This bears out, because on days when the tinnitus is gone I can still be depressed/anxious about life, and days where its a 3-4/10 I can be having a great day.

Now, before all this I could have the 6-7/10, but with the PT I don't seem to have that anymore at all. So I am blessed there. I have also been able to go to sleep and get good sleep again, so great there as well.

Again, forward head posture (bad posture) was the #1 contributor to my tinnitus, as my PT sees it, and thinks that over 6-7 sessions we can get it down to basically nothing. Between changing my posture and using my "night appliance" (mouth guard for TMD I have also noticed that my jaw (which before I could modulate and make the sound REALLY loud by retracting) barely modulates it now. So some physiological change IS happening.

Here is a little chart of my progress I have been keeping (I have tried to make the chart objectively about how loud my tinnitus is, and NOT how I felt about it, as sometimes that doesn't match up. Both ways: i.e. happy when it's not good, or sad when it's good):

PRE PT

5/1

Bad

5/2

Great (up until bed)

5/3

Bad

5/4

Great

5/5

Bad

5/6

Good

5/7

Bad

5/8

Ok

5/9

Ok

5/10

Ok

5/11

Ok

5/12

Great

5/13

Bad

5/14

Bad

5/15

Ok

5/16

Ok

POST PT Session 1

5/17 (adjustment day)

Good

5/18

Ok

5/19

Bad

5/20

Great

5/21

Ok

5/22

Great

5/23

Ok

5/24

Very Good

5/25

Great

5/26

Ok

5/27

Bad

5/28

Great

5/29

Great

5/30

Bad

5/31

Ok

6/1

Ok

6/2 (adjustment day) PT Session 2

Good

6/3

Great (less than nothing)

6/4

Great (less than nothing) interesting note that my jaw barely makes it louder when I retract it. Really! It’s really hard to do.)

6/5

Very Good (same as above in regards to jaw)

6/6

Very Good (same as above in regards to jaw)

6/7

Very good until night (noises) (same as above in regards to jaw)

6/8

Great (interesting note that my jaw barely makes it louder when I retract it. Really! It’s really hard to do.)

6/9

Great (interesting note that my jaw barely makes it louder when I retract it. Really! It’s really hard to do.)

6/10

Very good (same jaw situation)

 

My tinnitus started under similar circumstances. Played a gig, went to bed with ringing ears which is perfectly normal. However, the ringing has not stopped since November 2016.

I've been to ENT and they said my hearing is excellent and not related to hearing loss. I assumed it was just down to the years of loud music gigging.

Now I also have hyperacusis and misophonia.

My dentist told me about 3 years ago that I have TMJ so this could also be a possible cause. I've tried mouth guards but they don't help. I have to sleep with earplugs every night as I literally cannot get to sleep if I can hear anything other than the ringing as it's so loud.

It also affects my concentration at times and if there is a lot of different sounds going on, feel like my head will explode. I wince at sirens i.e. ambulances.

Nothing masks my tinnitus. It is sooooo loud. I'm used to it now and have learnt to live with it after nearly 5 years but I have to wear noise reducing earplugs when I do gigs or go anywhere loud as I cannot cope with a lot of noise/anything too loud. It's not a pleasant thing to live with at all and I find that people who don't have it can't fully comprehend how it affects the brain functions.

I have also been seeing a chiropractor for 4 years; ig has not made any difference to my ringing but has sorted my back out!

 

@Michelle T, sorry to hear you aren't finding the answers you seek! The good news is you are still out gigging, and you can still live your life. <3 <3 Sending love.

 

Hey Michael, I just wanted to follow up with you.

I had about two weeks where my tinnitus was at a very low level, and during that I was not caring so much about it and I was sleeping like a baby.

Now I feel like I’m back to the beginning. It’s a louder tone one day, and then silent the next day, etc. All of a sudden sleep is hard again.

You still believe I can habituate even with this fluctuation? You think that the days of silence is a good sign?

thx!

 

It is not unusual for tinnitus to behave in the way that you have described. Give it lots of time and be patient, things will continue to improve. Read my posts again: New to Tinnitus, What to Do and The Habituation Process. Print them if possible. They will help reassure you that you are on the road of recovery. This can take up to 18 months or longer.

Michael.

 

Thanks Michael. Means a lot.

 

Folks,

I am going to be honest with you. I want to die. I want to commit suicide. I have reached the end of my physical therapy work with my doctor, and unsurprisingly it did not cure my tinnitus.

In a week of 7 days I have 3-4 days of "good" where its low to non-existent. I have 2 not great days, and usually one bad. That might sound like a dream to many people, but for me I was already prone to panic attacks, OCD, and a general negative outlook on life.

Tinnitus has taken all the joy in my life, and erased it. It has ruined my marriage, my relationship with my wife, and it has ruined my joy for life. I was a musician, and a full time teacher of music. I can't even do that now. My future is one of being in agony, and being disabled. Even masking (which sometimes doesn't work for me) only serves to further remind me that I am disabled, and useless to society and life. My fire is gone, and I cannot do this anymore.

I am only 3 months in, but based on everything I read on the forum I have a future of new tones, new sounds, worsening sounds, or at best "habituation", which for someone like me with panic/OCD will never happen.

I just want to say thank you to you all, and I am sorry I couldn't be stronger.

 

How is it now? I hope better! Sorry to read about your struggle.

I'm trying to keep going hoping there will be a cure in the not too distant future.

 

@Branyan, how did you get tinnitus? Was it due to neck/TMJ issues?

 

Curious as to COVID-19 vaccination status, as I've heard that tinnitus can be a side effect of the vaccine.

Hang in there! Maybe write a bad ass song about the hopelessness this instills. Some of my favorite musicians were tormented. If you have good days and bad days, that's enough to keep going right there. Some have only bad days. I am habituating to it, but my tinnitus is almost ever present. I don't feel like the person I used to be. Those moments of peace and tranquility are rare, as every time that opportunity presents, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! is all I hear. Then I start thinking about it, and let the negative feedback loop begin.

Not trying to be negative, just being honest. Acceptance is the key.