Tinnitus from Head Injury / Whiplash Injury / TMJ

Just over 5 weeks ago I was assaulted by 7 guys where I was knocked down. I can remember the initial punch but not sure if they hit me many more times after that. I don't think I was unconscious. I thought the next day I was fairly ok, bit of bump on my head, sore jaw, stiff neck and sore beside my ear but I had no visible marks anywhere so I thought I was lucky enough to get away.

However, about 24 hours later I began hearing a little ringing in my ear. Just over 5 weeks later the ringing is still here, but now sometimes can be more like hissing or crickets. It seemed to be in my left ear but sometimes it feels like it's coming from inside my head.

I left it about 2 weeks before I went to a doctor and he checked out my eardrum, which was fine and he said that I could have damaged my cochlea, so he said the tinnitus could be permanent. I was a bit shocked when I heard that to be honest. He recommended having a hearing test done by a audiologist so I went for the hearing test, however that showed that I had no hearing loss.

Around the same time I also noticed that I was grinding my teeth quite hard and then realised I was also suffering from TMJ. I think the tinnitus could have been stressing me out too but could be related to the punch on my jaw.

I decided to go to my physio for the stiff neck, now I had a bad neck previously for an old rugby injury but on examination of my neck the physio said my neck my quite lumpy and he recommended an MRI. So I went back to my doctor to get a referral for an MRI but he wanted to send me for an X-Ray instead but the doctor in the hospital thought my neck injury was just muscular so instead did a CT scan on my skull for my tinnitus. That came back all clear. I asked the doctor would the tinnitus go away and he said it should improve in time but gave no definite reassurance.

I attended the dentist for my TMJ and he said I should get a night guard but he said he couldn't really comment on the tinnitus as that was outside his expertise.

As I said, I'm over 5 weeks with tinnitus now. Some good days and some bad days. About 2 days ago was the best day yet and I could hardly notice it watching TV or playing golf. It was such a relief. However, yesterday it came back with a vengeance, it was so disappointing as I thought it was improving. It is a bit better today though.

I've been attending physio for my neck which is making progress but I'm going for an MRI scan on my neck to make sure it's ok.

I read a couple of posts here and I know it might take weeks or months for the tinnitus to go away. I kinda want to get some hope here that it will resolve in time. I'm just frustrated that none of the medical professionals seem to have given me a clear explanation for the cause of tinnitus and just said that it may improve or settle down. It seems the cause of the tinnitus could be from my head /neck injury, damage to my cochlea or TMJ. My tinnitus doesn't seen to be as bad as some peoples here but the spikes can be bad enough.

I've read that if it lasts more than 3 months it is more likely to be permanent. Will my tinnitus go away?

 

Hello,

I am sorry what has happened to you. I had a TBI with a skull fracture about 1 month ago. I am in the same situation as you right now. I do not agree/do not want to believe that if tinnitus stays for 3 months, it will be permanent. I have read couple of stories where tinnitus went away after 1 year.

Do not lose hope. I hope our tinnitus will fade away soon.

I also had an audiogram and it didn't show any hearing loss. My neurologist said that my tinnitus could be due to auditory nerve irritation and that it can take up to 6 months to recover.

 

Thanks for the support, sorry to hear about your situation. I was lucky I didn't have any skull fracture like you but I was probably concussed, maybe a mild TBI. Hopefully our tinnitus will fade away. Keep the faith I suppose.

 

Following up to see how long it took tinnitus to go away from head injury? Thank you!