Tinnitus from Neck Injury — New to This Group

Hi,

With great regret I am now a Tinnitus Survivor. I want to say sufferer but I can't let this symptom rule my life. I am in healthcare and never really thought of tinnitus because people don't come to the ER with this. There were a few times I wanted to go the ER because it created an emergency for me. It started when I moved my neck wrong about 7 weeks ago. A day later I wasn't feeling well and my neck hurt so I went to the ER. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection but I had no other symptoms but neck pain and tinnitus. I did the antibiotics and it went away for a minute until 3 weeks ago. I hyperextended mt neck and it hit me hard. I have been having high pitched screeching, non stop until a few days ago when I moved my head to a tilt and it decreased. I left my neck in that position and I get great relief. Now my neck hurts and I have headaches but it keeps the tinnitus at bay. The minute of move my neck in to a normal position, it is back. I am having an MRI this Saturday.

I was in a motorcycle accident 16 years ago that killed my husband and left m in a coma for 6 weeks. I had 6 skull and facial fractures, along with neck injuries that have bothered me off and on. This has caused me great distress.

I am happy I found a place I can communicate with other people like me!!

Anybody else have similar causes like neck injuries and what can help beside walking around with a tilted head all day?

 

I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune

On the bright side, you know the cause of your T, and that is worth a great deal. If you can get your neck treated by a professional, you might retrieve a lot of relief in a few months. I know it helped me immensely.

As hard as it might be, I'd advice against this: you will only make things worse on the long term if you keep your neck in an unnatural position. Instead, get it treated by a specialist ASAP, this will help you the best.

Meanwhile, try not to pay too much attention to your T, or mask it a bit if possible.

 

I first had Tinnitus in 2016. I saw a chiropractor 3-4 times and the tinnitus eventually went away completely after 5 weeks. Unfortunately, I got tinnitus again in 2018 and this time I haven't been so lucky. But what I'm trying to tell you is that you should consider a chiropractor. It might just do the trick. I wish you luck.

 

@nurserae I'm so sorry,
Before getting any physical therapy, I would get neck X Rays. It's important to have notes taken on the C spine as this can relate to many of your problems. With that, to see if your C spine has straighten. The vertebral artery runs thru the C spine and is well hidden. It would be too dangerous to have hands on neck therapy without knowing this.

 

Hi @nurserae -- Yes, chronic neck issues have been a staple in my life since a serious head injury/whiplash at age 15. I just wrote a post on some of the things that have helped me at THIS LINK. -- Let me know if you have any questions. -- All the Best...

 

If a section of the C spine is rubbing up against the vertebral artery is that what causes tinnitus associated with neck/jaw?

Also @Greg Sacramento I found a neck exercise to do that has helped my range of motion up and down a lot (side to side is pretty good). However it's a small sample space, but since I've been doing this exercise my tinnitus has been more on than off. Any suggestions? My range of motion is the best it's been since tinnitus started by a lot.

 

That wouldn't be a problem for you. Vertebral artery dissection from injury such as from whiplash would likely cause severe headaches and would relate to pulsatile tinnitus.

Can you describe your range of motion exercise, because so much needs to taken into consideration with also having tinnitus. If your neck is causing your tinnitus, at your age it would be from injury - not disease. Often at a young age, cause is from the head and neck being pushed forward against resistance. With that, neck muscles pressure the C spine. Sometimes the C1 and C2 pressure the jaw joints and that can also cause tinnitus.

@nurserae - Your MRI is tomorrow - stay relaxed. HUGS