Tinnitus Spike After Loud Grinding During a Dental Crown Adjustment

Somehow my front dental crown jumped out - it's a dental restoration, they make them out of metal. Maybe I bit on a tiny stone, I don't know, but the crown jumped out. It's been there twenty years with no problem. So I took it to the dentist, they are aware of the tinnitus, although it was a new guy so maybe he didn't realize it was the suicidal type of tinnitus. I came back the next day since it wasn't sitting properly, I explained to grind for a second, then go off for a second, not continuous. OK, so he did his best. Immediately there was a spike. I couldn't go back to work, I just went home and "suppressed" it with Clonazepam, which is the only think I know what to do.

This is two days later, the spike is slightly less, but tinnitus is still intrusive and the spike is still there.

I have a lot of Clonazapam, so I'm not going to run out, but I will definitely get addicted and turn into a zombie at this rate, so life will almost be meaningless. I even took a 5 mg of Morphine, which is super dangerous, you might never wake up, but I needed to get to sleep, so I took one. No one will prescribe Morphine for me, I have some from a long time ago when I had shingles, in this country you can buy a 8 mg Codeine mixed with Tylenol, and I'm a "lucky" person that has a metabolism that rapidly converts Codeine to Morphine. Some people have that. It is a dangerous enzyme to have because you can get dangerous low blood pressure or even die. I have had that blood pressure, and when I looked it up, that's the reason. So I have a jar of 100 tablets of 8 mg Codeine mixed with Tylenol. I live in one of the last countries where you can still buy this medicine. Everywhere else in the world it is totally banned, or at least available only on prescription, and is highly controlled substance. Even three doses of Codeine and you're now an addict, so no way I want that.

I know around here, people complain of spikes all the time, and it gets boring after a while hearing about all these spikes, but it is not boring if I am the one with the spike.

I'm pretty sure I got hyperacusis from overprotection of my hearing. Listening to music too loud, such as in pub night, or bar, probably didn't help.

If you go through my content, spike is my middle name, almost. I'm very cautious, since I am prone to spike. I have been trying to strengthen my resistance, by playing low level of radio in my office, and playing quiet music all night, but dental work is something I can't escape from. It would be great to just get dentures and go that route, but dentures have their problems, and my main issue is I had experimental orthodontics when I was a kid, at the University, they over-corrected me, meaning my top teeth got pulled too far back, so there is just no spare room in my mouth.

Anyways, the dentist used low speed grinder, which was still very loud. He did the grinding for the minimum amount that he could get away with, the result is not perfect, but it's close enough that I can live with it. I didn't time it, but it was something like 3-5 minutes.

Grinding a crown is not like regular dental drilling, the crown is metal, very hard, and the noise is really loud.

So I'm very despondent and depressed. If you go through my content, I have been close to suicide several times, I prefer to tough it out, but with each spike, I never get back to where I was before, it's one step forward, two steps back.

 

I've had things happen to make my tinnitus worsen a lot over time. I try not to think back to those events but it is difficult. It is what it is now and we try our best to deal with it. I am also someone who struggles with dark thoughts.

Compared to when my tinnitus started in 2010, there is definitely more research and awareness of this condition. It's been slow progress but increasing recently. Although Lenire doesn't appear to be 'The One,' it is the first treatment to get FDA approval. It's a huge milestone really. This will get others interested in jumping on the bandwagon and hopefully something better than Lenire will come through.

Try to keep hopeful.

 

@Tweaker, thank you very very nice and authentic reply.

The heart almost seems too soft, but it is real.

I almost cannot believe that people do not have dark thoughts. For myself, it is almost part and parcel of being a person.

And you're right, sometimes I look back at things that cannot be changed and wonder why they happened. Or I wonder why I let them happen. Why didn't I just say this is going to hurt my hearing irrespective of the consequences. Probably it is the disbelief about what happens next and could something this serious happen so quickly.

Anyway, I suppress the s*** out of it way more than I normally would so I was in bed for just about 3 days straight. I was getting over a rhino virus infection and I think the rest actually did me some good.

One very good doctor prescribed that spike suppression medication (Clonazepam) to me almost 7 years ago. I have never resorted to it to this extent. And I don't think it's good for your overall health to stay in bed that long. People say just keep doing your normal activities, like as if.

Somehow it actually did do the trick though. Even though I blew the entire weekend, I did get up in the middle of the day on Sunday, actually felt a bit better, although I didn't know how long it would last and then when it got up on Monday, I actually felt pretty well rested and the spike was mainly subsided. That surprised me an awful lot. I think the dentist was very considerate and did the grinding for one second, paused for one second etc. So the intensity versus time was kept to a minimum. He was also using a low-speed grinder to see if he could get away with it. He told me he might have to use the high-speed grinder which is definitely extremely loud. So somehow it got pulled off. And I managed to live to tell the tale and live to see another day.

Although I do get dark thoughts, musings and somehow fantasize about things like that. Reality actually is very important for me. I worked extremely hard for my education, schooling, studying, dedication and where I am. At the moment there is just simply no one to replace me so it is not a good idea to get a check out. All these things conspire against me or you can say work for me. Whichever way you want to look at it. There's really no one I know in real life who would say that this dark thought is a good idea. I think it would have to get way worse.

And fortunately my doctor is reasonably generous. I also have discovered that there is an over-the-counter Codeine available in this country and if worse gets to worse, just an 8 mg of Codeine is very potent for me. I happen to be one of the lucky people that has one of those enzymatic mutations that converts Codeine to Morphine. So I feel it and it is strong. Almost to the point you don't really want to end it all or you'll never get that Morphine hit again. Again, that sounds so stupid. A powerful opiate actually is keeping me alive. And I don't take more than one or it will lose its effect and I will get hooked. So I keep that like a special chocolate or a little special candy. And I'm totally well aware combining sedatives can be deadly. In a case like this, it would be completely accidental. I am very cautious.

 

Thanks for the hugs, hugs are more important than you can imagine. [I never got them when I was a kid and needed them most, thanks guys].