Tinnitus from Whiplash

Hey all, my neighbour turns out to have tinnitus as well. Never knew. Hers was caused by a whiplash after a car accident. Do people try anything specific for whiplash induced tinnitus?

 

There are protocols using procaine injected into the sides of each neck (about 3-4 cm below hairline, from behind). This is unrelated to trigger point therapy. The injections are simply done to subdue the nerves in the neck. The injections need to be repeated somthing like 10-15 times over the course of a month.

I had them done at my chiropractor who is also a doctor. The above protocol has a reasonable recovery profile if it is commenced right after the whiplash occurs ie. within the following weeks.

 

Ah, I think hers happened at least 3-5 months ago.

 

Somatic tinnitus may occur from neck injury. It is related to muscle spasms in neck impacting the auditory system.

Somatic tinnitus tends to:
* Fluctuate in loudness
* Perception of sound changes (i.e. brain one day, ear the other)
* Favors one ear
* Produce white noise, static
* People with this type of tinnitus tend to rate it higher in severity
* The speed, pitch may change by turning your head.

The good news is that it may be more treatable. Physical Therapy and lifestyle changes may be needed to remove tension from neck muscles so they can recover from the whiplash.

Does this sound like your neighbor? Is she still experiencing issues?

 

She is, but she has a clear high tone. I think it was measured at 11khz. She tried all kinds of therapy.

Whats interesting is that all of the above points for somatic tinnitus match me I mean, every single one. And im very tense in my shoulders/neck. What kind of therapy is recommended for this @MikeS ?

 

I'm at work right now, but I will send you links later. I am recovering from whiplash, too. But somatic tinnitus can occur from poor sleeping posture, and other activities that put tension on your neck & shoulders. I suspect that is why tinnitus seems to reset for some people (like me) after sleep -- in no particular direction. Good some mornings, bad others.

There are different things that I have read about, and am still in the process of trying myself, so I'm not a success story yet. I will post later with info, but here is my approach:

* Lifestyle changes for me:
-- Learn to sleep on back (best), or side (second best). Stop sleeping on stomach, or in positions where my neck is crimped.
-- Purchase one of those pillows that are supposed to be good for neck. I'll find link later.
-- Watch ergonomics, computer use, television watching.
-- Neck stretching followed by neck strengthening for pain exercises.
-- Shoulder saver exercises
-- drink more water / hydrate
-- lose weight -- this may sound silly, but I wear an XL hat, and have recently gained some weight, so I plan on losing weight to reduce strain on neck.

* Other things that seem to offer me relief:
-- take warm showers -- I find that warm showers help my tinnitus temporarily. My theory is that it relaxes the muscles
-- ice pack -- just something that I am trying, nothing that I read about. But since ice packs are supposed to reduce inflammation in muscles, thought I would trying using one each night for 20 minutes. Thought I would try this out for a couple weeks.
-- drink an occasional beer -- may be coincidence, but for some reason, my tinnitus feels better after a beer. Maybe its because alcohol relaxes the muscles.
-- take ibuprofen

* Treatment
-- Physical Therapy (massage therapy)

* Other possible treatments:
-- there was a study where they found a TENS unit cured or relieved patients with somatic tinnitus
-- there is a study where using an epidural steroid injection has cured or relieved patients with somatic tinnitus

How come Physical Therapy does not help some people with somatic tinnitus due to neck injury? I read about people with similar symptoms, where PT does not help. This is still new to me, but I wonder if they are making all the lifestyle changes that they need to treat the muscle tension / spasms. For instance, if they get PT, and then go back to the same poor posture or don't follow through with neck stretches. Or maybe they have some other form of tinnitus? Or maybe I'm just overly optimistic, and in a few days, everything will spike again.

In summary, I plan on doing what I can to relieve tension in my neck, so that I can recover from whiplash. I'm not sure if my tinnitus will go away, but I do not want it to spike anymore, which can be quite intense.

 

Here are the links:

This article talks about the symptoms of somatic tinnitus
http://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/somatic-tinnitus/#.VMroctX3-ix

Somatic tinnitus usually occurs in one ear only. There are a number of tinnitus properties that suggest a somatic component:

1 – Intermittency,
2 – Large fluctuations in loudness,
3 – Variability of location,
4 – Daily pattern,
5 – No hearing loss but head, neck, or dental insult.

This article discusses tinnitus caused by head and neck trauma:
http://vestibular.org/tinnitus

HEAD AND NECK TRAUMA
Compared with tinnitus from other causes, tinnitus due to head or neck trauma tends to be perceived as louder and more severe. It is accompanied by more frequent headaches, greater difficulties with concentration and memory, and a greater likelihood of depression.17

Somatic tinnitus is the term used when the tinnitus is associated with head, neck, or dental injury—such as misalignment of the jaw or temporomandibular joint (TMJ)—and occurs in the absence of hearing loss. Characteristics of somatic tinnitus include intermittency, large fluctuations in loudness, and variation in the perceived location and pattern of its occurrence throughout the day.18

This swedish doctor (A Bjorne) is referenced quite a bit. He found that stretching relieves somatic tinnitus:
http://www.tinnitusresearch.org/en/meetings/files2006/Bjorne-Treatment_of_Somatic_Tinnitus.pdf
He also wrote this abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17956785

These are the neck stretches that I'm trying:
http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/neck-pain/neck-stretches

This is the neck strengtening that I am trying:
http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/neck-pain/neck-strengthening-exercises

While trying to remain optimistic, I have read enough posts to realize this information isn't new to people on this forum. I see a ton of posts where people have tried therapy, stretching, and injections for somatic tinnitus. In many of the posts, people seem to get better only to have set-backs again. Many have tinnitus from neck injuries like myself. I'm just hoping with the right commitment and lifestyle changes, I'll be able to fully recover.

 

Does this sound like your neighbor:

http://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/head-and-neck-injuries-cause-tinnitus-part-two/#.VMweAtX3-iw

Patients with degeneration in the lower cervical spine rarely report tinnitus but the patient group with instability at the craniocervical junction usually report a high-pitched whistle,

 

Mine is also high pitched whistle. It started a day after my severe concussion by slamming my head on a concrete wall. I wonder if my neck sustained any damage because of the impact. I never had any pains strains or aches in my neck but lately my neck feels more stiff And slightly painful if i turn my head a little more on either side. I also had immediate numbness in my limbs after the impact which may suggest nerve damage . Any thoughts? Also i feel warm showers lower my T a great deal. Its either my neck or the nerve damage in ears i guess.

 

Slamming your head on a concrete wall could definitely cause neck trauma. I'm not an expert, but focusing on the head (concussion) may cause us to ignore the neck. We tend to focus on the ears, because the sound is auditory. And we look at concussion, because of its severity.

But I would not rule out the neck, especially if you are able to manipulate the sound by turning the neck. Anyway, that's my perspective these days. I'm going to reduce tension in my neck, and see if I get any results.

I think if it's your ears, the tinnitus would not be somatic. Supposedly, if it's somatic, the tinnitus tends to fluctuate in loudness, change location, and possibly favor one ear.

 

Are you saying that people with hearing loss tinnitus dont have somatic tinnitus? I remember reading the majority of tinnitus sufferers can modulate their tinnitus with jaw/neck movements.