Tinnitus, TMJ, Headaches, Neck Pain, Facial Pain, etc. — Possible Treatment

Good luck with the ear lab thing! Those scans will also probably cross out a lot of causes, or find one .
Well about the aluminium thing, if you search across the internet you read some things about it in relation to tinnitus, but then again that is not reliable as you find practically every statement across the internet. What is interesting though, is that i also was somewhat tired all the time, lack of motivation, brain foggy etc... I blamed this on my cannabis use, as back then i was quite the stoner, and have been for years, so it's not easy and unlikely to link it to my symptoms i'm having now. But when i stopped using the aluminum antiperspirants, (and together with that started eating somewhat healthier etc... in general having a bit more positive lifestyle, and those sit-ups etc... which we're not so positive after all ), i felt quite active again, and more clear in my mind, (i was still smoking cannabis back then but less than before, to rule that out, and since onset, i quitted completely). Anyways i was glad i felt a lot better and active again, and didn't think about it as i was just enjoying it. and this lasted somewhat until a few weeks before onset, and somewhere during the temporarily T's period, and i remember being very tired in the weekend when my continuous T came on.
Now after researching the subject of heavy metal toxicity a bit, i feel like it does relate to some problems i had/have, for example for years i've had a most annoying tremor in my hands, whenever doing something precise with them, i also noticed this a lot when i was working in a restaurant, where i've worked for years on and off. I've always thought it was stress related, or low-blood sugar or such, but i feel like it might have something to do with heavy metals. Also, every once in a while, and lately every night, it hurts a bit in the kidney area when i lay down at night, and sometimes during the day it feels a bit uneasy. I must note i'm not a heavy drinker not at all, and i've always tried to be kind to my liver and kidney, and dismissed this as random probably stress related.
Aside from that i have those episodes from time to time, they generally last a 15min, but they can last up to an hour, in which my heart starts really fast for a state of rest, and i sweat from my hands and feet, and i have the feeling you have before you pass out, but i never do, i'm still perfectly able to do everything, i do not need to lie down or such, i just feel messed up. I've always thought it was what they call a "panic attack", but it feels very unlikely, as i'm not the panicky kind of person, i don't let my emotions get a hold of me more than the average person, and i don't feel freaked out at those moments.
Now looking at those things, and the fact that there are possible things in my lifestyle which MAYBE made me ingest heavy metals; cannabis use(if it is grown on polluted earth), living in a big city on tap water for the last year, generally eating bad, using antacids frequently until this day (pantoprazole), which apparently is combined with aluminium to prevent the laxative effects . And even more peculiar, i did not use those at the same time of quitting antiperspirants, as i wanted to get off them (antacids have a proven rebound effect). I started using them again at onset because of prescribed steroids etc... It was thrashing my stomach.
I'm not convinced my T, and the neck shoulder jaw problems are related, but i was thinking about this today, and it does make sense for those other problems i'm experiencing, and that said i'm gonna order a test for the heavy metal levels in my body, it might be worth checking out, it can cause a lot of neurological symptoms too.

All of this above is very unlikely to be related, but it's all a possibility, so i will check it out, and also check my heart, as i've heard arritmias can cause some form of T? Probably unrelated too, but it's time nonetheless that i start tackling all those minor inconvenient problems.

Your theory about the nerves is exactly how i think about it too, i'm glad you'r T and everything else is getting better i'm gonna keep paying attention to the stretching and how my neck and shoulders and jaw etc.. feel, it feels all related to T, and my pains have most certainly improved, the T still tends to fluctuate back to it's original level every day at certain moments unfortunately. But it is a lot less loud at some moments too, compared to weeks ago.

I'm also convinced it has multiple causes, which all aggravate certain related things in our body, which in turn cause the T, the question for now remains what exactly indeed. But we're getting closer.
I too am very allergic to grass and tree pollens too. At first i thought allergies where the cause, as my T stared continuously somewhere around the time summer started and i was very irritated by my allergies. But i can't link it with the electrical hiss sound, i think it could cause ETD those allergies, which i have too, mildly these days, and the ETD by allergies might have also triggered my T, but i don't get how it wouldn't at least improve by using antihistaminicums+pseudoephedrine, which i did for 2weeks after onset, and now still antihistaminicums.

Did your T go away completely after that period 2years ago?

Right now i'm thinking in the direction of too much neck+jaw+shoulder "stress", as that might be the main factor atm i suppose, as the ETD is resolving and the T isn't, it did slightly improve however, that might be the ETD part. [/QUOTE]

The Doctors suggested taking antihistamines and nose sprays too but they fire up my T so I really have not been taking any since this started. I explained to them that no matter what I do, I'm constantly exposed until the pollen stops. It's like a friend who is allergic to pets, takes meds and necessary precautions, comes over but has a delayed allergic reaction when the go home instead of an immediate one. I can't make a true evaluation of my T until the pollen stops or if it's been 6 months when it's considered chronic.

I've been holding hope on to this article on ata.0rg, "The Allergy Highway That Brings Tinnitus".

I forgot about my T for two years. Except if I listened hard for it or if there was anything that made my ear ring for a second.[/QUOTE]

Interesting article! It is weird that antihistamines and nose sprays fire up your T, does your body tolerate those meds aside from the T? you can very well be "allergic" to those meds.
Aside from that those meds dry you in the nose and throat out i have noticed, I'm guessing that the filth in my nose and throat must be still there, as i have practically no mucus anymore since using antihistaminics etc... But i'm wondering where the pollutants in my nose and throat have gone. Don't know what that has to do with the T though. It does sound a bit like allergies in you'r case though, but that is very hard to say of course. Anyways i hope it clears up for all of us! I will also be watching the pollen in relation to my T!

 

I somewhat sensitive to recommended dosages so I have to take half or children's dosages. It just dries me out to much and right now I notice that when my throat is really dry and the humidity is low my T is singing. I've taken barely any antihistamines in 10 weeks and I've been dry. Mysteriously I don't have a stuffy or runny nose but I do continue to have post nasal drainage down the back of my throat. I know your sinus' produce a quart of mucus a day but it's irritation that causes the redness. Again my nose is clear. I've been suspect to think that my middle ear is inflamed and is running constantly bc I don't have Otitus Media w/wo Effusion. I've read one lone medical site say the the middle ear can react like sinus' to inhalant allergens. In my opinion, dry nasal passages allow allergens easy access to the middle ear.

 

@chronicburn

I have all of the results, from the lab, x-rays and ct.

Regarding the ears, they tested a lot of stuff that I have no idea what was. I talked to an audiologist that had an otoacoustic emissions test done, and a surgeon that also performed some weird tests, and one test included some gel at my nose and he was reading data from something that for me looked like an oscilloscope. I guess it could be ultrasound.

After about 2 hours of testing, they concluded that there was nothing wrong with my ears.
This surgeon was quite old, and I asked him if he had encountered anything like this before regarding my symptoms, and he said never. He just couldnt explain it, but he also said whats ever going on, I dont think the cause is directly related to your ears.

After the appointment I went to see my GP that had got the results back from my x-rays of my neck and back and CT of my jaw. I was kinda positive that at least something was going to show up on the x-rays. But my GP said that they were all fine. It wasnt even signs of wear and tear. My jaw joints did not show anything wrong as well, they were all fine.

But now, they were able to see that I had slightly clogged up sinuses. It wasnt very very bad, but they were clogged up both sides. No idea why, but this was only seen on the CT of my jaw joints and not on the CT of my head.

Ive also had chornic stuffy nose for years, but I still dont believe that this is the cause.

While driving my car I had a support pillow behind my back and cranked my seat up so that my neck and head was supported all the time as well. I still got the headaches back while driving, and while stressing around I also noticed that my T was kinda louder than usual. Not the spike type, but just louder.

Now you are also mentioning something that is very familiar to me. Ive had heart arrhythmias for a very long time. I would say about 10 years, and they kinda comes and goes, but I do notice them mostly when Im going to sleep, but not like every day. A few times they have bothered me slightly. Also this kidney stuff you are talking about, Ive had that too.. A stinging sensation located at the front/side of my stomach, but its not always there, only once in a while. I havent had it for a couple of months now. I especially remember that I had it after I came back from the hospital.

Not sure if this is related or not, but I got a tiny eczema in the back of my head a year ago, and at the hospital they told me it was very common if someone was experiencing a lot of stress, and I did at that time.

I also remember that my physio told me a story of a girl that got T from having kidney stones, and it was resolved when her kidney stones had been removed. I have no idea if that is related to us or not.

3 or so years ago, I had very bad heartburn, where I also had to take antacids a few times. But thats completely gone now.

Seems like our symptoms are pretty dead on.

After I came out of the car heading the lab and my GP I was kinda stressed out as I almost came in late.
I did notice that the headaches were there and that my T was a little loud the entire time.
When I came back home I relaxed and the T went down and the headaches disappeared.

Im considering that stress/strain could be a contributing factor here.
But you say you also experienced temporarily Ts before the onset of your current T, I did that as well.

I want to add that I dont drink, I dont do drugs, eat pretty healthy and have been working out on and off for as long as I can remember.

I also had a very stressful period before the onset of my T.

What is good though, is that my GP has all the results from hospitals, specialists and a lot of blood work that has been done, and I was told whatever it is that is wrong, I can pretty much assure you its not fatal. I was also told that muscle strain could cause a lot of pain. I dont see how muscle strain could give electrical shocks and stuff like that, but who knows. I have a new app. with my GP monday where I will do some more blood work and tell her about the heartburn I had some time ago together with this kidney stuff you are experiencing as well.

Regarding antiperspirants, I think I will have someone analyze heavy metals as well. I think its possible either via your bones or a hair sample.

But really, if this is caused by aluminium poisoning, then yeah... I wouldnt know what to say. I still doubt it though, but as you say, Im open to anything.

I still believe it somehow is related to neck or back. But its astonishing what we have in common. I kinda feel that whatever is wrong, we might have the same thing.

You experienced those stinging headaches during situps, I had them while driving my car or sitting in front of my computer for a long time. Sjtof also had those before the onset of our T.
It seems like we all have stuck cervical vertebreas. Though, I went to the chiro two times.
The chiro also told me that there was something not right in my lumbar area, that he would like to have a look at later, but I never returned.

@Sjtof

Yes, car drives seems to be very bad for me as well. I get the headaches back immediately together with this fullness / burning sensation. It even tickles inside my ear now and then.

@Jay M

That is a very interesting article. Thanks for sharing!
At least it seems like T from allergies are very much possible.

 

Candida overgrowth. Google it. Check your tongue? Does it have an excessive white coating on it. That's called Thrush of the mouth. It's a yeast infection that produces many toxins. Everyone has it. It's when your immune system gets low and or if you've recently taken antibiotics or Prednisone, it can spread around the body (hence the tongue) and through the bloodstream. It does not grow in your ears but it can effect the brain if I understood correctly.

 

@Mr. Cartman

Today is a pretty "bad" day for me since a while. I notice so much tension in my neck and it is burning, tingling like crazy. My neck is terrible. My right ear seems to be experiencing a louder T again since the last treatment. I think the cracking my neck didn't go as planned. Or maybe I should just wait, normally it drops after a few days. Anyways I'm gonna make the appointment with a chiropractor. I can imagine you feel kind off disappointed with the results you have got? But the bright side it that it is definitely not from your ears. For now I just can keep my head still for a few minutes because than it gets tensed and I get the fulness feeling together with the burning. Also experienced another electrical shock when i was laying with my head down on a neck pillow, which is a little harder than usual.

Anyways, we will figure it out somehow.

 

Thanks a lot for the tip! Its definitely something I will look into! Ive read a few articles about it in the past, and I cant say that I feel very confident that this is the case, but Im open to anything If there was some kind of odd stuff with my toungue, it would be weird why not 2 ENTs, one GP and a specialized surgeon wouldnt have pointed this out, as they have all messed around with my throat and mouth. But you never know..

 

Hi mate!

Im sorry to hear that you have a bad day. I kinda felt like the adjustment of my neck didnt go as planned as well the last time I visited my chiro. Ive really struggled after this adjustment. So now Im not so sure if I want to do another adjustment. Im doing a lot of stretching and stuff at home for the time being, and I will continue doing this for quite some time. I have gotten a lot better after I started doing this. So if the progress continues, then that would be great. But Im very doubtful when it comes to neck adjustments now. Guess Ill give it some time and go back if it hasnt resolved within a considerable amount of time.

I cant say that Im disappointed. I dont expect anyone find anything. If someone does, and are able to treat it, then thats a bonus. In fact I think its a good thing that they havent found anything fatal.

Ive also had an MRI of my upper part of my neck, where they had a look at the nerves, especially those that are located within the occipital condyle (that are responsible for most of the stuff going around in our body), and they didnt see any nerves that were pinched, which I also think is a good thing.

Those electrical shocks you are talking about happens to me as well while lying with my face down. For me it seems like very central nerves are doing this stuff.

Yeah, I hope that we are able to figure out something, at least something that helps for sure.

 

I've seen just as many Doctors too and I had to finally point it out to my GP. Apparently it's a common overlooked symptom until it's grossly overgrown. Mine was not but my tongue didn't look normal to me and my GP said, "That's Candida overgrowth."

 

I still have post nasal drip too, i've been told it's because of ET inflammation, but its weird you don't have the other problems associated with ETD and middle ear inflammation, pressure differences, pain in the ears when changing altitude you etc...

Your opinion also sounds legit about the dry nasal passages, but without antihistaminics, those allergens would cause even more havoc in your ET and middle ear.

But you made me think though, i'm gonna try to lower my dose of antihistaminics instead of taking nothing, or the whole dose, see if that influences anything.

Well seems like they did some thorough tests there, but indeed i also feel like the origin of the problem isn't in the ear, i feel like that's positive, i'm thinking once we found the cause and treat it, the T will go away too hopefully .
And indeed, there's a pretty good chance we have the same thing, it's already quite a list of symptoms, and we have almost everything in common indeed.

As for the clogged up sinuses, that's peculiar, i wouldn't know how to relate it to the other symptoms. It might point into the direction of an allergy or something. I have the same thing still visible by looking in my nose, so bad but not really bad i guess, and had it really bad at onset. That's what caused my ETD according to my ENT . But that was because of allergies that we're spiking at that time and i didn't medicate those allergies, now i do though. In my opinion the fact that my T didn't improve in synchrony with the clogged up sinuses and ETD, more or less proves my T isn't related. Or the part of my T that was related has been solved though. (in the first week after onset my T was much louder and somewhat fleeting all the time, after that it settled into the electrical hiss i'm hearing until now, probably the hiss was already there, but the louder T dominated it.

Aside from that i too have had a stuffy nose for years, maybe as long as i can remember.

I don't know what to make of all this, there are just so many possible causes and symptoms that are related.
I'm gonna get my bloodwork done too and tomorrow i have another appointment with my physio, gonna see what that's gonna do, last time it did diminish my T a bit for some time.

Also, probably completely off-topic, something that keeps spooking in the back of my head, 5years ago i had an "out of the blue" conjunctivitis and uveitis in both of my eyes, dominantly in the right, this was extremely painful and i did suffer from this for a year i think, i was treated with steroids and Methotrexate injections which helped, and doctors suspected it was caused by an autoimmune disease, they checked every autoimmune disease but it came back negative. And after a year i gradually stopped the medication, and the inflammation didn't return. Now i must note that some of those autoimmune diseases can only be diagnosed based on the symptoms and scans, and not by a bloodtest or such. What made me think is that my dad has been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in the meantime, which has as symptoms, uveitis and the vertebras slowly fusing together, i think i'm gonna get that checked out, i don't see how it could be related to my T tbh, but as my problems seem related to the vertebras for some parts, it might be another factor, it's very unlikely though, it just popped up in my brain, as it's weird i had that eye inflammation and never found a cause. And the fact that autoimmune diseases tend to wreak havoc on a lot of random places in your body.
Its far fetched, but it's worth checking out in my case, as i didn't have scans back then to cross out this one, and i indeed do experience some lower back pain from time to time, last year not so often anymore, and i think once since onset, but quite a lot before that, it's pretty common also i suppose.

Aside from that i was in quite a stressful period too in the month before onset, and i did have an busy and exhausting lifestyle in general, but for the little eczema rash i wouldn't know how it would relate, i too have it though, above my breasts and on the shoulders, always had it a bit on my shoulders, the rest followed after being prescribed corticosteroids at onset. Stress can cause it too indeed, as cortisol (whats in those corticosteroids too) is released in your body when your having stress for some time.

Also those electrical shocks, it seems rare in my opinion too that they are caused by muscle strain, probably nerve related, but i can't explain the link between those 3 things. Must be related in some way though. Or that's what i think at least.

I have that too on my tongue a bit, but have had this since i was a child, so i don't see how it could only start causing symptoms now. But you're right indeed, i also heard severe candida overgrowth can cause T and a lot of random and neurological stuff. Gonna point it out to my GP indeed when i see him this week!

 

@Mr. Cartman

Now that i think of it, what exactly do you mean by those black eye floaters you get sometimes? Something i've noticed since around onset, is that my vision "freezes" at a certain image for like half a second max sometimes, and my eyes make a very rapid movement at that moment, or it at least deals like that. Also i do have sometimes that i see a small black square, for half a second max, almost more or less at the same place every time. Also i have some visual snow 'like tv static" for as long ask can remember, at least 10-5years or such. don't think that's related, but it is the visualization of the static hiss i hear somewhat, and that's a bit spooky actually.
On a sidenote i heard visual snow is quite common, you notice it most when looking at big areas in the same color.

 

Reducing Candida Overgrowth - Summary of what I've found so far.
Minimum 2-4 weeks.
DON'T

• no sugars, sweets and foods made with sugar or fruits
• no fruit. nothing sweet
  
• no breads. period. bc they contain yeast

DO

• basically a meat, spinach, broccoli, some grains and a little brown rice diet
  
• consume plain yogurt with good bacteria

 

@chronicburn

Regarding eye floaters, I mean black spots that has been floating in my vision field for a few seconds, and fades away. I havent had them recently, only before the onset of my T and I have never had those before. I did notice one more ackward thing though, a few months before the onset of my T, my left eyelid was a bit sticky in the morning. Everyone have this feeling now and then, and its pretty common, but I felt like my left eyelid was somewhat glued together. Recently I have had a couple of painful yellowish lumps around my eye with a little puss added to it that went away in a few days. This is also very common during a viral infection. My eye got a red spot on it, looking like blood vessels once, but resolved after a few days. Still located on the left side where my T started.

I have had the autoimmune stuff in my mind as well. It could very well be it, and it might or might not be related to our T and headaches.

I do know for sure that car driving or strain/stress or both triggers my T and headaches. The moment Im starting to drive, its a disaster. If its caused by barometric pressure change, posture or muscle movemets I dont know, but theres something going on while driving my car. It could be due to a weak inflammatory spot in the neck or something like that, but what Im going to do next is to simply sit in my car for about an hour without any strain at all, just relax my muscles, but keep my neck and back in the same position I would normally have had while driving. If nothing happens, then strain and/or barometric pressure change could be the reason. As my sinuses are clogged, I wont rule out barometric pressure change to be a possible cause as well. Also, while Im actually driving, Im straining my eyes and muscles a bit more as well, by concentrating, stressing out to reach my destination and by using the transmission and throttle.

Im pretty sure the answer is in there somewhere, as the car driving did trigger those temporarily Ts and headaches a lot of times before my current T. And nothing else did. (except once when I was sitting in front of my computer for a long time, but this one was different and seemed to originate from my head and was gone the next day).

I did speculate if the sound itself triggered those headaches. I know the T and the headaches were related, as when one changed, the other did instantly. That was until I found this face down position and the headaches resolved completely, and my T was still there. Sometimes the T faded as well in this position. I could listen to it and it didnt cause any headaches at all. So now Im very confident that its not the sound itself that is causing the headaches.

Its funny that you bring this visual snow up. Ive had that thought so many times. The visual snow Im seeing reminds me of a visualization of my T. Who knows, I think its probably the same basic mechanism, nerves fiering.

I fell asleep with my face down on my stomach yesterday, I slept pretty much half of the night in this position. My T is at an all time low now, and I can barely hear it. I can hear a little hiss once in a while, but at the moment I have no trouble with it. Also I have had a little hiss as long as I can remember. When being in a quiet environment I could always hear this sound which I considered completely normal and it never bothered me. I would say that my T is about that level now, except that I do have a funny feeling going on around my ears. Like the sensation of a slight fullness. When I remember back, I did have a funny sensation in my ears when I tuned in at this sound, so it could very well be muscles you are straining when listening for the sound itself. I dont know.

What I do know, is that the T I had before doing those stretches and spending time in the face down position with two pillows under my shoulders was nothing like the one I have now. It was a hiss that was for me impossible to keep on a subconcious level. It was dominating everything else. The T I experience at the moment quickly fades into the subconsciousness. And I have not had any so to speak nasty spikes that I had before after doing those exersices.

Im pretty confident that its not because of noise. Ive been driving boats with engines that made quite some noise for a prolonged time and I did not experience any change in my T or in my headaches at all. I didnt even experience one single headache that I can remember because of this, and I was very causious about my posture that time.

However, if Im using the tractor lawn mower using double ear protection, plugs + professional ear muffs, I have noticed that the headaches return and the T will go at an all time high aggressive hiss. And when using this lawn mower Im sitting in a VERY forward bent back and head posture and straining my neck very bad. There are also a lot of vibrations going on but that also counts with the boat when riding those waves, so not so sure if its due to vibrations.

As I dont experience a lot of barometric pressure change during the lawn mowering, I kinda doubt that is the case.

At least for me it seems like the cause could be posture, stress or strain (concentration, using my eyes, neck etc.), but as Im doing that when sitting in the boat to some extent, Im not sure.

I could try to sit at this lawn mower for a while as well, without straining and without the noise to see what happens.

At least everything in my mind is telling me that this is related to neck or back or stress, but mostly neck. Also we could have a weak spot there as well due to some other condition, like a stuck vertebrea.
I also have to admit that I have abused my neck and back in the past pretty badly. And I havent really taken care of it at all, until now. At least whatever the cause is, Im going to be very gentle to those areas in the future and try to remain a good posture. I will keep trying different stuff regarding postures and see if anything happens. Right now im pretty fine, but I wont expect it to last that long. It will probably flare up as soon as I drive my car.
Also when I massage my neck right above the first cervical vertebrae I can feel somewhat of a fullness in my head and a funny feeling radiating upwards my neck and ears.

@Jay M

Its kinda tempting to try that stuff out. Even if it is related or not. I think too much suger in general is no good.
I do have a weak spot for bread though.. My stomach is kinda upset for a while after eating a lot of bread, and the morning after. Also, thanks for the info!

 

Copied and pasted:
"(Eye) Floaters have also been linked to candidiasis, an overgrowth of the yeast-like fungus Candida albicans, and may simply be a symptom of this system-wide problem (Postgrad Med J, 2001; 77: 119-20). Candidiasis can be controlled by eliminating sugar and yeast from the diet."

Also if you're experiencing upset stomach after eating bread you might be sensitive to wheat gluten.

 

I took 3mg of Melatonin last night and it was some of the best sleep I've gotten since T-Day. All the disrupted sleep from T at night has been undermining health, mood and the healing process. My T is lower than usual today. One thing I was having a problem with prior to was sleep, not terrible but just enough. I would still wake up tired and I would just power through my day with caffeine.

 

Thanks for the information! Im going to eliminate yeast and suger from my diet for a while to see what kind of effects it might have! Either way, eliminating some suger is a good thing in my openion

 

I'm afraid to say but when it comes to Candida reduction diet, it's almost all or nothing and alcohol included. IMO it's a basic prehistoric diet minus fruits: meat, leafy green vegetables and some grains. Bread used to be considered a privilege to have and if you think about it, for the first time in the history of bread, we have unlimited access to it and today consume more and larger portions on a daily basis now. The body is not meant to consume this amount of yeast. So what happens to this excess of yeast in the body? It simply causes problems and now breads are made with loads of sugar and all this stuff feeds Candida even on a small scale. That's what I've read around the Candida forums. In regards to T and Candida, it's not the Candida itself that causes T, it's the toxins it produces. The body normally handles removing these toxins but when the bodies good bacteria versus bad bacteria (Candida) is out of balance, the body begins to circulate these toxins and these toxins can effect the brain. I've read forums with people stating "...when my Candida was at it's worse, my ears were ringing...". The impression I got was they were equally or more concerned about their C than T. How bad is bad? I don't know but when I can take a tongue scraper in the morning and scrape some off my tongue, something is out of balance.

 

Thats interesting though.
Did you try this diet yoursef?

 

I discovered this information about Candida early on but was not completely sold on it being a factor to me until now.
My diet has changed and been modified trying to improve health in regards to reducing T.

Upon onset, I immediately reduced salt intake and eliminated caffeine and sugary drinks and foods. Drinking only filtered water and eating more fruits.

I started recalling at all the breads and hidden sugars I was consuming before T-Day. I tried a low or gluten free (GF) diet for about three weeks in the early stages, I really felt better but no effect on T. Plus it's tough due to the limited variety, acquired taste and cost of GF foods. Then I went back to eating some regular breads but not nearly as much, maybe a 1/4 of the amount.

Recently I came across a post by Erik on TT about mono-sodium-glutamate (MSG) and how it's in everything processed and hidden with 40 different alias' on food labels such as "Natural Flavors" and "Yeast Extract". MSG's are excitotoxins a.k.a. neurotoxins. They cause brain cells to rapidly fire until the die until they become revitalized through rest and reduction of neurotoxins. Anything effecting the brain can effect the ears. The dumbfounded moment for me was when I discovered whey protein and anything labeled hydrolyzed is full of this stuff labeled as "Glutamic Acid". I was drinking 1.5 serving of this Hydrolyzed Whey Protien a year to date every morning w/o fail. I stopped 9 days ago. It takes weeks for stuff to get out of your system and needless to say I feel like my T has improved. I've suspected my every other day "electronic" buzzing sound to be linked to hidden MSG consumption. I still have it every other day but it's not as intense and there's been a few days where it was not there at all. When it's a good day I can hear it lurking but even that's becoming less it seems like.

Considering the natural desire to consume these types of foods, I've been slowly reducing fruits and breads for the past few days. The goal is to eat more real foods and eliminate anything with msg totally and yeast and sugar as much as possible for at least a few weeks.

 

Yeah, I know we are consuming a lot of ingredients that are no good to our health.

 

It's peculiar that it happens specifically when sitting in a car, but it could indeed be because you strain a lot of muscles in the neck area when driving, i've noticed that too, aside from that you might be in a bad posture and don't notice it because you are driving and need to pay attention to that, this happens to me a lot, i keep noticing that i bend my neck forward when driving, and also your shoulders are quite tense, the fact that i drive a manual car, and thus use my right arm and shoulder a lot, might or might not be related to the fact that my muscles and T are way more (in)tense on the right side. But indeed in my case a car drive is one of the fail proof ways to spike my T, and tense my neck.
The "fullness" in the ears, which radiates to the upper part of the jaw and sometimes to the neck in my case, is also weird, and indeed not related in intensity to the T, i seem to notice it more when my T is lower actually, it is weird, but i'm convinced it has the same cause.

It's weird that you had some sort of inflammation in/around your eye too, i wouldn't know how to relate this, except for int the case of autoimmune, or straining the muscles around the eye too much, by looking at screens a lot of the time or in the car, something i have noticed i do whilst driving. Nonetheless it's all a weird coincidence that these symptoms all seem to be worse or only apparent in the side on which our T started. I did have some eye irritation too before onset, but i think it was the allergies that went untreated at that time that caused it in my case.

I also noticed that my T reacts to certain eye movements, looking to the far right/left, this is something that i noticed the last months too before onset, i would notice the small hiss i also noticed when yawning or turning my head 90°, it makes me think, according to the nerve theory that eye motoric nerve-hearing nerve-neck nerve (and jaw, which has some relation to the neck if I'm correct), it is possible that one way or another, those nerves have been misfiring or misinterpretating signals for some years at least already, and it has simply aggravated enough until it was always noticeable around onset. only those temporarily T's before onset, i don't know where to put them in that picture.

Aside from that, i woke up this morning with a pretty low hiss, it was nice, after the increase the last 2 days.
I also went to the physio back today, and while driving there it increased again, and i did have some minor headaches localized in the back of my head this time. Mainly on T side, but also on the other side. (they "sting" for a few moments, and then go away, to reappear again at another "random" location a few moments later.) It was not as painful as during the time i did sit-ups though. But i surely did notice. Anyways i went to the physio and she treated my jaw muscles this time, and also my neck a bit. My jaw muscle was quite painful and really swollen on T onset side, after that treatment it was still quite painful, but the tight feeling in my jaw has subsided for now. Also my neck was quite sore and swollen on the right side too, must have something to do with all the neck stretching i've been doing. I walked out of there again with a pretty low hiss, the physio treatment is at least doing something. I'm convinced that stress is related too, in the sense that you strain your muscles when stressed, and higher cortisol levels in your blood might also have an influence.
I also discussed the visual snow with her, which did increase lately (last few months), but which i did have for possibly all my life. She said it could very well be the same mechanism indeed, as they are somewhat related, and most likely will subside a bit just like the T. Somehow they are all connected in some way. As eye movements can modulate my T too. But not so much as neck/jaw movements.

Later this evening i went socializing a bit, and completely forgot about my posture for some hours, and indeed i was sitting back in that cramped bent forward position, and my T increased for a few hours until a few moments ago actually, and i'm relaxing at home atm. Also my shoulders and big toes are really stiff lately, they crack almost every time i walk bare feet/move my shoulders back and forth. Don't know if that's related probably fits in the bigger picture of my muscles being under quite some strain.

I'm very glad for you that you that your T is subsiding for now mate, hopefully it doesn't come back, there's always a chance . I must add that the neck stretches start doing something too for me, at first they only spiked my T for the duration of the stretch, now they still do that but afterwards my T lowers. It's still at an annoying level, but it's lower after stretches for a brief while. Also i did forgot about the 2pillows under shoulders position the last 2 days, not sure if that has something to do with my T being louder the last 2 days too. Nonetheless i'm gonna start doing that again after this post .

I'm also pretty convinced it's neck shoulder posture etc related. It will take a while to solve it though. Also i must add that those spiky temp. T's that i think your referring too as well, are gradually becoming less frequent. I haven't had any of them today. So that's very positive.

And yes, indeed, i've been not so kind to my neck and such as well, head banging and enjoying the mosh pits at a metal gig every once in a while, has left me with really sore neck and shoulder muscles in the past, so i think that also points again at that as the cause . also i've had a motorcycle accident almost a year ago, i wasn't injured in a miraculous way, and never saw a doctor. But i did have a really stiff neck for a couple of days after that now that i recall, it wasn't serious, but i can imagine it might have pushed a vertebra in a wrong way or such?

 

That is surely interesting, i've been trying to avoid MSG for quite a while, but reading about the 40aliases it uses, made it apparent that it is in quite a lot of foods, i'm not sure if it is related to my T, but it might always be, anyways it is no good to our health indeed, and i've heard quite a lot stories about how it can spike T.
The candida diet is also something i'm gonna try in the near future, i'll see how it goes but it will be hard to sustain that one.

 

A change in diet that would make you feel better overall is easier to sustain than one thats supports T.

 

I haven't had a chance to read all the posts in this thread, so I apologize if I am repeating what someone else has said.

For a condition unrelated (as far as I know!) to my my tinnitus, I need to swallow Fluticasone (which is usually inhaled to treat asthma). A side effect of this steroid is Candida, or Thrush. The prescribed treatment is gargling with Nystatin. This procedure be carried out proactively to prevent Candida, too.

-Golly

 

I was prescribed Nystatin mouth wash and followed it exactly. It did not work and I have a mild case. Candida is in everyone and over growth is often over looked. The over growth is a result from a weakened immune system and or eating too much yeast and sugar and not having enough good bacteria to keep it in check. Any oral steroid such as Prednisone that suppresses the immune system (just to reduce inflammation) causes C to get out of control.
C produces over 40 toxins that can effect the brain if the immune system is suppressed. Many people with C often complain of T.

 

I can relate to this so well. Its like you are describing my own symptoms in a very detailed manner. I stated in a post @Sjtof that my big toes were particulary stiff as well. And his osteo said it could be due to neck problems if I remember right.

I found some info that I found quite interesting.

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( Source: http://www.tinnitusjournal.com/detalhe_artigo.asp?id=236 )

Clinical Science-Medicine/Surgery

Secondary Tinnitus as a Symptom of Instability of the Upper Cervical Spine: Operative Management

Authors: Abbas Montazem

Abstract:
Tinnitus very often is caused by instability of the craniocervical junction. It very frequently manifests as a high-pitched whistle that disappears after operative correction and stabilization of the articular geometry. Prolapsed intervertebral disks, discoligamentous injury, and even metastases as low as level C3 can cause tinnitus, which also usually disappears after surgery.

Keywords: alar ligament; instability; upper cervical spine


Between January 1996 and January 2000, we operated on the cervical spines of nearly 150 patients per year (on average) at FUssen Hospital, Germany. Statistical evaluation of the large number of patients who received treatment for their cervical spines at our hospital revealed that up to 80% of those with pathological changes in the upper cervical spine (C3 and above) had reported tinnitus as a secondary symptom.

This large number of surgical patients presented with heterogeneous clinical pictures. Mostly, they were patients with degenerative changes in the midcervical spine, but some also presented with prolapsed disks and solitary metastases. However, very many patients presented also with late complications after accidents. These included those with instability of the craniocervical junction due to torn or overstretched ligaments, patients with discoligamentous damage without neurological deficit, and many patients with degenerative discopathies, some with pronounced spinal stenosis.

After becoming aware of the secondary symptom of tinnitus, which some of the patients found very unpleasant, we evaluated the statistics more specifically. Our analysis showed that patients with degenerative changes in the lower cervical spine only rarely reported tinnitus as a secondary symptom, whereas the patient group with instability at the craniocervical junction had usually reported a unilateral or bilateral high-pitched whistle. In patients with dysfunction at C2-C3 or C3-C4, we also found tinnitus but of a different character. This mostly manifested as splashing or crackling noises.

During surgery on those in the latter patient group, special attention was paid to ensuring complete relief of any nerve structures that may have been involved. At the same time, the region was stabilized, with a very strong emphasis on physiological correction of the craniocervical junction geometry. After operative correction and rehabilitation, the tinnitus disappeared completely and permanently in all but two patients.

In this report, we have deliberately omitted all other symptoms that required surgery of the cervical spine. Later, in describing the patients, we again concentrate on the tinnitus symptom and discuss the other symptoms separately.


PATIENT GROUP

Between January 1996 and January 2000, we operated on a total of 134 patients with secondary tinnitus. Thirteen patients had pathological findings below level C2 but above C5. One patient had a tumor at C2, one had a metastasis at C3, seven patients had disk prolapses at C3-C4, two had instability and angular kyphosis at C3-C4, one patient had a prolapsed C4-C5 disk, and one had instability at C2-C3. The dorsal approach was used for 121 patients undergoing stabilization surgery for instability at C0-C1-C2. In 98% of these patients, the instability was caused by an accident.

Sixty percent of the patients reported that the injection of 0.5 ml 1 % prilocaine hydrochloride (Xylonest) into the Cl-C2 joint with a long cannula under an image converter had an effect on their tinnitus. In 8% of these patients, bending the neck would provoke the tinnitus more strongly. In 11 patients, the tinnitus had developed slowly 1 year after the accident. Twenty-one patients reported that they suffered occasional tinnitus but that this was triggered immediately by stress. In four patients, the tinnitus remained unchanged after the operation. Although these patients reported considerable improvement in their degenerative cervical syndrome and cervicooccipital symptoms, the tinnitus had remained unchanged.

During the postoperative phase, 30% of the patients had recurrent tinnitus for a period of up to 4 weeks. This was closely associated with postoperative tension in the neck and shoulder muscles. However, the postoperative tinnitus responded very well to treatment (1) by infiltrating the paravertebral muscles that showed tremendous tension, (2) by chewing gum, which eases and relaxes the neck muscles, and (3) in part by prescribed muscle relaxants.

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( Source: http://injuryresources.com/brain-injury/injury114.html )

Tinnitus and Cervical Spine Injury

Tinnitus is an auditory disorder in which the patient hears a noise that is not actually present. "Tinnitus is common; estimates of its prevalence range up to 80% of all adults. About 10% of people complain of chronic tinnitus, whereas 0.5% of adults describe it as interfering with their ability to lead a normal life."

Many patients who have a whiplash injury or temporomandibular pain report tinnitus as one of their symptoms. The problem with these patients is that seldom are there the objective signs of nerve dysfunction commonly associated with tinnitus.

The reason for this is that there are two different types of tinnitus: "otic" and "nonotic." "Otic" tinnitus can be directly associated to disorders of the inner ear or auditory nerve through testing. "However, there are many other patients who have either no detectable ear/nerve disorders or there is no close temporal relationship between such a disorder and tinnitus, so that the initiating event of the "nonotic" tinnitus is obscure."

The author of this study uses a review of the literature and case reports to describe the phenomenon of "somatic" tinnitus, or tinnitus that originates in the lower head or the cervical spine.

The article describes nine patients with tinnitus and describes the various details of their cases. Here are brief descriptions of three of these cases:

Case 1 was a 52-year-old woman who had surgery on her right shoulder. She developed a frozen shoulder from the surgery, and immediately upon injection of the local anasthetic being administered (for treatment of the frozen shoulder) she developed tinnitus in her right ear that has persisted since 1994. Clinical examination reported spasm of the right occipital muscles.

Case 2 was a 39-year-old woman who had tinnitus since her teens. "Head position has always modulated her tinnitus loudness. On a 0 to 10 loudness scale, she rates her tinnitus as 3/10. When turning the head to either side or tilting to the left, loudness increases to 5/10, whereas with tilting to the right, the loudness was barely perceptible (1/10). Clenching her teeth increased the loudness only slightly (4/10). On examination, 2 regions of increased muscle tension and tenderness were noted in the right neck as compared with the corresponding regions on the left, namely the upper sternocleidomastoid and the medial suprascapular regions."

Case 8 was a 50-year-old woman who developed tinnitus after neck manipulation. Her symptoms were intermittent, and, "When initially examined, she was not having tinnitus. Her left suboccipital muscles, however, were noted to be tender and under increased muscle tension compared with the corresponding muscles on her right side. Within an estimated 5 minutes of examining the cervical musculature, she reported that her left-sided tinnitus has started. On reexamination, her left suboccipital muscle tension had become much more pronounced. Within another 5 minutes, her tinnitus abated, and her suboccipital muscles were more relaxed."


The author cites a number of whiplash and TMJ studies that refer to tinnitus, and suggests that these conditions are not related to any pathology in the auditory nerve or inner ear, but are based in the cervical spine and jaw.

The key component in this neurological model is the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus, or DCN. Disturbance of the DCN (which resides in the brain stem) has been found in other studies to be related to tinnitus. The author’s proposed model goes something like this:

The nerves in the head and neck converge as they enter the brainstem and upper cervical spine (shown at right as the "CST," where they all meet in the medullary somatosensory nuclei (MSN).
The MSN is directly connected via neural pathways to the DCN.
Stimulation of the nerves in the head and neck (from injury or stress) could result in activation of the MSN and, in turn the DCN, resulting in tinnitus.

The details of this proposed model are really only useful to theorists. The importance of this study is that there is some strong evidence that neck and facial injury can result in tinnitus:

"Whether or not the proposed model for somatic (craniocervical) tinnitus is correct in all its details, it represents a focus for future systematic studies of somatic tinnitus and a framework for approaches to treatment. Moreover, we have presented a series of patients in whom the evidence argues for a craniocervical, nonotic basis for their tinnitus. As such, it seems likely that some cases of somatic tinnitus may result from interactions between the somatic and auditory pathways within the central nervous system with no involvement of the auditory periphery (cochlea or auditory nerve)."

Levine RA. Somatic (craniocervical) tinnitus and the dorsal cochlear nucleus hypothesis. American Journal of Otolaryngology 1999;20(6):351-362.

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@Sound Wave
@just1morething

 

I also have to add that I did not know chewing gum was relaxing the neck.
Some years ago, I can vaguely remember one of my teachers at school told us this though.

Ill try to chew some more gum now, and see if it can do something

 

@Mr. Cartman

Thanks for sharing those articles! They are very interesting, the cervical vertebras might be the root of all problems after all. The article talks about cervical vertebra surgery to correct them though, i can't imagine that is the only way to fix it? After all very positive that almost all patients got rid of their T in the first article .
About gum it does relax your neck indeed, but it's a bit double if you have jaw problems as well, in my case it does not really help, as it makes my jaw sore after a while at the same time as relaxing my neck a bit indeed, i feel like stretching has more effect, but it's worth a shot!

 

Yeah, it could very well be it. Also, it seems like tensed muscles in that area could be the cause. I heard of one lady that got rid of her T in 2 months after adjusting her posture. A girl I know had stress induced T, hers went away in 6 months. Ill probably give it some time and do some stretches at home. If it doesnt go away, I will have someone to evaluate the nerves around my neck and shoulders, because something is not right at the moment.

 

@Mr. Cartman

The chewing gum may relax your neck. But if you got cervical vertebra problems it won't help much either. Because the jaw is connected to the c1 especially. Which you can see in this video.



I quit chewing gum after 1 month in T. My osteopat adviced me to do so. Before that i was chewing gum 24/7.i noticed that I sometimes had those temporary spikes when chewing gum.

Anyways going to chiropractor on Friday. Will keep you updated.

 

Good point! I really hope the chiro visit will pay off! Please keep us updated!