TMJ or Jaw Issues Contributing to My Tinnitus? — Maybe a Breakthrough for Me

So if you guys saw my previous post you might know that I thought that my hearing loss was caused by ear wax, and that I was pretty dismayed to find out that the ear irrigation hadn't worked.
I potentially thought that going to concerts and et cetera might have caused some hearing loss, so I decided to do a couple of online tests. I'm not too naive - I know they don't hold a candle to proper tests but I figured that if, say, two or three tests all said similar things it might be of note.

So I tried a few. Surprisingly, all of them said that I wasn't suffering from any hearing loss. Brill, right? Well, not quite, as the ringing persists.

Then as I was reaching over to grab something off the floor, I opened my mouth and my jaw clicked. I then realised - hang on, it's not meant to do that. To cut a long story short, my jaw has always clicked and clunked, and it's often been quite sore. I tend to clench my jaw ever so slightly, or hold it at an odd 'angle', aided in no part by anxiety (I'm sadly an anxiety sufferer too).

This led me to do a home TMJ test where you feel near your ear to see if your jaw clicks or clunks. Funnily enough, my jaw clicks on the exact side that my tinnitus comes from.

I then sort of thought back to my previous issues. I've never been one for loud noises - I went to a few concerts in my time but I don't go regularly, and interestingly I never had increased ear ringing afterwards, even when the Nine Inch Nails concert I went to last year nearly bloody killed me haha.
Is it possible that TMJ or jaw issues are contributing to my tinnitus? I've got a list off Google of the most common tinnitus causes and I'm going to go through them. If a more knowledgeable user could help out I'd be grateful.

Hearing loss - Unlikely. I've never been around loud noises too much and even at concerts I was usually very far back. I did go to one concert when I was fifteen where I was right up against the speaker, and despite being very loud it didn't (to my knowledge) make my ears ring. No more than it would for anyone usually, anyways. Online tests say I haven't got it, and I'm going to book a Specsavers free hearing test if symptoms don't clear up in a couple days (I'll remain hopeful that it will clear up after the irrigation - it seems to be doing that now, though it might placebo).

Stress and Anxiety - Definitely probable. I am a very stressed out dude!

Ear Infections - I doubt it. It's been going on for a while. It could be this and once I have my hearing test results I'll go to an ENT - in the UK it's hard to see an ENT unless you thrust the results of a hearing test in the face of your GP.

Ear Wax Build-up - Maybe. The procedure was about twelve hours ago and the volume seems to be decreasing but I have no idea. It's very apparent in silence and it was pretty bloody deafening after my shower, but that seems normal. Even someone I asked who has great hearing says their ears ring after the shower sometimes. Who knows.

Ménière's Disease - Uh. Yeah. Probably not haha.

Glue Ear - Apparently clears up over time and affects young children. I doubt it.

Otosclerosis - I actually know a bit about inherited diseases after A-Level biology, and as my dad's hearing is worryingly good for a man approaching fifty I doubt this is it.

Perforated Eardrum - Nah. No symptoms.

Anyways, this is all I have for now. Hopefully one of you can spot something I haven't. I must say that this community has been bloody brilliant, you're all amazing people and I thank you for your time and effort when it comes to listening to a clueless teenager ramble on haha. I'm a bit more hopeful now.

 

Tinnitus can come for a variety of reasons, just because our hearing is good or great...Does not mean that tinnitus might not afflict us. I would not test my hearing online (that's just me). If you want to get a proper testing, then possibly go see a professional. My jaws click as well, but I have had tinnitus way longer than my jaws clicking. I did go see a few Drs and nothing came out of it. People like @Greg Sacramento are better at TMJ and explaining better for you.

I will tell you this much, of all tinnitus types...Noise induced tinnitus tends to be a bigger culprit. You have tinnitus, now you need to protect your ears and learn how to manage and live with the tinnitus. It might possibly fade, if not try to learn ways to cope and live a life with it. It takes lots of work, but it is possible...

 

I just think it's quite funny that after some soul searching I realised that tinnitus has always been with me - but I did notice the potential TMJ issues an age ago too. I just never figured that it was worth pursuing.
What I'm hoping is that because it wasn't caused by hearing loss (which is irreversible to my knowledge) it can be something that is fixable. Maybe stress, maybe anxiety, maybe TMJ, maybe I need corticosteroids. It's just nice to think that it's a curable thing.

That being said, I'm definitely going to get some earplugs and put them on my keyring.

 

@swimming

Your masseter muscle on one side is overdeveloped. Jaw - This results in an almost square shape with a slight angle of the jaw.
Possible causes of this:

1 - You might of had an injury to C spine - at a young age, causing C1 displacement - association is bending forward.
2 - Mouth opened for too long (childhood) dental treatment.
3 - You were born with an overdeveloped masseter muscle.
4 - Swimming can cause this --- or make a small common off bite or any muscular or joint oral concern to become more pronounced.

Treatment:
See an oral and maxillofacial dentist. Injections?
Neck treatment if cause. X Ray of neck?

 

2 or 3 is most likely. I don't recall ever injuring my spine nor did I ever really swim much (contrary to my name). I wonder if perhaps me being premature contributed to it?

 

Underdeveloped masseter muscle - premature - and this can be the mechanism association to the jaw that easily can cause tinnitus in teenage years or older. Odds for this to happen is higher if mouth was then latered open wide for too long during dental treatment. Tinnitus only develops on one side, the same side where the masseter process places wear and tear on the jaw joint causing it to angle. You might only need a special retainer with steroid injections. Any treatment exercise needs to be approved by an oral maxillofacial and not by a therapist.

In my metro area, noise exposure tinnitus by itself only accounts for 55-60 percent of tinnitus. The other 40 percent or so is mostly from medical and dental care error, ear wax, ETD, neck to jaw - TMD - jaw, whiplash, chemicals, mold, (hypertension and crisis, heart, thyroid, abdominal aortic and/or internal carotid) and premature issues. Prematurity is high in my area, so we have two trauma level one hospitals with large NICU units. We also have a lot of malpractice and auto accident attorneys.

 

Greg this is fascinating. I've booked myself in for a hearing text next week just as a matter of courtesy, and if that shows up as clear I've looked into some local dental practices that offer TMD/TMJ issue therapies. I'll bring up what you said if that's okay by you and see what they say. Fortunately I have enough in my savings to consider private healthcare if the state NHS system doesn't offer what I want.

Bless you mate. You've been a real help.