TMJ Pulsatile Tinnitus — Improved from 5-7 to 2-3 in Two Months

Hi everyone. It's been about three months since my T started, and two months of treatment, so thought I would provide a positive update about my improvement. When I started I was at a steady 5 with panic peaks of 7 when I thought I was going to lose my mind. My T is a very high-pitched whine (9K Hz) that pulses with my heartbeat.

I am in the small percentage who did manage to find the cause of my T and a potential plan of action after a month of running around (I had diagnoses that ranged from swimmer's ear to "middle ear infection"). I finally found an old ENT who said my hearing was fine, and that from his decades of experience that I had TMJ (but no pain, so a bit unique in that regard).

I then luckily found a brilliant, if a bit odd, TMJ expert who told me my problem before he even took a CT scan: bad ortho 30 years ago, combined with bruxism had jammed my jawbone too close to my scull. The CT scan, in fact, showed this. The pressure and spacing were so bad that the ends of my jawbone are actually deformed. This compression basically caused a pinched nerve on the ear, plus caused my whole jaw and neck muscles to seize up. The short-term solution was to move the jaw away from the skull with various "splints" (aka guards) to provide space and then let time and PT do its work.

I got a night guard, a day guard and started PT on my neck and face to relax the muscles and tendons, and went on a soft diet. Just last week I finally got a "chewing guard" that readjusts my bite and allows me to eat something solid. I also added low doses of antidepressants to both help with the reaction to T, plus hopefully stop the bruxism at night, even with a guard.

After >$7K (almost all out of pocket - TMJ is considered a dental issue and not a medical one) and two months later my T is at a steady 2, with peaks to 3, and I even occasionally have a blessed half-day here-and-there of a 1. I am also, sadly, largely adjusted to it as everyone says will happen, so even when at a 3 I largely don't "hear" it. (note: 3 on my scale is equal to casual conversation so easier to ignore than 5, when it is a lot louder than the person talking to you).

The "long term" treatment is to reset my whole mouth with new ortho, so I am in for a lot more $ and a lot more time, but will be happy to spend it if I can dial the T down even more. There is no guarantee that I will be able to get it down more, but I do know that at 2 that I am lucky compared to many on this site. Having 5-7 for a month was sheer hell, and I don't know how people last at that level more than the month I did.

Good luck to everyone in their fight. I know I am lucky to have improved as I have. I will update as I progress.

 

Love to read stories like yours. Congrats on finding the cause and ways to lower this noise. This is fantastic news. Stay positive now and keep living life to the fullest!

 

Did you ever hear "metallic bird chirps" or anything like that. I hear a bird constantly in my right ear I'm wondering if it's Tmj. Did you ever hear high pitches jingling noises instead of constant ringing?

 

See above

 

No - I have a constant 9KHz whine in both ears, like the old sign-off signal on TV. At first it also had my heartbeat in there, so it "beaded" with my heartbeat, but that seems to be less now that the volume is lowering. I have occasional "fliers" which are different pitches that come in very loud for about 5 seconds and subside, and I think (hopefully) that is due to the improvement - I assume they are spasms that happen as the muscle and joint continue to heal.

Now that I think of it I also had a few "woopers" here and there when I first started treatment, which I also attribute to the muscles starting to spasm as my jaw was repositioned and relaxed the TMJ. I had a few of those early, but not again.

 

I glad for you. I hope your T gone for ever.

 

What does "beaded with my heart" sound like. What do "whoppers" sound like. Is it possible they sound like keys jingling? I also get flyers in one ear for five seconds then they go away.

 

This is what I have when it acts up. When its not acting up its just an easy to ignore hiss.

 

I wish I could handle it but I need to mask it

 

I don't handle it well. It's not usually there. It is today. It used to be always, now its like, once a week for 1/2 the day, 2x a week if its a shitty week. Alcohol helps.

Usually I deal with the hissing.. which sucks, but I can cope.

 

Mine fluctuates every second