What Is Brain Tinnitus?

Hello,

I have noticed that some members have mentioned brain tinnitus in some of the threads. Can someone explain to me what brain tinnitus is? I have times when it seems as though I have multiple "almost inaudible" sounds pinging through my brain. Is that brain tinnitus?

 

Subjective tinnitus is always a symptom in the brain, but it is almost always caused by a malfunctioning of the auditory system and the brain trying to compensate. Certain disorders such as Williams syndrome, autism, Lyme's disease, syphilis, depression, Schizophrenia, etc. can cause tinnitus in the brain without a whole lot of auditory damage, but this is not common. It's typically a fairly safe assumption that tinnitus is caused by an irregular auditory input, and the brain undergoing neural plasticity in an effort to salvage the hearing input.

 

I would like to add that another often overlooked cause of tinnitus is neck and jaw problems. These muscles run close by the ear and may send out signals which are then wrongfully interpreted as sound - many of these cases are somatic however and notice changes in tone/volume when moving the jaw or the neck.

 

I have a very odd phenomenon that I am trying to determine if it is considered brain T. I have times when it is as though I pick up extreme high pitched electrical sounds that continuously ping back and forth in my head. If I go to a quiet room and lie down, the noises will stop. It usually occurs when I am exposed to electrical sounds such as the TV, computer video calls, etc. Perhaps it is hyperacusis???

 

@LynsieIndiana

There are two different meanings:

1) Brain tinnitus refers to the sensation of having the noise located inside your head. In my case, it is a very clear inside the left ear sensation.
2) The school of thought that says that tinnitus is a brain problem that is initially started by losing hair cell/connections in the ear and the tinnitus is just a maladaptation of the brain trying to correct by the lost frequencies.

 

I’m still confused if my noise is caused by an airplane Barotrauma in 2008 or TMJ disorder. They are both on the left side. Fluid in ear from airplane Barotrauma seems most likely but nothing I can do about it so I will continue to look at TMJD. Recent TMJ report said grade 5 internal derangement. Noise is really an annoying bummer. Waking up with it at the highest volume is so disturbing.

 

Brain tinnitus is when you get frustrated and you feel your entire head is ringing. Is that what happened to you? This happens to me when I eat certain foods.

 

I call mine head tinnitus, due to I hear it from other spots in my head. I also have 3 sounds. Mine is different than a high pitched sound out of your ear. I believe it is more brain than ear.

 

@Rajin. My tinnitus is complex. In my right ear, I have various sounds from complete silence to buzzing, hissing, air blowing, or what I call a drone. My left ear is quiet except for a transient high pitched ring that only lasts a few seconds. However, sometimes I have what I call the fairy bell jingle. It seems more localized to my head and only occurs every few days. It is more of a sensation than a sound, I guess.....hard to explain.

 

I feel like this is exactly what I’m going through, it’s like I’m not hearing something but I am. For me it’s like hearing my own brain fog or something !

Yeah I’ve been calling mine head/brain tinnitus too, it’s the weirdest sensation and it’s torturing me!