What Is Going on With My Ears? Could My Tinnitus Be from Tension in My Neck/Back/Jaw?

[LittleHoneybee]

Hello everybody,

I'm new to this forum but not new to tinnitus.
I'm 33 years old and from Germany.
I got tinnitus back in 2018.

In March 2018 I woke up and couldn't hear deep tones. I went to an ENT and he diagnosed sudden hearing loss. My ears looked good and he couldn't find any reason for this. So he suspected stress.

What was strange was that my hearing kept coming back after 1 or 2 days and then got worse again after sleeping.

At times when I could hear everything normally, a low humming sound set in. It all happened in the right ear.

All of this was repeated several times within 6 weeks. I heard poorly for 1-2 days, then the humming sound started and everything started all over again. I went to different doctors. My dentist made a splint for my teeth and diagnosed TMJ. I even got cortisone injections through my eardrum.

Since then the tinnitus started in the left ear. This never bothered me as it was maskable and I could only hear it in the quiet.

Everything was ok until January 2019. My normal tinnitus changed from a pure tone to a high pitched hissing and was not maskable. I started to panic but after 3 weeks everything went back to normal.

This happened again in November 2019 for 2 weeks, in May 2020 for a few days, in September 2020 for a few days and again in November 2020. This time it lasted about 6 weeks. I panicked again and thought that this time it would not go away. During that time, I had nights where I could hear many different sounds. Once I counted 7-8 different sounds.

And now I'm here. The high pitched hissing started Thursday but the sound in my ear already started to change last Sunday. And I don't know why. I always wear my splint. ENT can't find anything. My GP thinks it has something to do with tension in my neck, back and jaw. I can imagine that too because this time and last time it all started with neck pain and headaches.

For the past two weeks, I am already seeing my physiotherapist once a week and get massages.

I take Vitamin D3, Vitamin B and Magnesium. For sleep I started two days ago Mirtazapine 7.5 mg and I still get barely sleep and I can't eat because I am afraid that this time it's going to stay.

I don't use headphones at all, I haven't been exposed to loud noises.
Everytime I am going to an ENT they say that my hearing is fine and that they can't do anything for me.

What is going on with my ears? I don't know what to do anymore...

I really could use some encouragement.

Thank you for reading. It turned out longer than planned.

 

[Leila]

Hi @LittleHoneybee, sorry to hear about the change in your tinnitus and the stress it is creating for you.

From personal experiences I know that it is more than difficult to find medical professionals who are knowledgeable when it comes to tinnitus. I'm from Germany myself, I can relate to some of the experiences you mentioned in your search for medical treatment since they are pretty much identical to what I've experienced myself.

In the thread "Is It Tinnitus? - Low Hum - I'm Very Worried", @GregCA commented that he's "never read any scientific paper showing causality between stress and tinnitus" and I have to agree. Of course, being stressed doesn't do your mind and body any favours but in regard to many hard / if at all to treat ailments it is also a lazy fix since it leaves the ball in the patient's field. It also begs the question, at least in my opinion, what it was that was first - the chicken or the egg so to speak...

I'd recommend you to have a good look around jameda and try to find a doctor, therapist, chiropractic,... who mention tinnitus as one of their specialties and, of course, has really good valuations

Noch einen schönen Ostermontag and chin up!

 

[LittleHoneybee]

Thank you for your reply.

I don't think it is stress-related either. It's the answer you hear when they can't find anything. I just wished I knew what caused it. And what causes these spikes. I know I am not the only one who wants to know these things. Maybe I just wish there was something I could do... It feels wrong to just sit and wait. Yesterday was a pretty good day. My noises were quiet. I try to go on my daily business. Sometimes it's easier than other times.

I guess I would love to hear that everything comes back to baseline. But I know that no one can tell...