Well I had 1 very quiet day ( I thought I was cured) & I went to visit someone and I was back to normal it seemed. But now the hissing is back in full force and I am struggling to deal with it again. I really thought it was cervical based T but now not sure. It was great to be quiet for a day but the reason is unknown.
Hi just1morething,
The lidocaine they use for trigger point injections is a drug that has been long known to affect tinnitus.
http://www.ata.org/sites/ata.org/fi...s/a_new_look_at_lidocaine_sanders_sept_00.pdf
In addition, the trigger point injections with botox often also contain lidocaine. The lidocaine is typically used with the botox injections because it alleviates pain with they do the injections.
Last year I made a spreadsheet with all possible causes of the tinnitus, and the rationale for why the cause is feasible, and what I could do to remedy it. At the time, I was also having severe neck pain. The list included such areas as: infection in a root canal, cervical/neck issues, Eustachian tube issues due to allergies or infection, TMJ, bruxism, vitamin D or B deficiency, and even kidney damage due to antibiotics. One by one I worked on each possible cause. For the first time in my life I visited a lot of doctors. What I found was that 1. there are some really bad doctors in Miami and 2nd/3rd opinions can be the key to answers 2. that persistence does pay off because I have reduced the ringing considerably.
To elaborate on the 'bad doctors', I had one ENT tell me I had hearing damage (his sound booth was antiquated and the woman doing the testing was not qualified) , then two more doctors and a independent audiologist tell me my hearing was great. Also on my journey, I had one Endodontist tell me to pull a tooth because the root was cracked. Two subsequent Endodontist told me that the tooth was perfectly OK. Oh, and I allowed an allergist to give me a shot of Prednisone, which made the ringing much much worse for over two weeks. I called his office, and nobody could tell me the dosage of the shot. I had my primary care physican call, and the allergist nurse finally figured out what they gave me. My primary told me it was way too high of a dosage. So my lesson learned is to get 2nd/3rd opinions, and too also make sure you have all of the information on the proposed treatment (dosage etc).
Here are the areas that seemed to make the most improvement for my tinnitus:
1. I found a Prosthodontist (like a dentist but they have two extra years of training) who fixed my bite. My bite was high on one side. This has helped both my neck pain and my jaw stress. He also made me a night guard which I faithfully wear at night. I used to love my previous dentist.. nice guy, but in hindsight, a terrible dentist. 2nd and 3rd opinions are key.
2. I have a regular chiropractor (with whom I have a negotiated cash price) that I see 2-3 times per week. The doctor identified my particular muscles that tend to pull my C1/C2 out of alignment. (I also had upper and lower spine MRIs to check for stenosis which I do have at C6/7 but is probably not a tinnitus issue)
3. I found a doctor whose focus is spine & pain, who worked with me to test botox on my jaw (no effect) and also on specific back & neck muscles. This does not eliminate the ringing, but I do think it has reduced my neck pain, which lowers stress and therefore ringing volume.
4. I have started allergy shots because I seem to have Eustachian tube issues. I feel a glug-glug in my ears when I bend over. And I wake with a stuffed up nose in the AM. The jury is still out on whether the allergy shots will help.
5. I have always been a very healthy eater. And with the start of the teeth issues, and subsequent tinnitus I began eating more and more anti-inflammatory foods such as ginger root tea and turmeric. I found that the salicylates in these foods doubled the volume of my ringing. I am now on a vegetarian but low salicylate diet (lots of lentils, beans etc). For those of you wondering if this would apply to you; If taking asprin (which is salicylic acid) makes your ringing noticeably worse, then high salicylate diets will do the same.
Supposedly a significant percentage of people do have salicylate sensitivities/intolerance. This salicylate intolerance could be considered comparable to people who are lactose intolerant. Similarly, people who have dairy sensitivities lack the enzymes (or the enzymes are weak) to bind to/digest lactose (dairy). In addition, these sensitivities can be compounded by leaky gut. Leaky gut basically means that you have damaged your stomach lining. The stress of the root canals, the ibuprofen etc could have contributed to leaky gut issues.
6. Also in line with the salicylate sensitivity, I take regular Epsom Salt baths now. The Magnesium Sulfate works to eliminate salicylates (it works with the PST enzyme to bind with toxins) and has a significant impact on the ringing volume. I use 3-4 full cups of Epsom Salt and soak for a good 30-40 minutes.
7. I try to continue masking whenever possible. The theory is that your brain has been trained to hear this pitch, so after eliminating other factors, retraining your brain with masking may also be important. I was also told this by an audiologist here in Miami that specializes in tinnitus for over 20 years.
My apologies for the super long post (and any spelling or grammar errors), but maybe someone will find this helpful. Feel free to private message me if any one would like details on any of this. My ears still ring, at a lower volume, and I have some days that are very quiet. I'm hopeful that with less aggravation (jaw, neck, foods, etc), the volume will continue to subside.
. I think the muscles of the neck can be a big factor for some of us raising the T volume significantly. At least that is my current opinion. My T seems very low today, but what will it be tomorrow? I also seen a CMT today to try to loosen up my tight neck muscles.
Member
