Eating/Chewing Causing Tinnitus Spikes?

[Jupiterman]

Everytime I eat and chew I notice an increase in my tinnitus that can last anywhere from half an hour to over an hour (sometimes longer), depending on how much I've had to chew my food. Obviously some foods require more chewing than others.

Is a 'spike' gained through chewing as serious as a noise induced one? What I mean is, am I doing damage everytime I eat as if I were exposing myself to noise?

Does this mean I'll never get any improvement to my tinnitus, that my tinnitus will get progressively worse indefinitely? I need to eat!

Anyone who has experience of this, I'd like to know what I am to expect.

I'm three months in.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

I was getting progressively worse from stuff like eating and drinking water. No, it's not causing any hearing damage. You seem to have a case of reactive tinnitus, which is definitely nerve related. Also, if your jaw pops/cracks when moving it around it could be related to the jaw. Yours thankfully go down, my spikes were always permanent. It calmed down in 7-8 months for me and now I can allow myself more without getting worse. I'm afraid the only thing you can do for now is to be careful with noise and just wait. Maybe try to eat softer food, for now, if you want to avoid these spikes. Cheers.

 

[kmiki]

Everytime I eat and chew I notice an increase in my tinnitus that can last anywhere from half an hour to over an hour (sometimes longer), depending on how much I've had to chew my food. Obviously some foods require more chewing than others.

Is a 'spike' gained through chewing as serious as a noise induced one? What I mean is, am I doing damage everytime I eat as if I were exposing myself to noise?

Does this mean I'll never get any improvement to my tinnitus, that my tinnitus will get progressively worse indefinitely? I need to eat!

Anyone who has experience of this, I'd like to know what I am to expect.

I'm three months in.

@Jupiterman, I think I am noticing the same with mine!! I believe it's related to the Eustachian tubes as chewing can change pressure inside them.

Is your tinnitus related to your Eustachian tubes? How did you get your tinnitus? Do your ears feel plugged? And how are you doing these days?

 

[Jupiterman]

I've also found that even if I don't chew and simply put food in mouth and swallow, it still causes me to spike, though not as much if I had have chewed.

It could be an Eustachian tube issue, it could be a somatic issue or it could be that the middle ear is picking up sound from mouth (do you have hyperacusis)? One of my ears feels full after moderate noise exposure, I've had that since the onset. With the same ear, the eardrum usually flutters a bit after eating too.

Other than the ear flutter reducing slightly, I've not seen any improvement in this particular condition since last month.

If you can manage to resolve yours by use of a spray or something, please let me know.

Please feel free to read my previous posts.

 

[Andy2010]

I have mild Ménière's disease and have had tinnitus for years, but I never noticed it spike after eating food until now. Recently, I've experienced a lot of neck stiffness and had some physiotherapy for it. I wonder if that could have affected a nerve.

Regarding TMJ, I had it checked a few years back. The specialist gave me an exercise to stop my jaw from clicking. Here's what you do:

1. Look into a mirror.
2. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
3. Open your jaw wide and straight (hence the mirror).
4. Hold for a few seconds and repeat a few times.

Apparently, opening your mouth to one side can cause issues, and this exercise can help correct it. This should reduce the clicking and associated TMJ hearing issues. The clicking of the jaw seems to reduce immediately after doing this, but tinnitus will not improve right away. I'm going to try this again!

Please note, I am not a doctor, so only try this if you feel it's right for you and consult an actual doctor if needed.

 

[BBApple]

Interesting. My tinnitus radically drops while eating/chewing. I wish I could do it all day. What does that mean?