Every Time I Clench My Jaw It Gets Louder

[baddream]

it gets louder, when i bite hard, it gets louder, when i clench hard, it gets louder
i mean like 90% louder

does this mean I have TMJ? I went to a dentist and he said you can only have TMJ if you grind your teeth in your sleep... i think bullshit ... what could this mean? (its a very high pitch EEEE sound, had it for over a year you know the whole story .. bla bla )

 

[Karen]

Hi, Baddream,

I think you are more likely to be right than your dentist about the TMJ and tinnitus. Here is a link to an article from the British Tinnitus Association (BTA) about TMJ and tinnitus:

http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/tinnitus-and-disorders-of-the-TMJ-and-neck

Maybe you could check with another dentist, or see if you can find a TMJ specialist. I know that when my tinnitus first began, I found a TMJ specialist in my area, and he checked me out.

Good luck, and I hope you find some answers!!

Karen

 

[Liesel]

@baddream : That is indeed, bullshit. Grinding your teeth can make it worse though.

 

[Magpie]

It's very common that clenching your jaw increases your tinnitus. Opening your mouth wide and closing it quickly gets the same response. Nothing to be concerned about IMO. This might be an interesting read:

There are three basic ways of checking for somatic tinnitus symptoms. First, a patient is able to modify the resonance by moving the jaw, neck, and the eyes. Secondly, to create resonance against sound levels and pitch, patients can press their mandible, cheeks, temples, neck, and the tragus. Lastly, patients with muscular tension in the neck region and the jaw are another symptom of this type of tinnitus. Physicians will examine the various bodily functions while determining the somatic tinnitus treatment.

When a patient is suffering from muscular tension, any of the above-mentioned movements will enhance the tension signals from the innervations region of the trigeminal nerve that is associated with the acoustic pathway. While determining the existence of somatic tinnitus symptoms, the physicians generally examine the patients' body movements. For example, a doctor will check the mobility and maneuverability of the jaw and neck for any deficiency, which is measured and noted. To assess the dental occlusion, the physician holds the neck in an upright position. As the jaw and the upper cervical spine is an integrated motor system, it may not be able to endure a deviation, and therefore, any forward movement of the head or neck is a recompense for the dental occlusion.

http://www.articlesbase.com/disease...les/symptoms-of-somatic-tinnitus-4829102.html

 

[monophaser]

hi there,
i got a couple of t tones. one of them is super reactive to jaw movement and clenching. also if i press behind the ear and certain places on my face it gets much louder as you describe it.
dunno what it means - but i think this type of t is called somatic tinnitus as the article magpie refers to states.
does anyone know if somatic tinnitus has anything to do with noise exposure etc, or it strictly is a body/tension kind of problem?

 

[JasonP]

Mine gets louder for a bit but then goes down. Anyone know the science here of what is going on?

 

[Marie79]

I've been told that's normal for anyone

 

[erniej]

Mien is caused by degenerative arthritis in the neck. When I move my head around or drive over bumps in the road with my car it changes volume, tones, and frequencies. If I look down my left ear gets louder. If I tilt my head back my right ear gets louder. When I tell doctors this they look at me like I'm making it up. I have bone spurs that are pressing down on the nerves and causing a lot of spasms up and down my neck into my shoulders. I started doing neck strengthening exercises a few months back and that's when the shit hit the fan. I went to UmassMemorial in Worcester Massachusetts and had six injections in the back of my neck to numb the pain but the ringing stayed the same. I read where a guy had the nerve in the c2/c3 vertebra in his neck numbed and his tinnitus went away. I was hoping to get the same results but didn't. I had mien numbed up as far as c4 and that was it. I was tempted to tell the doctor about what I read but figured it would be a waste of time. I know mien is caused by the neck problems but no one will take me seriously. When the spasms shoot up the back of my neck I get this tingling feeling. I told one doctor that and he told me to go home and run a fan in the background. I already mentioned that in another thread. I don't have TMJ. I can move my jaw all around and nothing changes. It's so frustrating. Here I am giving them the answer to my problem and no one will listen. If I lightly rub the back of my neck the tinnitus changes.
Oh, and I bought a high pressure shower head massager for the pain and spasms. That was a BIG mistake. Today was the worst my tinnitus has been since 1991.
Sorry for going on for so long. It's 1:10AM and because of the pain I can't sleep and I gave up trying to find a good movie on Amazon Prime.

 

[Ian Mac]

I was sleeping in weird way on my left side with my neck curled and held in a weird position, I did this for 3 or 4 days until one day I actually fell asleep like that without releasing the tension. I woke up with vertigo, tinnitus, and nausea with nystagmus. The doctors said I got a virus called labrythitis?? I'm pretty sure I jacked up my neck and my brain re-wired while I was sleeping and thought my head was in the right place but it wasn't and the result is those symtoms. Ive been trying for 2 years to figure out what happened, I think it was my neck but who knows maybe it was a virus.. I have diplacusis which is the worst type of tinnitus, I hear one noise as two noises and it sounds like a bird chirping between two different noises really fast "CHIRP chiiiirp beep beep chirp CHIRP." oh and its only in my right ear which makes it so much more annoying than the normal central ringing tinnitus which yes I also have from loud music.

 

[Ian Mac]

try sucking in like you are drinking water through a straw if you want to experience a major T spike, YAY!

 

[erniej]

two different noises

Welcome to my world. Drives you nuts doesn't it? Mien goes from my right ear to my left ear, back to the middle of my brain, different noises and frequencies. I can feel the spasms in my neck go right into my ears. During the spasms my ears feel like their plugging up and then unplugging. I told a doctor this and he clicked his fingers next to my head and asked if the volume was the same in each ear. If they won't listen to us how can they help us? We're not making this shit up.

 

[Ian Mac]

Medicine just hasn't gotten there, and the doctors are just doing what they know, and that aint much unfortunately. Very hard to describe. In trying to describe it I was put into four mental hospitals and diagnosed as schizophrenic lol, i'm not, just have horrible T.

As far as snapping that's one of the first things I did when I stated testing my ears, snapping in each ear, that's when I noticed my left ear has hearing loss in the high frequencies... An otologist is the doctor who can perform test to tell us their best guess of whats going on, as of now that's all we've got, oh and audiologists are good for hearing aids. I wear one all day and night its the only way I can function. It plays music and also has maskers that cover up the bird noises.

My T also goes to the left sometimes but mostly just burns a hole in my right ear.

 

[racerfish]

I don't know the science behind it, but I think a lot of people experience that. My T jumps if I clench or move my lower jaw forward and then immediately goes back to baseline when I stop.

 

[truesilence]

Mien is caused by degenerative arthritis in the neck. When I move my head around or drive over bumps in the road with my car it changes volume, tones, and frequencies. If I look down my left ear gets louder. If I tilt my head back my right ear gets louder. When I tell doctors this they look at me like I'm making it up. I have bone spurs that are pressing down on the nerves and causing a lot of spasms up and down my neck into my shoulders. I started doing neck strengthening exercises a few months back and that's when the shit hit the fan. I went to UmassMemorial in Worcester Massachusetts and had six injections in the back of my neck to numb the pain but the ringing stayed the same. I read where a guy had the nerve in the c2/c3 vertebra in his neck numbed and his tinnitus went away. I was hoping to get the same results but didn't. I had mien numbed up as far as c4 and that was it. I was tempted to tell the doctor about what I read but figured it would be a waste of time. I know mien is caused by the neck problems but no one will take me seriously. When the spasms shoot up the back of my neck I get this tingling feeling. I told one doctor that and he told me to go home and run a fan in the background. I already mentioned that in another thread. I don't have TMJ. I can move my jaw all around and nothing changes. It's so frustrating. Here I am giving them the answer to my problem and no one will listen. If I lightly rub the back of my neck the tinnitus changes.
Oh, and I bought a high pressure shower head massager for the pain and spasms. That was a BIG mistake. Today was the worst my tinnitus has been since 1991.
Sorry for going on for so long. It's 1:10AM and because of the pain I can't sleep and I gave up trying to find a good movie on Amazon Prime.

My god, this sounds like me!! I also have bone spurs on my neck but the MRI showed that it wasn't touching any nerves. I have horrible spasms, that can be quite painful, and regular headaches. I've been looking into Cold Laser Therapy to try to release the knots in my neck and shoulders. I've had T for over two years and it's so bloody depressing.

 

[Marlino]

I can increase my T by pushing with my hand firmly upwards against my chin. It results only in my left ear in a stronger T.

By pressing against my temples or clenching jaws I can generate new tones in both of my ears. I wonder if I could do that before T onset. I never noticed it before but I guess I just didn't mind it then.

I wonder why this is possible though, since it's said that the cochlear is surrounded by the hardest bone in the whole body.

 

[Candy]

We know tmj and neck problems cause tinnitus so it is possible.