Food Doesn't Affect My Tinnitus — Is That Relevant?

[RonnieCarzatto]

What does it mean if coffee/sugar etc. DOESN'T affect my tinnitus? It's just... there, always! Only moving my jaw left to right, and pressing on my temporal muscle increases the noise differently.

I suspected TMD/TMJ, had a mouth guard splint done, but my significant other accidentally busted it. $1500 down the drain... oh well. I had it on for about half a year but tinnitus didn't improve. Would this take longer?

Mind is racing. I can forget tinnitus and sleep okay for the most part some sometimes it still just upsets me.

 

[Michael B]

The only thing I can say with any certainty is that the sodium in pizza makes me spike for sure.

 

[RoeTaKa]

The fact you can change your tinnitus shows it could be somatic. Have you been able to reduce the sound of your tinnitus through certain movements? Does it change if you turn your head hard to each side, or are there muscles around your neck that provoke your ear/tinnitus at all?

I don't know alot about TMD/TMJ or if people have had much success from the splint but it might be that general anxiety and tension in the day could be an issue if you ever have that. I know that although I don't clench my teeth in the day, I do tense my facial/head muscles a lot without realizing.

I'm also like you in that food doesn't seem to affect mine, I'd have to binge something to sickening levels to find more out about that I guess haha. I almost went to see a chiropractor to see if it might help with mine and the amount of anxiety I usually feel but I can't help but feel it's almost a gamble and I'm not desperate to make any risky decisions just yet. I'd rather start safer, edge closer in and make better more informed decisions.

I'm seeing a physio/sports therapist in a couple of days and I'm hoping it will help me out and perhaps give me a little more perspective. I don't expect my tinnitus to improve but I hope it's a start to better physical and mental health. Besides the ringing I have this low hum that comes when it's quiet and sometimes feel like I can feel it, I can handle the ringing more but my body is usually in a constant state of being on edge from the low hum, all I want is for that to get better or I don't react to it.

I'll post here if the physio helps.

 

[RoeTaKa]

I said I'd post if physio helped me and it's been a month, I figured I'd give it time before I said anything about it. Has physio helped? In short, yes.

My initial visit was confusing to me because I didn't feel like I got anything out of the massage but I was given a routine to do daily if I wanted to. This routine was all about neck stretches which I decided to just do as was instructed three times a day.

I had another visit booked two weeks after the first session and I was convinced if nothing really happened then I'd stop going. I'd told the physio I felt I had a lot of pressure around my neck and skull and if I could alleviate any of that then this was all worth while. Cut to after the massage and I noticed I felt lighter and more relaxed, that feel of pressure was less than before, or at least I'd hoped.

But since that visit I've had more good days over all, I believe the stretches have really opened up things and the massage alleviates some of the problems. The stretch has been the most important part, and something I've really focused on feeling and opening. It's really important to get that right and feel it. I believe the first visit was fruitless because the muscles needed that stretch.

I believe now I'm tackling problems with pressure and inflammation. I still have a light ringing in my left ear and a low buzz or hum somewhere in my head but it's nothing a little light masking can cover. I am believing now that this is the road to tinnitus not bothering me as much, better mental health and just giving my body the release it needs.