Hello everyone!
I felt the need to share my story, which is similar to so many that I've read.
Symptoms:
At first I thought it may be ETD. I went on corticosteroids, but they didn't help. Maybe made it worse.
I had a hearing test. Some high frequency loss, but that would be expected at my age of early 50s. No detectable low pitch frequency loss.
I went to physiotherapy as I suspected tension and stress in my neck maybe a cause. Nope.
I went to an ENT, who said basically I had to live with it. I suggested an MRI. At first he dismissed the idea but then said what the heck, let's rule out something serious. The MRI did not discover anything serious.
I thought maybe it was Meniere's disease and cut down on salt. Drank a ton of water. No effect.
I suspected food allergies but got tested and that wasn't it.
Finally I went to the dentist to see if I was clenching my jaw and grinding my teeth.
He said I was clearly grinding and subconsciously clenching throughout the day. He said my jaw movement to the right was limited even though I didn't notice. My low pitch ringing was on the right.
He suggested a professional mouth guard for nights, and to regularly massage my jaw muscles.
I had the guard made and wear it every night. I massage my jaw muscles with my hand while driving or whenever I think about it.
I haven't heard the hum in 3 weeks and fundamentally believe it's jaw related.
The dentist said the muscles in the jaw can sometimes clench and irritate nerves close to the ear.
I am telling you, go see your dentist. My life is back to normal, and the silence is wonderful. I was a nervous wreck thinking I'd have to live like this for the rest of my life. Funny enough, I have a science background and yet the last thing I suspected was actually the cause.
I felt the need to share my story, which is similar to so many that I've read.
Symptoms:
- Low pitch ringing or hum around 80 Hz in my right ear.
- It would come and go but could last for months at a time 24/7.
- It felt like a vibration or rumbling engine in the distance.
- It was very distressing and stressful.
- Low frequency sounds would mask it.
- If I put my finger in my ear it seemed to go away.
- Earplugs not so effective.
- Mine was somatic. Could make it louder or less loud by moving my head/neck or jaw certain ways.
- I noticed it would sometimes settle down at night. Sometimes I'd wake up at 3:00 am and it would be gone. It was so great I couldn't get back to sleep. I would enjoy the silence. As soon as I woke up in the morning and stood up it would reappear faintly, but then get worse as the day progressed. I couldn't hear it at work or outside usually, but at home in the quiet it would be maddening.
At first I thought it may be ETD. I went on corticosteroids, but they didn't help. Maybe made it worse.
I had a hearing test. Some high frequency loss, but that would be expected at my age of early 50s. No detectable low pitch frequency loss.
I went to physiotherapy as I suspected tension and stress in my neck maybe a cause. Nope.
I went to an ENT, who said basically I had to live with it. I suggested an MRI. At first he dismissed the idea but then said what the heck, let's rule out something serious. The MRI did not discover anything serious.
I thought maybe it was Meniere's disease and cut down on salt. Drank a ton of water. No effect.
I suspected food allergies but got tested and that wasn't it.
Finally I went to the dentist to see if I was clenching my jaw and grinding my teeth.
He said I was clearly grinding and subconsciously clenching throughout the day. He said my jaw movement to the right was limited even though I didn't notice. My low pitch ringing was on the right.
He suggested a professional mouth guard for nights, and to regularly massage my jaw muscles.
I had the guard made and wear it every night. I massage my jaw muscles with my hand while driving or whenever I think about it.
I haven't heard the hum in 3 weeks and fundamentally believe it's jaw related.
The dentist said the muscles in the jaw can sometimes clench and irritate nerves close to the ear.
I am telling you, go see your dentist. My life is back to normal, and the silence is wonderful. I was a nervous wreck thinking I'd have to live like this for the rest of my life. Funny enough, I have a science background and yet the last thing I suspected was actually the cause.