My Tinnitus Is Now 10/10 — Did TMJD Come Before or After the Worsening?

[Beep]

Hello everyone. I have been reading threads before posting anything and I feel like i need some support from the veterans because I'm feeling like I can't manage this situation.

My tinnitus is a 10/10 in loudness. I really can hear it over absolutely everything (even with my hearing aids on).

I have slowly learned to stay in bed for 6-8 hours but I don't feel like sleeping because I'm awake with eyes closed 80% of the time. Also reading is really hard, I can't enjoy it with all these loud sounds in my ears.

I have had tinnitus since 2016, first week was hard but I habituated super fast because I have had bilateral severe hearing loss since I was a kid and tinnitus sounds was nothing new for me; during my childhood I could hear tinnitus for one day or two but it always disappeared, so my audiologist said the 24/7 tinnitus was inevitable sooner or later and I accepted it, this tinnitus was a high frequency tone and never changed in pitch or volume, it was ok, as I said it scared me at first but then we become "friends" and I forgot about it.

But in December 2020 I woke up to incredibly loud sound in my right ear, it literally made me jump off the bed and put me in panic mode. It has been almost 9 month and it's even worse than at the beginning, now I have multiple tones and they change all the time, even in the same day. They're not reactive tones, they just change randomly. Some of them change ears.

I have been diagnosed with TMJD in my right TMJ, same side as my tinnitus, but I really don't know if it's caused the increase in my tinnitus volume or if it came later due to the anxiety of my ears screaming and the lack of sleep.

That's all, I just wanted to introduce myself, you all are the only ones that understand me and make me feel I'm not alone. Thank you for be there with your histories and positive mindset. I would like to read that my tinnitus is going to get better but at this point... I don't know. Could it be possible that a spike from stress or TMJD last that long?

Sorry for my English, it's not my native language. My best wishes for everyone, we are not alone.

 

[anonymoose]

I'd highly suggest treating the TMJD. There are a ton of nerves that run between your jaw and your vertebrae that connect to the brain right near where the vestibulocochlear nerve enters the brain. It's possible these nerves are being irritated and causing "electrical noise" that is causing the tinnitus.

If I force myself into an underbite jaw position I can generate tinnitus in both ears at shockingly loud volumes. It's very possible your TMJD is doing something similar, so I'd treat it asap. A couple things you can do on your own are to make sure you're not clenching your jaw throughout the day, wear a night guard, and switch to a soft food/liquid diet for a couple of weeks to relieve some stress from your jaw muscles.

Definitely see a dentist/dental surgeon and get x-rays done to see if something is going on.