My Tinnitus Started While Having the Flu — Maybe Related to Jaw/Neck/Dental Issues

[Albapv]

Hello. I'll introduce myself. I'm from Spain, so... sorry for my English!

My tinnitus started as a loud ringing in both ears in April from the flu. After I recovered from the flu, there was only a softer buzz in the left ear.

I went to the otolaryngologist two weeks ago and he told me that my tinnitus is related to muscle problems in the neck and jaw. A week of muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories. Hearing test and eardrum vibration are ok

Now I am doing physiotherapy (today, second session).

I have noticed some improvement: I think the buzz is weaker and at some point in the day, just for a few minutes, it seems to go away. Then come back...

I am hopeful for my recovery, hopefully full recovery, and if I am not lucky I hope to get used to it.

My current symptoms are:

• Buzz in the left ear (all day long). Mild, but sometimes feels like a high-pitched hiss. There is no beep.
• Sensation of pressure or plugging in the ear. With certain movements during the massage it improves.
• Pain in the neck (left side).
• With certain stretches of the left side of the neck / jaw it becomes softer / goes away (just a few seconds).

I also clench my teeth so I have an appointment with my dentist - and trying to relax jaw during the day.

I don't know if it has anything to do with it, but I feel like I breathe worse through the left side of my nose.

I know it may be early to notice improvement... and that I have to be patient and give time... I've only been like this for a month and a half...

Does anyone have symptoms similar to mine?

Thank you all!
¡Gracias!

 

[Albapv]

I have reviewed my notes well and I see that after the flu I was noise-free for two weeks and then it came back. It is constant, exactly, since April 29.

Updating my case to say I think I'm seeing improvement...

I had a really good day yesterday, with times when I didn't hear ringing in my left ear if I didn't try really, REALLY for it. Last night, however, I had a slight ringing in my right ear that lasted a few minutes, then went away.

Knock on wood I hope this is that it is getting better.

Every day I do neck stretching and massages prescribed by the physiotherapist (this week I open my mouth 0.5 cm more than last week) and today I go to the dentist.

I also make an huge effort not to bring tension to my jaw. I have noticed that I do it A LOT throughout the day, I clench my teeth or just clench my muscles. I really wasn't aware of how hard my jaw clenched.

I think it's also very stress-related... so this weekend I'm going on a trip and I've banned myself from looking up tinnitus information on the internet

I will continue reporting if there are improvements, but today I believe that physiotherapy can help if your case is like mine.

 

[beetjuice]

Can you share the stretches and massages that you do? I had an ear infection, it's gone but my ear still has some pressure. When I clench my teeth it gets louder.

Its a sound I've always perceived, mainly when sick or light headed or when I have a migraine, so either I still have fluid in my ear or perhaps i have tightness in the neck or jaw area I need to work on.

 

[Albapv]

Sorry @beetjuice, I haven't read your post.

What I do:

• SCM stretch.
• Neck stretch.
• Nape stretch.
• Another stretching using the tongue: stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth (just a little) and slightly open your mouth. You can notice the stretch in the neck or under the tongue.
  
• Jaw massage.

Maintain each stretching for 5/10 seconds. Two rounds, twice a day.

I'm Aldo focusing on relaxing my mouth, jaw, face, and being conscious during the day about how much I tense them.

And practicing belly breathing.

I have very much improved in the last weeks.

 

[beetjuice]

Sorry @beetjuice, I haven't read your post.

What I do:

• SCM stretch.
• Neck stretch.
• Nape stretch.
• Another stretching using the tongue: stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth (just a little) and slightly open your mouth. You can notice the stretch in the neck or under the tongue.
  
• Jaw massage.

Maintain each stretching for 5/10 seconds. Two rounds, twice a day.

I'm Aldo focusing on relaxing my mouth, jaw, face, and being conscious during the day about how much I tense them.

And practicing belly breathing.

I have very much improved in the last weeks.

Thank you! I'll try this for a few weeks.

 

[ChiggyT]

The SCM and neck stretches have really helped me. I have no real clue about how my tinnitus started, only that it began two weeks after recovering from COVID-19. The ENT seems to think it was related to this infection but because the neck stretches make it better, I am thinking otherwise...

 

[Albapv]

I started with tinnitus on April 30th. The sound was getting softer, at times I heard silence (sometimes beeps, less and less beep and more hiss). The general evolution was so good... I was happy and optimistic.

But on June 8 I had an anxiety crisis, the sound became very loud... I went to the emergency room in my hospital.

Fortunately, I was treated by a kind and understanding doctor. He prescribed me 14 days of Prednisone and anxiolytic (Alprazolam 0.25 mg twice a day). The tinnitus reduced significantly. I quit the Prednisone 2 weeks ago and my tinnitus has not increased. I only took Alprazolam in the morning for the first 4-5 days, then only before bed.

The doctor saw me again on June 30 and did four different tests... hearing, I think hyperacusis, and another with electrodes on my head. All ok. We talked for a long, LONG time about my evolution and my feelings. He recommended psychological therapy for anxiety, which I started. My therapist thinks I had a high stress level for a few years and a situation of workplace harassment was the straw that broke the camel's back (it was when my tinnitus started).

I hear a soft hiss, sometimes only in a very quiet room, sometimes it disappears at night. But when I hear it, it causes me stress, it increases, or maybe it remains the same and it's only my reaction. I am working on the anxiety with my psychologist.

Can my tinnitus still be cured? Do I have any hope?

BTW I would like to add, God bless the doctor that is following my case. I saw others before and I felt ignored. This man, to whom I will be eternally grateful, is the only one who has given me a treatment (which worked in my case), who has done tests on me, but above all, who has talked to me, made me feel understood, and has talked to me about anxiety, stress and tinnitus, have given me a different approach to treat tinnitus and shown empathy. Wish all doctor were like him.

 

[Ken219]

BTW I would like to add, God bless the doctor that is following my case. I saw others before and I felt ignored. This man, to whom I will be eternally grateful, is the only one who has given me a treatment (which worked in my case), who has done tests on me, but above all, who has talked to me, made me feel understood, and has talked to me about anxiety, stress and tinnitus, have given me a different approach to treat tinnitus and shown empathy. Wish all doctor were like him.

You have found a great doctor! You got lucky. 27 years ago I found a great psychiatrist. I still see him, he is a godsend! Everyone hang in there. I pray for better treatments or cure. ❤

 

[Albapv]

You have found a great doctor! You got lucky. 27 years ago I found a great psychiatrist. I still see him, he is a godsend! Everyone hang in there. I pray for better treatments or cure. ❤

So lucky! Last one (I've seen two ENTs before this one) just said 'maybe it is your jaw, so tense... deal with it'. No treatments, no tests, no talk at all... no empathy. This one gave me hope (but was realistic, he said tinnitus may go away, but may not; and if it resolves, we never know when or if it will come back, and I need to control my anxiety for both scenarios), talk me about how common tinnitus is, and how usually people can live normally with it, that it usually disappears or gets better over months... what I mean: EMPATHY. Lovely man.