Please Help — Tinnitus Connected to Jaw Problems?

[novalen]

Hello everyone, I'm typing this out with the deepest desperation. Looking for help here is the last resort i have, please help me I'm freaking out.
I've had t for about a year now, I've learned to cope with it since I was facing many more discomforts. But as of last night it has gotten so much louder, this echoing BEEPING sound has accompanied my high pitched hissing. It's getting far too tough on me now, I feel that I'm on the verge of myself. To be quite frank I contemplate ending my life far too many times throughout the day.

COULD THIS BE LINKED TO MY JAW PROBLEMS?

It all began with the morning I woke up, with intense vertigo. After the vertigo ended, I felt unbalanced for the next couple of months (I've only gained my balance back two weeks ago) That night both of my ears felt like they closed, whenever I would open my mouth something near my ear would pop and give me pain. I went to several ENTS and they denied all of my symptoms. With my jaw discomfort I assumed it was TMJ/TMD I had a CT scan and they said it looked normal, I was in disbalief & am still unsure of that. throughout the months the sides of my jaw connecting to my ears became sore. Whenever I move my mouth they seem to crunch together and make an awful noise.
What's even worse, is now that WHENEVER I SPEAK MY JAW CRACKS. Im at the point where I don't even talk anymore, because everytime I do it beats me off track and causes too much anxiety. It's something in my jaw near my ear that cracks when I speak. As well as getting shooting pain inside my ear throughout the day.

Could this all be linked to my jaw? And if so, is it possible it wouldn't be shown in the CT?

I'm leaving to Italy in a week, even though I feel like I'm physically and emotionally incapable of doing so. Im going under the condition that I'll see some doctors there, because I won't settle on that one opinion when Im feeling this much discomfort. I just want to find the ROOT of the problem so I can at least work on it somehow, as the symptoms are only getting worse

Any suggestions to who I should go see?

Anything would help really. Thank you so much, much love to you all.

 

[glynis]

Your jaw could be the problem and a dentist or maxilofacial specialist can make you a mouth guard to help keep the pressure off your jaw and calm your tinnitus down.
There are medications to treat vertigo also so please see your doctor also.
Stay strong help is available .
Love glynis

 

[Candy]

Shooting pains in the ear can be related to the jaw, have had this in the past and was told it was jaw related.

I have a bite to wear at night, just started so let's see, some people find it helps, remember chatting to someone on here about it...x

 

[Kaelon]

Firstly, I am so sorry that you are in throes of this right now.

Secondly, I know exactly what your experience is like. What you are describing - vertigo, intense jaw pain, the Tinnitus itself - is exactly how my Tinnitus began. You are probably sleepless, your mind wracked with anxiety, your own thought processes turning against you, and suffering from a lot of the peripheral symptoms associated with Tinnitus (including hyperacousis and dizzy spells).

If it's any consolation: this gets better.

Very little is known about Tinnitus. Despite the vast effort placed over the past century to study it, and even many of the medical experiments and trials conducted just in the past few years, scientists and clinicians are really no closer to understanding the fundamental root causes of Tinnitus, other than to agree that (a) Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease; and, (b) almost all Tinnitus is connected in some way to hearing loss (either detectable hearing loss or "hidden" hearing loss). Because it's a symptom, people spend months trying to find the root cause with the hopes of treating it.

It's a lot simpler than all of this.

1. Tinnitus is a neurological behavior, not a root cause.
   You and I were both afflicted by muscle spasms; we both have spasms in our jaws. We probably clench them at night or grind our teeth. We both have had anxious personalities throughout much of our lives. And, the best part, is that we're both fundamentally skeptical that anxiety and stress could bring this on. But it did.
   
   
2. Tinnitus needs a bunch of contributing factors to set it off.
   In order for Tinnitus to manifest in the brain, the "perfect storm" needs to unfold across our synaptic network: our fight/flight response needs to be activated, we need to have some neurological deficit or dependency, stress and sleeplessness often factor into it, and finally, an exacerbating crisis. In our case, we most likely reached a breaking point of muscle spasms that compromised the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus, or DCN, to prevent it from inhibiting the Tinnitus from manifesting.
   
   
3. We know what is causing our Tinnitus.
   If TMJ caused it, then clenching your teeth or moving your jaw is going to change the pitch or amplification somehow. Try it -- if it does, you have all the confirmation you need.
   
   
4. There is no cure, and this is permanent. But there are treatments and you can tune it out.
   If it's TMJ / TMD, then prednisone (50 mg. standard 7 day taper) will silence it. This is because the hearing loss is a secondary/contributing factor; the root aggravating factor is muscular tension with your DCN. Get a prescription, and prove it out. If prednisone does not address, then, you're looking at direct hearing loss. Either way, there are no tests, scans, or evaluations that doctors can perform. You're going to have to go through trial and error to diagnose. And, practically speaking, there is no cure for this.
   
   You can treat the TMJ / TMD by wearing a nightguard (you will get results starting in around 6 months, the volume will improve), and you can improve your cognitive and physical stamina through lifestyle changes, exercise, and physical therapy. But the Tinnitus, especially now that it has been activated last year and has endured for more than 3 months, is permanent and embedded in the brain. Your best bet, aside from these therapies, is to get Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, to help change how your mind interprets the Tinnitus. Over time, the Tinnitus will also improve. You also have the added benefit of CBT often accelerating the "habituation" process (the natural amount of time it takes for your mind to naturally tune it out).
   
   If you do nothing, on average, assuming the severity does not change, you are looking at a 12-18 month habituation time-scale.

Sleep depravation, anxiety, physical aggravating factors, and an addled mind are the biggest culprits in the perception of Tinnitus. If you can get some sleep, start engaging in physical exercise to counter the anxiety, address the underlying physical cause, and get some mindfulness (through meditation and mind-games that build upon your memory centers), you should find some calm within 4-8 weeks.

I will keep you in my thoughts.

 

[novalen]

thanks for ur time you guys, much love & support to you as well.

 

[Horizon]

I hope you found someone in Italy to help you. If not I suggest you find an orthodontist or a maxiofacial surgeon who specialises in TMJ problems. If you were not asked to open and close your mouth while you were being scanned then that would not show a problem with your jaw. I had similar symptoms to you, I saw many doctors, was told by ENT that I was fine and the CT scan showed nothing was wrong. 2 weeks later an orthodontist specialising in TMJ referred me for a jaw scan (opening and closing my mouth) it showed severe problems. Take care.