Tinnitus, TMJ, Headaches, Neck Pain, Facial Pain, etc. — Possible Treatment

Yeah, it could very well be it. Also, it seems like tensed muscles in that area could be the cause. I heard of one lady that got rid of her T in 2 months after adjusting her posture. A girl I know had stress induced T, hers went away in 6 months. Ill probably give it some time and do some stretches at home. If it doesnt go away, I will have someone to evaluate the nerves around my neck and shoulders, because something is not right at the moment.

Indeed, they all seem connected, always good to hear it goes away in some/most (i don't know often this happens to people actually, this seems so rare, compared to other forms of T) of the cases. :D Did the stress induce neck problems etc... as well in that girl? It seems a bit connected in my opinion, as we all had quite a stressful period before onset, and it only seems logic that stress causes muscle tension. Also bad posture causes little increases in our cases, so it could very well be that sustained good posture might al least lower it :).
And yeah i'm gonna keep stretching and paying attention to posture too. I also have physio again tomorrow, after a while that will also pay off longterm :) and not only the first minutes to hours after treatment, it seems like somethings causing my muscles to tense up again every time they become a bit more loose.

@Sjtof That video explains it good. :) And i had those little temp spikes too sometimes when chewing gum in an effort to open up my Eustachian Tubes, didn't know it could also be because of the cervical vertebrae, always tought it was TMJ dysfunction, but it could be a bit of both, or the symptoms of TMJ dysfunction can also be caused by the c1 or the other way around?
The connection between the jaw and that c1 is pretty interesting.
Good luck with the chiro treatment! Looking forward to your updates as well!
 
Indeed, they all seem connected, always good to hear it goes away in some/most (i don't know often this happens to people actually, this seems so rare, compared to other forms of T) of the cases. :D Did the stress induce neck problems etc... as well in that girl? It seems a bit connected in my opinion, as we all had quite a stressful period before onset, and it only seems logic that stress causes muscle tension. Also bad posture causes little increases in our cases, so it could very well be that sustained good posture might al least lower it :).
And yeah i'm gonna keep stretching and paying attention to posture too. I also have physio again tomorrow, after a while that will also pay off longterm :) and not only the first minutes to hours after treatment, it seems like somethings causing my muscles to tense up again every time they become a bit more loose.

@Sjtof That video explains it good. :) And i had those little temp spikes too sometimes when chewing gum in an effort to open up my Eustachian Tubes, didn't know it could also be because of the cervical vertebrae, always tought it was TMJ dysfunction, but it could be a bit of both, or the symptoms of TMJ dysfunction can also be caused by the c1 or the other way around?
The connection between the jaw and that c1 is pretty interesting.
Good luck with the chiro treatment! Looking forward to your updates as well!

Yes, it seems pretty rare for me as well. The girl I know did not develop any aches because of stress, just T. But another girl I know got severe headaches and no T because of stress and/or strain. At least that is what they told me. So I think its very possible to have both. And they seems to be connected at least in our case. I think im going to start physio treatments again too, because it will probably pay off in the long run. And maybe I will catch up on some running and hiking again. I do believe that stress can cause a pretty good amount of tension. Also bad postures as well. I think its time to try to take care of some of it.

I hope @Sjtof will bring back some good news from the chiro :)
 
Thanks for this thread chronicburn - amazing how similar most of our symptoms are. I started the neck stretches several weeks ago following another post on the subject and some headaches which I put down to a head cold disappeared almost immediately. Just a curious point - when I do the neck stretches I get a sharp pain across my shoulders (mainly left) and down my upper arms - does this happen to anyone else? BTW I have had a bad neck for many years and go to a good chiro for realignment every six weeks, otherwise I wouldn't be walking around. He also tried some jaw manipulations but it spiked my T so loud that I stopped doing the jaw pressure exercise he showed me - my T is already loud enough. Thanks for the post cb - I love this forum and the sharing of experiences that give us all some camaraderie. (I think my arm pain must be related to my neck problems so I believe the stretching must help, so I will work through it and see).
 
Hi guys,

Just to mention. I experienced some weird shit last nite.

I tried stretching because all of a sudden I got this fulness feeling of my ears. However I can clearly say that this feeling is not ear but neck related.
I think it is my mastoid which is causing this. When I lied down on my right ear. All of a sudden I get this weird feeling in my neck on the right side just below my ear, which results in serious muscle spasms. Getting back into a different position causes the spasms to stop, but I still got a very tensed and annoying feeling around my right ear/side of the neck.

However, 2 days ago I experienced the same kind of stuff on my left side, without the spasms, but the very same annoying feeling. I got it at work after walking around for 4 hours. My neck hurt pretty bad, as I can clearly feel that something is messed up on the left side, even when stretching that side hurts like shit. But I also had this fulness feeling which almost caused me to throw up. Same for last nite.

I didnt support my neck for a while when watching football. But I also just experienced it when waking up so I'm not sure what to think of that.

Stupid thing is, is that my T is fairly low atm.

Not sure what you can do with this information, but I just wanted to let your know. As I think the fulness of the ears a lot of us are experiencing has to be looked for in the neck and not the ear itself.

Hmm even when typing this I experience muscle spasms on my right side. Feels like something is blocked on that side which causes the spasms...
 
Yes, it seems pretty rare for me as well. The girl I know did not develop any aches because of stress, just T. But another girl I know got severe headaches and no T because of stress and/or strain. At least that is what they told me. So I think its very possible to have both. And they seems to be connected at least in our case. I think im going to start physio treatments again too, because it will probably pay off in the long run. And maybe I will catch up on some running and hiking again. I do believe that stress can cause a pretty good amount of tension. Also bad postures as well. I think its time to try to take care of some of it.

I hope @Sjtof will bring back some good news from the chiro :)

Yeah indeed, i'm trying to be active too, as my T is (seems) louder when i'm sitting down and doing stuff.
I did have physio today, and i decided to have a myofascial treatment, as the manual massage thing didn't (you know, with the needles that they sting in your muscles to loosen them up). She did "sting" my right neck, jaw and upper shoulder muscle, and that feels weird! at first it all tingled like when your arms asleep then it felt light, and right now my jaw,neck and shoulders really hurt on the right side, it's almost impossible (too painful, not technically impossible) too move it to the left/right. The good news is it really felt like it did something, and my T on the right side seems a bit quieter today, or at least less wild, because the last 2 days it behaved real badly, fluctuating a LOT, especially to the louder side. Also since today i haven't had that itchy weird fullness pressure feeling we experience in our ears in my right ear today, which is nice because i would experience it a few times everyday at least, might be related to the treatment (i hope) :). On the other side my T in the left ear is back since 2days, it didn't go away this time within a day like always, so i fear it is here to stay for a while :( it even dominates the sound from my other ear sometimes. I feel crappy about it, but on the other hand it is exactly how my other ear behaved with about a month backlog, i also noted the funny pressure feeling was very frequently present the last days in my left ear. It seems to have gone for now also luckily. What's also weird is that my left side of my neck (untreated side) is also gradually getting more tensed, even a bit painful today. I have no clue what's telling my muscles to do that, especially now i'm living a way more relaxed and healthy lifestyle than months ago.
Seems like it all has a will of it's own :p 5mins ago i was sitting down with a real annoying T, now i got up and walked to get my laptop charger and notice it's back to the faint hiss that i almost don't notice, now i'm standing still and it's coming back, what an impulsive b*tch our T is. (note: getting up and walking around is not a temp cure for me, but it does help quite often).

Aside from that i find it very motivating that there are quite some cases of people who had somatosensory T because of muscle/stress problems that are living T-free now. This will all happen to us too one day :).

How are you doing these days? Did your T stay low? :)

Thanks for this thread chronicburn - amazing how similar most of our symptoms are. I started the neck stretches several weeks ago following another post on the subject and some headaches which I put down to a head cold disappeared almost immediately. Just a curious point - when I do the neck stretches I get a sharp pain across my shoulders (mainly left) and down my upper arms - does this happen to anyone else? BTW I have had a bad neck for many years and go to a good chiro for realignment every six weeks, otherwise I wouldn't be walking around. He also tried some jaw manipulations but it spiked my T so loud that I stopped doing the jaw pressure exercise he showed me - my T is already loud enough. Thanks for the post cb - I love this forum and the sharing of experiences that give us all some camaraderie. (I think my arm pain must be related to my neck problems so I believe the stretching must help, so I will work through it and see).

Yeah indeed, it is nice to know that we're not alone in what we're experiencing. welcome to the club :)
I do have that too very occasionally, i think i've noticed it only twice, somewhat of a stinging pain. But it makes sense when stretching i feel the neck muscle/nerve stretching down through the shoulder in my upper arm sometimes, i think it means the whole area is under quite a lot of stress, as if I'm correct a nerve runs down that way, (it is more or less the same feeling as when you try to touch your toes with your legs fully stretched, you'll experience a pulling sensation in your legs, it has something to do with the nerve running through there, the same principle more or less goes for the arms and shoulders.

Did the chiro help with your T? Also the jaw pressure exercise it's interesting that it spikes your T, only for the duration of the exercise or afterwards too? I can do all kinds of stuff with my neck and jaw that do spike my T real badly for the duration of the exercise, afterwards it's back to normal more or less fortunately. Bad postures spike it for a longer time i think, for me that's quite the confirmation it is all probably related.

Hi guys,

Just to mention. I experienced some weird shit last nite.

I tried stretching because all of a sudden I got this fulness feeling of my ears. However I can clearly say that this feeling is not ear but neck related.
I think it is my mastoid which is causing this. When I lied down on my right ear. All of a sudden I get this weird feeling in my neck on the right side just below my ear, which results in serious muscle spasms. Getting back into a different position causes the spasms to stop, but I still got a very tensed and annoying feeling around my right ear/side of the neck.

However, 2 days ago I experienced the same kind of stuff on my left side, without the spasms, but the very same annoying feeling. I got it at work after walking around for 4 hours. My neck hurt pretty bad, as I can clearly feel that something is messed up on the left side, even when stretching that side hurts like shit. But I also had this fulness feeling which almost caused me to throw up. Same for last nite.

I didnt support my neck for a while when watching football. But I also just experienced it when waking up so I'm not sure what to think of that.

Stupid thing is, is that my T is fairly low atm.

Not sure what you can do with this information, but I just wanted to let your know. As I think the fulness of the ears a lot of us are experiencing has to be looked for in the neck and not the ear itself.

Hmm even when typing this I experience muscle spasms on my right side. Feels like something is blocked on that side which causes the spasms...

Thanks for letting us know anyway :). Could be a pinched nerve there or such causing spasms? I've always thought too that that fullness in ear was caused by something else, it does radiate to other places sometimes in my case. And if i'm correct sub-occipital stretches should help for the mastoid no? Because the sub-occipital stretches, or the neck stretches are keeping my little temp stinging headaches away, i've not done them for 2 days i think, and my head stings a bit sometimes today... I'm done with experimenting with not doing doing them though now.
I'm glad your T is fairly low, and those spasms are weird, you might have hit the right spot indeed, i have had minor muscle spasms in my arms and face too from time to time, but have had that for years and especially when i'm stressed, probably not related though.

How did your chiro go?
 
Hi,

Got to got to chiro tomorrow.
I think it is definitely the rite spot. Was experiencing this weird feeling below both my ears for the entire day. Also had a minor headache. Just decided to do some stretches and when I did the sideway stretch, the one where you move your had all the way to the right or left.

When I moved it to the right, my left ear began to make a noise I've never heard before lol. It sounded like there was a chicken in my ear. As soon as I turned my head back again, it disappeared. Felt like I blocked something when doing that stretch. Also the rustle I'm experiencing is tingling through my jaw. Hopefully they can see something on that scan tomorrow and try some adjustments.

Will let you know when I get back goodnight folks.
 
Hi guys,

Just to mention. I experienced some weird shit last nite.

I tried stretching because all of a sudden I got this fulness feeling of my ears. However I can clearly say that this feeling is not ear but neck related.
I think it is my mastoid which is causing this. When I lied down on my right ear. All of a sudden I get this weird feeling in my neck on the right side just below my ear, which results in serious muscle spasms. Getting back into a different position causes the spasms to stop, but I still got a very tensed and annoying feeling around my right ear/side of the neck.

However, 2 days ago I experienced the same kind of stuff on my left side, without the spasms, but the very same annoying feeling. I got it at work after walking around for 4 hours. My neck hurt pretty bad, as I can clearly feel that something is messed up on the left side, even when stretching that side hurts like shit. But I also had this fulness feeling which almost caused me to throw up. Same for last nite.

I didnt support my neck for a while when watching football. But I also just experienced it when waking up so I'm not sure what to think of that.

Stupid thing is, is that my T is fairly low atm.

Not sure what you can do with this information, but I just wanted to let your know. As I think the fulness of the ears a lot of us are experiencing has to be looked for in the neck and not the ear itself.

Hmm even when typing this I experience muscle spasms on my right side. Feels like something is blocked on that side which causes the spasms...

Hi! Ive had that weird stuff the entire time, and yesterday I discovered that massaging the mastoid about where it is attached to the bone in my lower front part of my neck, it had a major impact on my T and on the sensation of fullness.

I also want to mention that I paid closely attention to what muscles im tensing while im stressed out or driving my car, and to my surprise, my mastoids are tensed pretty much all the time. I really have to stop and think about not tensing those muscles every 10 seconds if im stressed out. When I massage the front of my neck and a little at the side, it literally feels like something is opening up that is usually blocked. If I press and massage deep into the mastoids area, I get a stinging sensation upwards in my face. So I do believe that the ear fullness could be caused by the mastoids as well.

Anyways, Ill keep stretching my entire neck. Good luck with the chiro visit! :)
 
Yeah indeed, i'm trying to be active too, as my T is (seems) louder when i'm sitting down and doing stuff.
I did have physio today, and i decided to have a myofascial treatment, as the manual massage thing didn't (you know, with the needles that they sting in your muscles to loosen them up). She did "sting" my right neck, jaw and upper shoulder muscle, and that feels weird! at first it all tingled like when your arms asleep then it felt light, and right now my jaw,neck and shoulders really hurt on the right side, it's almost impossible (too painful, not technically impossible) too move it to the left/right. The good news is it really felt like it did something, and my T on the right side seems a bit quieter today, or at least less wild, because the last 2 days it behaved real badly, fluctuating a LOT, especially to the louder side. Also since today i haven't had that itchy weird fullness pressure feeling we experience in our ears in my right ear today, which is nice because i would experience it a few times everyday at least, might be related to the treatment (i hope) :). On the other side my T in the left ear is back since 2days, it didn't go away this time within a day like always, so i fear it is here to stay for a while :( it even dominates the sound from my other ear sometimes. I feel crappy about it, but on the other hand it is exactly how my other ear behaved with about a month backlog, i also noted the funny pressure feeling was very frequently present the last days in my left ear. It seems to have gone for now also luckily. What's also weird is that my left side of my neck (untreated side) is also gradually getting more tensed, even a bit painful today. I have no clue what's telling my muscles to do that, especially now i'm living a way more relaxed and healthy lifestyle than months ago.
Seems like it all has a will of it's own :p 5mins ago i was sitting down with a real annoying T, now i got up and walked to get my laptop charger and notice it's back to the faint hiss that i almost don't notice, now i'm standing still and it's coming back, what an impulsive b*tch our T is. (note: getting up and walking around is not a temp cure for me, but it does help quite often).

Aside from that i find it very motivating that there are quite some cases of people who had somatosensory T because of muscle/stress problems that are living T-free now. This will all happen to us too one day :).

How are you doing these days? Did your T stay low? :)



Yeah indeed, it is nice to know that we're not alone in what we're experiencing. welcome to the club :)
I do have that too very occasionally, i think i've noticed it only twice, somewhat of a stinging pain. But it makes sense when stretching i feel the neck muscle/nerve stretching down through the shoulder in my upper arm sometimes, i think it means the whole area is under quite a lot of stress, as if I'm correct a nerve runs down that way, (it is more or less the same feeling as when you try to touch your toes with your legs fully stretched, you'll experience a pulling sensation in your legs, it has something to do with the nerve running through there, the same principle more or less goes for the arms and shoulders.

Did the chiro help with your T? Also the jaw pressure exercise it's interesting that it spikes your T, only for the duration of the exercise or afterwards too? I can do all kinds of stuff with my neck and jaw that do spike my T real badly for the duration of the exercise, afterwards it's back to normal more or less fortunately. Bad postures spike it for a longer time i think, for me that's quite the confirmation it is all probably related.



Thanks for letting us know anyway :). Could be a pinched nerve there or such causing spasms? I've always thought too that that fullness in ear was caused by something else, it does radiate to other places sometimes in my case. And if i'm correct sub-occipital stretches should help for the mastoid no? Because the sub-occipital stretches, or the neck stretches are keeping my little temp stinging headaches away, i've not done them for 2 days i think, and my head stings a bit sometimes today... I'm done with experimenting with not doing doing them though now.
I'm glad your T is fairly low, and those spasms are weird, you might have hit the right spot indeed, i have had minor muscle spasms in my arms and face too from time to time, but have had that for years and especially when i'm stressed, probably not related though.

How did your chiro go?

Seems like all of the three of us are experiencing some weird stuff at the moment :p
Those myofascial treatments sounds interesting though! Hopefully they will help.
Ive been massaging the front of my neck today, end especially the mastoid muscles. And I did notice that it has a major impact on the sensation of fullness in my ears. Feels like something is blocked, and opens up while touching this spot about where the mastoids are attached to the bone at my lower neck, just a few cm a little higher up. Theres also a spot about the same place which literally gives me a stinging feeling upwards my neck and face.

Maybe something you want to try out as well. My T is still very low. If I didnt knew I had it, I wouldnt have heard it today. So T has not been an issue, at least for today. I still got a sensation of ear fullness and some weird pressure around my head, but it hasnt been bad today. Pretty much ok.

Im kinda curious how those treatments will work out for you. I hope they will help!

I think we should pay closely attention to the mastoid area, and the entire front of our necks as well.
At least it seems like deep down at the lower neck where the muscles are attached, there are some really soft spots.

I think if its all caused because of tension, and the tension is released.. I would guess at least it would help a lot! But what I keep in mind though.. Is that its probably going to take some time to release all that tension that's been building up over years :)
 
Thought I had some improvement yesterday with a new night guard from dentist that was worn the other night. T was queiter, balance was better and no neck issue. But it came back in the afternoon. Tried again last night with the nightguard and had zero improvment today, not as good as yesterday morning that's for sure. T.. T.. go away! Come back another... well, just go away and NEVER come back!
 
Hi guys,

Just came back from chiro. Made the full body scan. Which are actually actually just x-rays of My entire body. Everything seemed fine. Which I found kinda strange though.

Anyways he said I should give it 5-6 treatments. He did some cracking and adjustments which felt pretty good tbh. My T is just a low rustle, but after the adjustments I can feel it better, it's tingling through my jaw. Anyways, the cracking felt good. It feels like my. Neck is more in place now. Gotta wait to see what the next couple of days will bring.

The downside was that I had to speak in English cuz the guy came from sout Africa. Besides that it was less personal than with my osteopath. But I'll definitely go back I guess.

The triggerpoints your mentioned in the bottom of your neck. I noticed he was doing some adjusting there as well and damn that hurt quite bad.

Anyways I'll keep you updated, gotta go back Tuesday already.
 
Hi guys,

Just came back from chiro. Made the full body scan. Which are actually actually just x-rays of My entire body. Everything seemed fine. Which I found kinda strange though.

Anyways he said I should give it 5-6 treatments. He did some cracking and adjustments which felt pretty good tbh. My T is just a low rustle, but after the adjustments I can feel it better, it's tingling through my jaw. Anyways, the cracking felt good. It feels like my. Neck is more in place now. Gotta wait to see what the next couple of days will bring.

The downside was that I had to speak in English cuz the guy came from sout Africa. Besides that it was less personal than with my osteopath. But I'll definitely go back I guess.

The triggerpoints your mentioned in the bottom of your neck. I noticed he was doing some adjusting there as well and damn that hurt quite bad.

Anyways I'll keep you updated, gotta go back Tuesday already.

Careful with thos chiropractors. I saw one for a bit and thought it was going to help my T. Once I stopped going, my neck felt worst than before I went there! But of course, it felt great WHEN I was going there. It did not help with the T at all.
 
Hi @luckyman316 ,

Thanks for the reply. Anyways if you were going to a chiropractor for your T alone, well ye then I can imagine it didnt work as planned. I'm mainly going because my neck hurts like shit, and gets all tensed when sitting for a while. Also besides that my ENTs can't explain that stuff and according to kost GPs alternative treatments are bullshit. Also on my chiros webpage there are some people with T who got it without an explainable reason and who got cured... May b fake but still

But if I ask a GP about my problems they act completely numb and look at me if I'm from another planet. Again what may not work for one may work for someone else. My T is definitely not noise induced. I dunno if you read the whole topic. I assume u did but maybe then it may become clear why I'm visiting a chiro.

My T didnt get worse when visiting an osteopath in fact it got better.

Anyways, if it won't work as planned than the future will show.
 
Seems like all of the three of us are experiencing some weird stuff at the moment :p
Those myofascial treatments sounds interesting though! Hopefully they will help.
Ive been massaging the front of my neck today, end especially the mastoid muscles. And I did notice that it has a major impact on the sensation of fullness in my ears. Feels like something is blocked, and opens up while touching this spot about where the mastoids are attached to the bone at my lower neck, just a few cm a little higher up. Theres also a spot about the same place which literally gives me a stinging feeling upwards my neck and face.

Maybe something you want to try out as well. My T is still very low. If I didnt knew I had it, I wouldnt have heard it today. So T has not been an issue, at least for today. I still got a sensation of ear fullness and some weird pressure around my head, but it hasnt been bad today. Pretty much ok.

Im kinda curious how those treatments will work out for you. I hope they will help!

I think we should pay closely attention to the mastoid area, and the entire front of our necks as well.
At least it seems like deep down at the lower neck where the muscles are attached, there are some really soft spots.

I think if its all caused because of tension, and the tension is released.. I would guess at least it would help a lot! But what I keep in mind though.. Is that its probably going to take some time to release all that tension that's been building up over years :)

Great to hear your T is staying that way man :).
Yeah i'm quite convinced those treatments are hitting a spot, today my neck pain was better, my jaw did hurt a lot though when eating or touching it(i suspect it's from those myofascial dry needling treatments, as it is at the spot where one of the needles was placed), But it's doing something as my T is still behaving very wildly, yesterday evening it became a low rustle, like when you're hearing the seaside far away, quite a relaxing and nonintrusive sound, i woke up this morning again with the loud static CRT tv sound we're all familiar with, and it kept changing between a calm white noise-ish sound and the CRT tv sound every few hours for the day, the T was gone for some minutes a few moments ago! And now it's back into a loud CRT (this all happened on the treated right side, which has the loudest T, the left side which is experiencing T too lately but mildly, isn't treated yet, and is still behaving like usual) So yeah, i can't say for sure it's due to the treatments, and it's still behaving quite unexpected, but i'm quite convinced it is. Since today my muscles are a lot less tense on the treated neck, some short stingy pressure headaches have reappeared though, but not so strong, they don't really bother me. Also the fullness feeling is now a lot more noticeable on the untreated side than the other. :) Monday is my next treatment, i will sure keep you updated! I don't expect miracles from it, but it seems quite effective in reducing my muscle tensity in neck etc..

It is interesting what you say about the mastoid area, i've tried massaging it a bit now, and it did spike some minor pain in my neck and jaw, it is also funny that it triggered the funny fullness feeling in my right ear for a minute or so, (i had no fullness feeling when i tried the massaging), so it is quite interesting it is connected in some way, when i do experience a fullness feeling or a spike i will try massaging it for quite some time, see what that gives. :)

@Sjtof
Sounds quite promising actually, good luck with it! Quite a coincidence that he treated the mastoid area too.
 
I have found some interesting information.

( Source: http://www.julstro.com/dizziness-ears-ringing-nausea-sinus-problems/ )

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dizziness, Ears Ringing, Nausea, Tinnitus

I am the moderator for three different forums on the internet and I have received so many messages that give these symptoms, that I wanted to bring it to the attention of the readers of this blog.

There is a muscle called sternocleidomastoid (SCM for short) that gives not only these symptoms, but also neck pain, stiffness when trying to turn your head in the opposite direction, and pain in your ear. That's a lot for one muscle, but I'll explain what's happening.

The SCM originates on your collarbone and sternum and inserts into your mastoid bone (behind your ear). When the muscle contracts it pulls your mastoid bone toward your collar bone, which is why you turn in the opposite direction.

However, inside your mastoid bone are the tiny bones that enable you to hear, but when the bone is being pulled they aren't tapping properly. As the bones misconnect, you hear ringing (tinnitus) in your ear, or you may have pain in your ear.

Also, because you may now be experiencing a loss of equilibrium, that can also make you feel nauseous, and also give you pain along the side of your neck.

How does all of this happen? Many times it comes from the way you are sleeping. If you sleep on your side and you twist your head either up toward the ceiling, or down toward the mattress, you are holding the muscles contracted for hours at a time. Then you turn over to your other side and the tight muscle pulls on your mastoid bone. This hurts, so you turn over again and go back to the original position, continuing the contraction.

Or, if your computer screen is off to the side and you sit many hours with your head tilted, your SCM will also stay in the contracted position and put pressure on your mastoid bone.

Several years ago I had my practice in a doctor's office in New York. Once a man was there for horrible ringing in his ears and he said to the doctor "if this doesn't stop I may kill myself, it's driving me crazy!" Now it's easy for me to say that this is going to far, but I'm not the one who has the constant ringing. The doctor sent him to an ENT physician to have a battery of tests done. I asked if "after he has been everywhere you can possibly send him, if all the tests come out negative, could I see him?" The doctor wasn't convinced that I could do anything, but he said "yes, IF all the tests are negative."

So, two weeks later the man was on my table and I squeezed his SCM, and he almost fainted! I held it (more gently than he suspected) and gradually increased the pressure. After about 5 minutes he looked at me and said "it's starting to fade," and after 10 minutes it was totally gone!

I taught him how to self treat and we walked out of my office. He saw the doctor as he was walking down the hall and, in a VERY angry voice he said "WHY did you make me suffer for two extra weeks when she was right down the hall!" He was pretty angry, and he let his feelings be known.

After he left, the doctor and I discussed it and he was very distressed that he had never heard how the SCM could cause these symptoms, now he was pretty upset.

Over time, he and I spoke about so many conditions that are caused by muscles that he started to investigate muscles and trigger points, and incorporated them into his practice. He was a pretty amazing physician, open to learn anything that would help his patients, and I still have a great deal of respect for him.

The odds are your physician isn't looking at muscles as a cause of pain, unless you also have a physician who is open to looking at non-conventional treatments. If you do, you can thank your lucky stars.

You can release this tension in just about all of the muscles in your body, it isn't hard. I've written many short books that address specific problems. For all of these symptoms, you discover how to treat the SCM (and other muscles) by reading Books #2, or 3, or 5.

I always end my emails with the note "YOU are your own Best Therapist!" and I really believe that. I'd rather see you treat yourself than even come to see me because I know you can do the treatments easily and, if needed, every day.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What I did notice about my sternocleidomastoids, is that when pressing my fingers down in that area (at the bottom front sides of my throat, where they kinda seems to be attached to the bone), it hurts really bad. Its probably one of the most tender spots I have come across. Sleeping positions also seems to affect this muscle. This is also the area that somehow makes me feel something is opening up in my ear by massaging it. Maybe it could explain what some would refer to as "reactive tinnitus" as well, as when this muscle is tensed, it makes a pull on the bones in your ear so they wont tap correctly (according to this article).

It might or might not be the case for us, but maybe it could help someone else around here.

@chronicburn

Its great to hear that something is happening while doing those treatments. I too did wake up to that aggressive CRT TV sound pretty much every morning a couple of weeks ago, and it kinda faded/morphed during the day. I cant wait to hear what results you have with the treatments :) And it could look like the mastoid area is a contributing factor as well.

@Sjtof
@Sound Wave
@just1morething
 
When I stretch my SCM on the left side, it almost feels like I'm about the break a bone. Hurts pretty bad. Anyways very interesting story, will adres it to my chiro next time. In the meantime I'm going to try the stretching.

My T is very low today. But it's not the first time that I got this when waking up. Btw that story might explain why my neck hurt like shit when i sleep sideways and also increases my T.


Edit: that sideway stretch to the right keeps amazing me. I'm not sure but it feels like a blood vessel gets strangled as soon as I do that. I get this chicken sound when I stretch it all the way to the right. Funny but I think it's a good thing. I mean I don't think I would be able to influence the sound in such a way if it was noise induced.
 
SCM is indeed a usual suspect for many problems. I have treated mine a lot. Couple of things... When you stretch your SCM, watch some Youtube videos how it's done properly. Many people over stretch it, as did I as well in the beginning. It's a very gentle turn of your neck + hold with your hand what is enough. Second, watch this video how to massage the SCM. It's not actually a massage, but a squeeze as said here as well. Very well worth a watch!
 
I wanted to add. Not sure if you are doing this already. But Im taking a B vitamin together with magnesium tablet before going to bed.

My T now kinda sounds like someone opened up a bottle of soda inside my ear. I can even feel the tingling of the carbon dioxide :D
 
I wanted to add. Not sure if you are doing this already. But Im taking a B vitamin together with magnesium tablet before going to bed.

My T now kinda sounds like someone opened up a bottle of soda inside my ear. I can even feel the tingling of the carbon dioxide :D

Hehe, sounds refreshing man! :p My T has been gone today.. Will probably be back tomorrow, but we'll see :)
I dont take any vitamins.. I do eat pretty healthy though.. Hopefully that will work as well :)
 
Hehe, sounds refreshing man! :p My T has been gone today.. Will probably be back tomorrow, but we'll see :)
I dont take any vitamins.. I do eat pretty healthy though.. Hopefully that will work as well :)

Great to hear man! That sounds so inspiring. My T today sounds like someone opened up a bottle of coke next to my head.

Noticed though that I got painful triggerpoints in my shoulders. And one should, the left side , where my T is highest, pops frequently. Altogether I a still notice a lot of tension in my neck. But it is less painful than before the treatment.

Next to that i tried some stretching today. But I guess I'm not doing it properly. Do you immediately notice any difference when stretching or what? Also I dunno how long I should do it, cuz i do it only a few times.

Hopefully your T won't come back man.
 
@Sound Wave That is indeed a very useful video! thanks!

@Sjtof Exactly what i was thinking, i noticed i sleep sideways too most of the time, and most of the time i wake up with a loud T! Sleeping position may be one of the bigger culprits.
Also i already take those vitamin B's and magnesium for a while too, can't hurt right ;).
The stretching is not the biggest influence at my T for the moment i suppose, but in the beginning when i did it it would "spike" my T like moving your neck 90degrees and such things would do, it would go down almost immediately after the exercises though, but after a small week i think it started to lower my T temporarily(for like half an hour or so, hard to tell) after exercises too, which made me think it's doing something. Can't tell if it does something in the long-term but it's only good for your neck in the worst case.

@Mr. Cartman I will surely keep you updated about it! Got to go back monday already :) The treated ear is still being wacky, and T was gone a few times today for a short time, also quite loud during the morning. it seems way more reactive though, it is interesting that i keep noticing that when i'm sitting down or standing still my T is much louder than when walking around, but if i keep walking around too long, it comes back quite loud too, it seems like switching "postures" frequently seems to keep it relatively low most of the time, also the fact that i wear a backpack most of the time when walking around might have something to do with that. (it being louder after walking too long).
What is funky though, is that the tension in my treated side SCM is a lot less than a week ago, the tension on my other side has quite increased, and so has the T in that side, which convinces me there is certainly a link, i don't know what's increasing it though, i'm stretching properly etc..
Also interesting that you talk about the SCM, my physio found quite a painful trigger point at the top of it, good article also :).
Great that your T is gone, hope it keeps that way, it has been a few days already isn't it? :)
 
@Sound Wave That is indeed a very useful video! thanks!

@Sjtof Exactly what i was thinking, i noticed i sleep sideways too most of the time, and most of the time i wake up with a loud T! Sleeping position may be one of the bigger culprits.
Also i already take those vitamin B's and magnesium for a while too, can't hurt right ;).
The stretching is not the biggest influence at my T for the moment i suppose, but in the beginning when i did it it would "spike" my T like moving your neck 90degrees and such things would do, it would go down almost immediately after the exercises though, but after a small week i think it started to lower my T temporarily(for like half an hour or so, hard to tell) after exercises too, which made me think it's doing something. Can't tell if it does something in the long-term but it's only good for your neck in the worst case.

@Mr. Cartman I will surely keep you updated about it! Got to go back monday already :) The treated ear is still being wacky, and T was gone a few times today for a short time, also quite loud during the morning. it seems way more reactive though, it is interesting that i keep noticing that when i'm sitting down or standing still my T is much louder than when walking around, but if i keep walking around too long, it comes back quite loud too, it seems like switching "postures" frequently seems to keep it relatively low most of the time, also the fact that i wear a backpack most of the time when walking around might have something to do with that. (it being louder after walking too long).
What is funky though, is that the tension in my treated side SCM is a lot less than a week ago, the tension on my other side has quite increased, and so has the T in that side, which convinces me there is certainly a link, i don't know what's increasing it though, i'm stretching properly etc..
Also interesting that you talk about the SCM, my physio found quite a painful trigger point at the top of it, good article also :).
Great that your T is gone, hope it keeps that way, it has been a few days already isn't it? :)

My T is back this morning, very low. After I went up from my bed I started to turn my head around, a little sideways, back and forward, and I suddenly got this warm sensation inside my ear. It feels good somehow.. And my neck.. It now feels like there is a wound inside my neck.. That goes from behind my ear and down the side of the neck and a little outwards over my shoulder. I believe that there is an inflammation going on there.

I will see my doc tomorrow, maybe I will try some anti-inflammatory pills, or gel on my neck to see how it works.
If I stretch this muscle, I experience nerve pain around my face.

I sleep sideways as well. Ive done that all my life, so could be that we are straining some muscles there while we sleep. And if those muscles are inflamed as well, Im sure that doesnt make it better.
Ive had inflamed muscles before, in my arm.. And what I have noticed is that if I keep using the muscle, the pain will eventually go away to some degree, but if I kept it in a static position for a long time, it would become painful again.
I think the same thing could happen with muscles in the neck.
 
Great to hear man! That sounds so inspiring. My T today sounds like someone opened up a bottle of coke next to my head.

Noticed though that I got painful triggerpoints in my shoulders. And one should, the left side , where my T is highest, pops frequently. Altogether I a still notice a lot of tension in my neck. But it is less painful than before the treatment.

Next to that i tried some stretching today. But I guess I'm not doing it properly. Do you immediately notice any difference when stretching or what? Also I dunno how long I should do it, cuz i do it only a few times.

Hopefully your T won't come back man.

Its funny how you describe this bottle of coke sensation :)
I too can relate to that after waking up this morning. Its like I can feel the bubbles from carbon dioxide inside my ear :p

I believe theres some inflamation going on in this muscle that is located behind my ear. I can somehow feel it.
Might try some anti-inflammatory pills or gel to see if it has any effect.

In the beginning I got instant relief from pain once I did those stretches, but now the pain has gotten so much better.. So I dont have that wow sensation anymore, but I keep stretching and it seems to do something :) I do it about 3-4 times a day, about 10 minutes each time now.. Trying to include as many muscles in my neck and shoulders possibly.
 
My T is back this morning, very low. After I went up from my bed I started to turn my head around, a little sideways, back and forward, and I suddenly got this warm sensation inside my ear. It feels good somehow.. And my neck.. It now feels like there is a wound inside my neck.. That goes from behind my ear and down the side of the neck and a little outwards over my shoulder. I believe that there is an inflammation going on there.

I will see my doc tomorrow, maybe I will try some anti-inflammatory pills, or gel on my neck to see how it works.
If I stretch this muscle, I experience nerve pain around my face.

I sleep sideways as well. Ive done that all my life, so could be that we are straining some muscles there while we sleep. And if those muscles are inflamed as well, Im sure that doesnt make it better.
Ive had inflamed muscles before, in my arm.. And what I have noticed is that if I keep using the muscle, the pain will eventually go away to some degree, but if I kept it in a static position for a long time, it would become painful again.
I think the same thing could happen with muscles in the neck.

I get the wound feeling, my neck felt like that too on the right side the last 2 days, supposed it was from the myofascial treatment. It does indeed radiate to the shoulder and up to the ears, might be a nerve also running that way?
It does seem logic what you say about the pain, and assuming that the T we hear is a "pain signal" that's been misinterpreted, that would definitely make sense then that i can keep my T relatively low by moving around a lot, and sitting in a cramped posture for a long time makes it worse, same goes for the pain.

Tonight i did test that sleeping position out though, i have some sort of "hard" pillow that you can put in a shape and it stays that way more or less, i moulded it around my neck so i would sleep with zero pressure or strain on my neck, and i also slept on my back, i noticed that i woke up semi sideways again, but i woke up with a relatively low T, somewhat a low white noisy rustle, quite similar to that coke bottle you're talking about :p but a bit more monotonous, instead of the very high pitch CRT i usually experience when waking up, i'm curious what it's gonna give for the rest of the day, but sleeping like that certainly felt good for my neck also :). The stretching is also doing good things, sometimes it triggers some funny feelings in my ears though, only temporarily, so yeah i'm sure the SCM is involved. That muscle is probably the culprit for those weird feelings in the ears.

We're quite onto something i think. :) Hope your pain and T backs off again mate.
 
Hello,

I got bored and started to look for some triggerpoint stuff.

Found this which might be interesting for self treatment.





and then there was also some kind of exercise with a tennisballen.

What I noticed is that I got this triggerpoint on the petrous portion of the temporal bone on the left side, just behind my ear. Which can change the sensation of the sound. Like I can make it sound different if i rub that spot for a while. It hurts when I press that spot, feels a bit bruised

Then I also noticed one in my left shoulder which pops frequently and just below my ear, behind my cheek.

I pressed that last spot last night. I got this tingling feeling again in my jaw. And what you say, that tingling feeling in my ear, it can also change to stinging pains. Feels really weird though. Kind of got a numb feeling on the left side of my head. Sometimes it feels like something has to pop or whatever. That side also still pops the most when moving my head up and down. And then I feel it clicking inside my ear.

Anyways I'm just murmuring a bit of bs symptoms now. Gonna continue some stretches, still got that chicken sound when stretching all the way to the right. And stretching my left scm also feels kinda unpleasant.


The good thing is, that you have experienced Tless days, which makes me feel motivated to get rid off this shit. My T is changed so much during this whole process, which started 4 months ago. I won't rest till I fix this. Btw I don't live healthy. I eat a lot of sugar and drink coke quite frequently. Don't really feel a difference if i do so, buy perhaps I should give it a shot and drink more water and eat less sweets.

Ciao
 
The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies seems to be the 'bible' of TP therapy. One can found that book online with some serious googling...
 
I get the wound feeling, my neck felt like that too on the right side the last 2 days, supposed it was from the myofascial treatment. It does indeed radiate to the shoulder and up to the ears, might be a nerve also running that way?
It does seem logic what you say about the pain, and assuming that the T we hear is a "pain signal" that's been misinterpreted, that would definitely make sense then that i can keep my T relatively low by moving around a lot, and sitting in a cramped posture for a long time makes it worse, same goes for the pain.

Tonight i did test that sleeping position out though, i have some sort of "hard" pillow that you can put in a shape and it stays that way more or less, i moulded it around my neck so i would sleep with zero pressure or strain on my neck, and i also slept on my back, i noticed that i woke up semi sideways again, but i woke up with a relatively low T, somewhat a low white noisy rustle, quite similar to that coke bottle you're talking about :p but a bit more monotonous, instead of the very high pitch CRT i usually experience when waking up, i'm curious what it's gonna give for the rest of the day, but sleeping like that certainly felt good for my neck also :). The stretching is also doing good things, sometimes it triggers some funny feelings in my ears though, only temporarily, so yeah i'm sure the SCM is involved. That muscle is probably the culprit for those weird feelings in the ears.

We're quite onto something i think. :) Hope your pain and T backs off again mate.

Yeah, I do believe that theres a nerve there, or several.. There are nerves all over the body.. When I stretch this muscle it seems to affect the nerves as well, as it suddenly stings in my face, around the nose, but it doesnt happen very ofen.. I suspect that there could be an inflammation going on there.. If so, maybe some anti-inflammatory pills could work. I will talk to my doc tomorrow about it. I also believe that this muscle is one major culprit to the ear stuff. I also get a funny feeling in my ear while stretching occasionally. Im pretty sure it all boils down to muscles that has been strained, maybe an inflammation has been triggered and then affecting the nerves one way or another. I cant imagine that theres no inflammation going on in my muscles located in that area, because it really feels like it is.

I will try to sleep with zero pressure on my neck as well, to see what happens..

Yes, I think we are onto something :)
 
Hello,

I got bored and started to look for some triggerpoint stuff.

Found this which might be interesting for self treatment.





and then there was also some kind of exercise with a tennisballen.

What I noticed is that I got this triggerpoint on the petrous portion of the temporal bone on the left side, just behind my ear. Which can change the sensation of the sound. Like I can make it sound different if i rub that spot for a while. It hurts when I press that spot, feels a bit bruised

Then I also noticed one in my left shoulder which pops frequently and just below my ear, behind my cheek.

I pressed that last spot last night. I got this tingling feeling again in my jaw. And what you say, that tingling feeling in my ear, it can also change to stinging pains. Feels really weird though. Kind of got a numb feeling on the left side of my head. Sometimes it feels like something has to pop or whatever. That side also still pops the most when moving my head up and down. And then I feel it clicking inside my ear.

Anyways I'm just murmuring a bit of bs symptoms now. Gonna continue some stretches, still got that chicken sound when stretching all the way to the right. And stretching my left scm also feels kinda unpleasant.


The good thing is, that you have experienced Tless days, which makes me feel motivated to get rid off this shit. My T is changed so much during this whole process, which started 4 months ago. I won't rest till I fix this. Btw I don't live healthy. I eat a lot of sugar and drink coke quite frequently. Don't really feel a difference if i do so, buy perhaps I should give it a shot and drink more water and eat less sweets.

Ciao


Thanks for sharing those videos! :) Will have a look at them now :)

I think its great to share some thoughts :) Im considering some ostepathy as well.
 
@Sjtof
@Jay M
@Sound Wave
@chronicburn

I found some more interesting information :)

( Source: http://www.caringmedical.com/treatment/barre-lieou-syndrome/ )

Treatment of Barré-Lieou Syndrome

Barré-Lieou syndrome was discovered by and named after Jean Alexandre Barre, M.D., a French neurologist, and Yong-Choen Lieou, a Chinese physician. Each discovered the syndrome independently and described a very wide range of symptoms thought to be due to a dysfunction of the group of nerves called the posterior cervical sympathetic nervous system, located near the vertebrae in the neck.
How does Barré-Lieou Syndrome develop?

Barré-Liéou syndrome is due to vertebral instability, which affects the function of the nerve cell aggregations located in the neck just in front of the vertebrae. Vertebral instability or misalignment occurs because the ligaments that support the neck become weakened or injured. This is what occurs in the commonly known whiplash injury. Not only do neck and headache pain occur with whiplash injury, but also the signs and symptoms of Barré-Lieou syndrome.

This condition also may develop in people who spend a good portion of their day hunched over while working. Any activity that precipitates the head forward position and puts the cervical vertebral ligaments in a stretched position will cause the ligaments to weaken over time. The ligament laxity causes an even more head forward position as the ligaments can no longer keep the cervical vertebrae in their proper posterior alignment. Neck pain results and the cycle repeats itself.
What are the symptoms of Barré-Lieou Syndrome?

barre-lieou syndromeSymptoms that characterize Barré-Lieou syndrome are headache, facial pain, ear pain, vertigo, tinnitus, loss of voice, hoarseness, neck pain, severe fatigue, muscle weakness, sinus congestion, a sense of the eyeball being pulled out, and numbness. Other symptoms may include a pins-and-needles sensation of the hands and forearms, corneal sensitivity, dental pain, lacrimation (tearing of the eyes), blurred vision, facial numbness, shoulder pain, swelling on one side of the face, nausea, vomiting and localized cyanosis of the face (bluish color).
Modern Medicine misses the mark with Barré-Lieou Syndrome

Since Barré-Lieou syndrome is a sympathetic system disorder and the primary symptom is headache, traditional treatment usually involves prescriptions of Cafergot, Ergotamine and Sumatriptin, all of which vasoconstrict the blood vessels. Although these medicines work, their effect is only temporary. They act on the symptom of the dysfunction and not the cause, which is why their benefit is only temporary.

In addition, massage therapy, physical therapy and chiropractic/osteopathic manipulation also may help to temporarily relieve the pain. They do not, however, correct the underlying problem of ligament laxity.
Correcting the underlying cause of Barré-Lieou Syndrome with Prolotherapy

cervical.instabilityA better approach is to correct the alignment of the vertebrae in the neck posteriorly (back) so they no longer pinch the sympathetic nerves. This can be accomplished through Prolotherapy, which promotes healing of the ligament weakness in the neck, the root cause of Barré-Liéou syndrome. As the posterior sympathetic nervous system begins to function correctly, other symptoms of Barré-Liéou syndrome, such as dizziness, tinnitus and vertigo also subside. Patients who have had sinus trouble for years also experience clear breathing as sympathetic output to the sinus area is increased. Finally, additional symptoms, such as blurred vision, severe fatigue, dysesthesias (pins and needles down the arm), low blood pressure and low heart rate are also improved with increased output of the sympathetic nervous system.

The safest and most effective natural medicine treatment for repairing tendon, ligament and cartilage damage is Prolotherapy. In simple terms, Prolotherapy stimulates the body to repair painful areas. It does so by inducing a mild inflammatory reaction in the weakened ligaments and cartilage. Since the body heals by inflammation, Prolotherapy stimulates healing.

Prolotherapy offers the most curative results in treating Barré-Lieou syndrome. It effectively eliminates all symptoms because it attacks the source: the misalignment of neck vertebrae caused by ligament weakness. What's more, the tissue strengthening and pain and symptom relief stimulated by Prolotherapy is permanent!
 
Ligament laxity (loose weak ligaments). Prolotherapy (induced inflammation to ligaments but not necessarily muscles). This supports the theory why working out with weights reduces T in some people and why it returns or happens when they stop.
 

Log in or register to get the full forum benefits!

Register

Register on Tinnitus Talk for free!

Register Now