TMJ the Cause of ETD?

[housemzk]

I've been wearing an orthotic for over a month now with some improvement in loudness of the ear ringing. The neuromuscular dentist I go to says that the ringing is normally the last thing that goes away with TMJ.

 

[just1morething]

@housemzk, Glad you are getting a bit of relief. Do you wear your orthotic only when you sleep? I have more of a static hissing that may be more from HF hearing loss than TMJD (how do you know?) Also trying some liquid magnesium. If all else fails I suppose I'll try TRT.

 

[housemzk]

@just1morething - I wear it just about 24/7 and will have to do so for a total of 9 months. Truthfully, I have no idea if my tinnitus is from TMJD, noise or something else. The dentist believes the ringing is related to a displaced TMJ disk.

Does your hiss change at all or is it pretty consistent? You've had tinnitus for close to 10 years now, have you had any changes, positive or negative over the years? I'm at a hiss right now, with light pulsing.

 

[just1morething]

You've had tinnitus for close to 10 years now, have you had any changes, positive or negative over the years? I'm at a hiss right now, with light pulsing.

Well it wasn't really bad until 2010 (rough riding in a tractor may have made it worse) and then I had IT injections at Paparella (2010) and Shea (2011) I was at a really low point when I called Dr. Shulman. He had me try Gabapentin plus Klonopin. That seemed to knock my noise out in the past. I would try it again but I have no Klonopin, just Serax. I currently have no psychiatrist, only a primary care Dr. that is reluctant to prescribe anything.

My noise has really ramped up in the past year and I'm clueless what to try? Maybe extra stress I have been under just fuels the fire. I need to get a day when my noise is under control to have some hope. I have a feeling mine is more brain noise than TMJD. Regardless of what's causing it I need a break from the torment. Currently I have a static hiss that is about talking volume.

Does your noise switch ears? Maybe a misaligned jaw could do that or is just in head? My noise changes, the worst being a powerline sound in my head.

 

[paganismos]

So far not that much improvement in my tmj I'm afraid. I'm wearing a splint everyday and seeing a jaw therapist once a week, but my jaw opening is still really limited, and my tinnitus still the same. There are better days and worse days though. Last night was hell again, my head was vibrating and humming. Kept waking up. My face sometimes feel tingly too and I'm really scared it has something to do with my tmj

Aw man, I'm really sorry.
How long have you been using the splint? What does the jaw therapist do? I'm thinking of going to a chiropractor, see if he can do something for my jaw. Do you use the splint day and night? The ETD symptoms are still there?

 

[housemzk]

That's terrible, @just1morething - Truly sorry for your struggle. I wish I had recommendations to ease the struggle, but I imagine you've tried just about everything in your years dealing with this. I will say, neck and upper back stretching, along with mediation provides some relief for me.

Does your noise switch ears? Maybe a misaligned jaw could do that or is just in head? My noise changes, the worst being a powerline sound in my head.

No, noise is isolated to my left ear only. Our sounds are eerily similar, in that I have the power line sound also most of the time. In the past it would turn into a constant tone by late afternoon, but that's seems to have gone away. Mornings I barely hear my tinnitus. As the day goes on though, it picks up.

 

[just1morething]

I will say, neck and upper back stretching, along with mediation provides some relief for me.

No, noise is isolated to my left ear only.

Mine used to be left ear only too.. That was the only ear that got steroid injections. My noise is different than yours as mornings are the worst. My noise could be related to my neck and TMJ...just am not sure. Anyway I hope we both can get relief from our "friend" that refuses to leave.

 

[just1morething]

@housemzk, I thought this was a good post by @Kaelon:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/exercise.22472/page-2#post-258739

 

[Stephanie72]

I know his is an older thread but if any of you guys are still around maybe you could answer a few questions for me.

I'm sure my tinnitus is from tmj. It's been here around 5 weeks. I was diagnosed with tmj about 15 years ago (I'm 45). It was mild and I managed it by making some lifestyle changes. Until about 5 and a half weeks ago. I yawned way too wide and my jaw locked. My husband was out of town, small child in bed and I freaked. Got in a hot shower and massaged it until it closed. I felt a ton of pressure but whew it was closed. Should have gone to the doc/dentist (I don't even have a reg dentist here, we've not lived here too long) but life went on with small child and out of town spouse. It was really sore for a few days. Alternated ice and heat and it calmed down.

A few days after it happened (maybe 4-5) we were watching tv and all of a sudden I began to feel pressure along my jaw. It got worse over the next few days until my ears hurt and felt full and my face and inside of my mouth hurt. Then the ringing started a few days after that.

Saw a horrible ENT who told me TMJ would not cause this (hearing test was fine, pressure in ears were fine) and to go buy a fan and live with it. Said I was lucky I wasn't deaf with tinnitus (like him). Went to my gp very distressed and he gave me temazepam to take as needed at night. He called his ENT friend who put me on prednisone and made an appt for me next week. Also I've had acupuncture about 5 times and I saw the chiropractor (who is a family friend, not charging for all my visits). Chiropractor says my joint is still locked. I believe him too. Pressure, pain, ear pain, jaw/face pain. He did gentle manipulation and used the cold laser light for a long time. The visit I had with him helped my neck and face and I'm going back next week.

So, my questions are: Could I have a disk out of place? How would you find that out? X-Ray? CT scan? How is that fixed? A few of you mentioned your dentists. Are you guys going to a special dentist? We don't have dental insurance (I'm in the US) and even if we had purchased it this would not have been covered. I called a tmj "specialist" in my area and the consult was $500! His treatment generally runs $3,000-$6,000! The splints alone are over $2,000. Cortisone shots into the joint (something he routinely does) are $500 apiece! I don't have the kind of $$$ right now. Not sure where to start looking for a dentist. I have no idea if I'll need a mouthguard or splint therapy. I was hoping the chiropractor could get everything calmed down and back in place and I could go from there. Should I ask the ENT to refer for a CT scan? Can I see a general dentist? I'm just not sure the order go go about doing these things.

My t is very low in the morning. Sometimes not there. But by noon or so it's back. Gets louder as the day goes on. Hoping it will diminish with the right treatment but honestly right now I need to be pain free and able to eat something more than bananas and mashed potatoes.

Thanks for any any advise!