TMJ Tinnitus Aggravated from Invisalign

[Lincoln]

I decided to do Invisalign at 41 and it was going very smoothly, except I noticed I was playing with the retainer at night in my sleep. I previously suffered from TMJ, but was symptom free for years. My previous symptom was headaches and I've never had tinnitus before in my life.

Two+ weeks ago, I woke up with this high pitched tone in my ear and it hasn't left. It is 24/7 and is causing me great distress. My fans and white noise machines aren't loud enough to cover it.

I have reached out to a tinnitus and TMJ expert, and will be contacting an ENT doctor tomorrow.

Is there any hope for the ringing to go away? Any suggestions?

 

[martinberryhorse]

There is always hope.

Do you have any physical sensation in your ears? Do they feel wet or stuffy?

Is there an unusual crackling sound in your ears when you swallow?

 

[Juan]

I decided to do Invisalign at 41 and it was going very smoothly, except I noticed I was playing with the retainer at night in my sleep. I previously suffered from TMJ, but was symptom free for years. My previous symptom was headaches and I've never had tinnitus before in my life.

Two+ weeks ago, I woke up with this high pitched tone in my ear and it hasn't left. It is 24/7 and is causing me great distress. My fans and white noise machines aren't loud enough to cover it.

I have reached out to a tinnitus and TMJ expert, and will be contacting an ENT doctor tomorrow.

Is there any hope for the ringing to go away? Any suggestions?

I am doing Invisaling and also feeling worse during the treatment. I do not know the reason. Maybe it's the fact that the splints make pressure on teeth and this in turn makes pressure on other bones. I have headaches more often. Nothing very bad, but like dull headaches...

I am at the middle of the treatment and hope to finish it... removing the attachments was noisy, was pretty bad really.

May I ask you if you finished the Invisaling treatment and how it went in the end?

 

[Harder Calm]

I'd also be interested in experiences with this topic! My orthodontic treatment as a teenager did not work optimally and since then my bite has been disturbed. Teeth in upper and lower jaw do not really fit together well, I bite more on the right side than on the left side. I also grind my teeth at night, so I got a grinding splint (to wear at night, mostly). For years I had no serious discomfort until tinnitus came up in a really stressful period, and also weird "sticky" noises in my jaw and slight pain/tension in my jaw.

So I'm wondering if an Invisalign treatment could help the whole problem and bring some relief and recovery, or if it's risky and make things worse? Any advice and experiences appreciated!

@Juan did the treatment also influence your Tinnitus? Please keep us up to date, I hope it'll work out well for you!

 

[creoena]

I have tinnitus from (we think) a neck injury and after some trial and error a couple weeks ago I've found my Invisalign was aggravating it indirectly. I was on the same tray for two months because I needed an adjustment, and because I was so stressed out from my tinnitus, and I have a habit of clenching my jaw, I was clenching teeth constantly. Because my bite was uneven (my left side bites before my right), this was causing a lot of stress on my jaw and muscles and was causing ear pain and making the tinnitus worse. I made it a point to not clench my teeth (I even use lollipop handles to help), and it certainly has helped with the pain, and the tinnitus is a little better. My new adjusted trays came in and I just started them today and it's not aggravated it at all so far.

Since your jaw is still in a position of change and may not be even, one thing to maybe pay attention to is if you're clenching your jaw during Invisalign.

 

[Juan]

@Juan did the treatment also influence your Tinnitus? Please keep us up to date, I hope it'll work out well for you!

My bite was aligned before I started Invisalign treatment. This is, my teeth closed correctly but they were uneven (some tooth leaning a bit forward, others squeezed a bit backward between other teeth), and I wanted to correct this, as a relative of mine lost a tooth for this reason...

So Invisalign actually has altered my bite, how my teeth close, to make teeth even. The dentist says this is going to be fine at the end of the treatment, and that my bite will close correctly and my teeth will be even..

Anyway, the thing is that since I started the Invisalign treatment I am feeling worse.. I am wondering if it might have to do with the material the splints are made of... that sort of plastic. After all I am wearing the splints around 22 hours per day...