Using Resistance with Palm of Hand on Either Side of My Head Increases Tinnitus

[Marcuso22]

I would be interested if anyone else has ever experienced this phenomenon. This is actually how you do head-neck resistance exercise, and that's how I discovered this increases the loudness of my tinnitus.

You place the palm of your hand either near top or front part of your head near your ear & you use your palm as resistance as you try to push your head by turning to the side of your hand or tilt it in that direction.

When I do this I detect increase sound of my tinnitus for duration of time.

Anyone have an education explanation for why this would happen?

 

[ajc]

You place the palm of your hand either near top or front part of your head near your ear & you use your palm as resistance as you try to push your head by turning to the side of your hand or tilt it in that direction.

When I do this I detect increase sound of my tinnitus for duration of time.

Anyone have an education explanation for why this would happen?

I can replicate this too. I think it's just your garden-variety somatic tinnitus. Some 80% of tinnitus sufferers can modulate their tinnitus with jaw/neck/head movements.

 

[Lilah]

Yes, I have this too. Pushing my cheeks upwards towards my ears/head using my palms also causes an increase, as well as pushing up on the upper molar teeth, and so forth. It is somatic tinnitus. In addition to physical causes (neck issues, jaw issues, etc.), I have read that somatization, even unrelated to tinnitus, is caused by anxiety.

 

[AliasM]

Yes. Tinnitus gets louder in my left ear when I set my face with a towel, press on my scalp, turn to look at something etc.

 

[Marcuso22]

I can replicate this too. I think it's just your garden-variety somatic tinnitus. Some 80% of tinnitus sufferers can modulate their tinnitus with jaw/neck/head movements.

Looking at diagram of ears it seems to be where the temporal muscle is located. So when pressing against it it causes the tinnitus sound to increase for that brief time. What's interesting is that my worse ear being the right ear, the tinnitus is easier to affect than my left ear not requiring as much pressure to cause that effect. I also notice when I yawn that also for that brief time increases the tinnitus. I don't get that effect at all with any of the other movements you mentioned. Strange stuff.

 

[Marcuso22]

Yes, I have this too. Pushing my cheeks upwards towards my ears/head using my palms also causes an increase, as well as pushing up on the upper molar teeth, and so forth. It is somatic tinnitus. In addition to physical causes (neck issues, jaw issues, etc.), I have read that somatization, even unrelated to tinnitus, is caused by anxiety.

I didn't go through with having an MRI because of concerns of it making my tinnitus worse so I just hope it has nothing to do with something that's pathologically wrong (outside of the obvious damage to my high hearing loss hair cells).