If this was true, there wouldn't be anyone bothered with tinnitus.
You have two types of tinnitus: somatic and sensorineural (hearing loss). While science is still trying to figure out the sensorineural type, most common cases of sudden tinnitus are due to anxiety, stress, acid reflux or involuntary excessive tension of the neck, trapezoid or back muscles, as well as bruxism (jaw clenching). It can also be caused by co-morbidity between some or all of these factors.
- You should see an audiologist to perform a hearing test first. If your hearing's fine, then it's somatic tinnitus.
- One way to find out is to push your mastoid bone against your skull. If you see that tinnitus recedes, changes in sound or intensity or just stops altogether, it's 100% due to tension (turn your head left or right and palpate that large muscle coming down from your ear and down your neck — that's the sternocleiodmastoid muscle, and one of the culprits. Look into smoothing out the temporalia and masseter as well, if you have bruxism.
- If you train your back too much, your back and neck muscles can become extremely tense for an indefinite period of time, causing tinnitus because of slight vertebral changes. You need muscle relaxants, stretching exercises and physiotherapy.
One way to find out if your back is too tense, is to lean against a wall, placing your elbows at 90 degrees on each side of your head as a starting point. Now stretch your arms completely over your head without having your arms or back lose contact with the wall. If you can't do that easily, back tension.
- Acid reflux (GERD): Acidic vapors from silent acid reflux while you sleep on your back can reach up your airways, into your sinuses and even into your ear canal, causing inflammation of the auditory canal (otitis externa) and potential Eustachian tube dysfunction on the longer term.
It's said it's not a common symptom; that's incorrect. It's also reported that it does not lead to vasculitis, but hypothetically it can. It most certainly is a common symptom if your acid reflux is not controlled, and will definitely produce somatic tinnitus. Ask your GP about Dexilant to control potential GERD.
*About Sertraline: Sertraline might cause changes in your somatic tinnitus initially because the initial adaptation response feels like you're on very high doses of caffeine. This explains the change in sound pitch or intensity, as your muscles involuntarily tense up during sleep and you might wake up at night with severe tinnitus.
To alleviate the stress response, you need to combine it with a low-dose non-benzodiazepine for insomnia treatment (Z-drugs) like Zolpidem - no more than 5 mg. You have to hang in there for an estimated two full weeks until your brain adapts. At some point you might notice that your tinnitus has noticeably receded and that it might even have completely gone away. I've taken it for 3 months total and then stopped, and eventually habituated to somatic tinnitus (which can come back due to anxiety or muscle tension, but you have the strong emotional response associated with it, that you might experience now — I've been through this, I'm telling you
You will invariably habituate.
Of course, do not auto-medicate by all means, always seek your GP before attempting any new medication or treatment.
*About tinnitus after short naps: Some studies have presented that serotonin might not only have pro-relaxant effects, but also
pro-contractile. Generally, during a nap, the body may progress through the stages of sleep more quickly compared to a full night's sleep. This may have an effect on muscle tension, also according to your sleeping position. Always take naps in your bed, and not on your couch (lying on the side).