Weird Pressure Behind Earlobes and Nausea

[obnoxious]

Hi all, I have had tinnitus since November 2020 due to an accident where I fell asleep listening to low volume white noise. I classify my tinnitus as moderate-ish (on a scale 0-10 where 0.5-1 = "it can only be heard in a quiet room without plugging the ears" mine is probably between 4 and 5), and it did not lessen since the onset, but I am somehow habituated. I have also some form of TTTS that comes and goes.
Approximately a week ago I started experiencing the following weird symptoms:

• symmetrical pressure behind earlobes; not the typical pressure feeling like when the ears are clogged or "full" due to change in barometric pressure. It's rather like someone is applying pressure with a finger right behind my earlobes (below where it says 'Emin. of concha' - SFW);
• some intermittent indescribable ear discomfort, like my ear canals are "tensing up" (whatever that even means).
• none of them seem to be related to noise. I live in a very quiet city / area, and I stay mostly at home. No recent noise insult, no headphones.
• I have nausea for several hours a day, that same feeling you have when you suddenly realize you did something wrong in a college written examination and makes you want to throw up; last such nausea episode I had in my life was probably 15 years ago. No dizziness nor vertigo.
• the tinnitus is unchanged and so it the TTTS.

I personally blame the fact that I will defend my PhD thesis the next week (after five years of research), and this is causing me a huge amount of worry; I will be judged by some eminent scientists in the field. Might the TMJ here be the culprit? Or what else might be going on? Anybody can relate?

Thank you!

 

[obnoxious]

Maybe I should have posted this in the hyperacusis category... Anyway, it seems very related to the tension of the jaw muscles.