Hello there Mark,

You have my every sympathy. I have been diagnosed as having TMJD with severe ear symptoms. (Dizziness/tight ears, tinnitus et..) I've had mild tinnitus since I was ten, now thirties, it has got a little louder with this, fluctuates. BUT I do get a sound and (sort of) sensation of vibration in my ears. The first day I woke up with it, it was appauling, v. loud and any other vibrating sounds caused it to vibrate further. I also immediately became sensitive to noise, any noise sounded too loud. Like you I was scared of going out, any sound, talking, talking made it worse.

I immediately took 2mg valium and I think I took another 2 mg twice more during the day. I had heard valium was a muscle relaxant. I continued to take 2mg (v. low dose) of valium over the next four days and the vibration subsided. After that I took it on and off for a few weeks when the symptom came back. It comes and goes now, but never as severe as when I first got it and when it comes on I can (touch wood) now control it by relaxing my muscles, and trying not to panic, without the valium taking the edge off the symptom in the first few weeks I don't think I could have got to this stage. My hyperacusis is also much better and rarely troubles me. I still have ringing tinnitus, but haven't yet undergone much tmjd treatment (only recently diagnosed) who knows, maybe I'll experience some relief from that too.

If you want suggestions I would say it's not necessarily anti inflammatories that you want but a muscle relaxant. If I were you I would try valium - people are very wary of valium as it can be addictive BUT if you are sensible, start with a low dose, (2mg) take it for a while, cautiously, and work towards needing it less, and only taking it as and when, then I do not think there should be a problem. There are many people who take a v. low dose of valium for years - menieres sufferers being one example, tinnitus sufferers being another. Your symptoms are violent, you need to try and find some relief now. It sounds like you are currently in a cycle of immense noise induced distress which leads to further muscular spasm and then further noise. I don't think you will be able to stop all of the noises you are experiencing with drugs - but my hunch is if you can get some of the muscular spasm under control you will experience relief in some areas. For long term relief you should definitely continue with the dentist, other people more experienced on the board in terms of splint/orthodontics etc.. can probably advise you better on this aspect. The good news is that your tinnitus and hyperacusis sound like they are definitely jaw related, which means there is great hope for relieving a lot or maybe all of your noise symptoms.

As Cheryl said, Cymy Sue has experienced major relief from her tinnitus (and, I believe, hyperacusis) with splint therapy, at the point she received splint therapy her problems were all muscular/not jaw joint related, which indicates this is a muscular problem. My dentist told me her brother developed tmjd related tinnitus and got rid of it through splint therapy. There is someone called Carol_In _California, who is also an ear sufferer. She did not get rid of her roaring tinnitus entirely, but halved its intensity by taking neurontin, an anti seizure medication. You could also look in to this. A natural remedy you may be aware of is ginko biloba, you need to take it for a number of weeks to see results, it helps some people, not all.

Another thing I would suggest is The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies, which teaches you how to massage trigger points inside your mouth, on your face, neck etc.. which can also help. I realise you have problems going out - I got mine sent to me in the post. I would also suggest you look in to cranial osteopaths if you can find one, and also if you can get to one. The work is in no way noisey, they are highly trained and experienced when it comes to the anatomy around the tmj area - Michael V has written a number of excellent posts on this subject, you could try putting his name in to a search engine. Their work is also very gentle. I have just started seeing one and am impressed. They can also help greatly with your shoulder/neck problems which are almost certainly contributing to the muscular spasm and the noise. I don't know what your financial position is, but if you were to see, for example, a cranial osteopath, and were to explain your situation, they might be prepared to visit you at home. They do not use any gadgets and can travel light. It's worth a try. Just to highlight the muscular back/neck etc relation to tinnitus, I recently put my back out very badly - in the period when my lower back went in to spasm, presumably sending my shoulders/neck/jaw in to spasm, my tinnitus momentarily went through the roof, deafening. Luckily it subsided again v. quickly - but it was a possible indicator of the muscle/tinnitus relationship.

You can also get something called musicians ear plugs, I'm sure you're aware of this, they are quite expensive (not off the scale though) but they turn the volume down on all sound whilst still allowing you to hear. You have probably also read up on hyperacusis, you do have to be careful about blocking all sound all the time as it can make you more sound sensitive, I think, when it comes to earplugs it's just a matter of being sensible with them.

Please do visit your doctor and discuss the use of drugs, or maybe your dentist will be in a position to prescribe them (I'm afraid I don't know about that.) What you are going through is obviously dreadfully disabling, if it wasn't I wouldn't suggest this.

Apologies that this is sooo long, but from my own, admittedly, less severe experience, I have some idea of what you're going through, how difficult it is, and really wanted to try and help.




[This message has been edited by hbep (edited 06-12-2003).]

[This message has been edited by hbep (edited 06-12-2003).]