I'm hardly daring to even notice it yet in case of regression, but just in the last few days I have nonetheless been holding my breath as some symptoms, like the ear noises (which had been constant for nearly seven weeks) have partially stopped, plus the pains in my head, neck and face are almost gone.

I've been using a heating pad regularly, and, particularly after reading a link on (top of) this site re tinnitus, stepping up taking various vitamins and minerals; zinc, Vit E, calcium carbonate, cod liver oil, Vit B, brewer's yeast, Vit C, and stopped drinking coffee entirely, this since the link said that tinnitus can be aleviated by antioxidants as a partial cause of it is constricted blood vessels (I paraphrase badly). Could this possibly be helping? I also believe the anti inflammatory I was taking (for about ten days) worsened my tinnitus, so possibly just stopping it (a week ago) has helped my ears at least, and decreased the unpleasant muzzy sensation I seemed to have all the time, now I feel clearer headed.

But - I have to avoid noise. If I for example go to a shopping centre and am haplessly subjected to loud music, plus going in a car perhaps contributes, then justthe noise alone starts spasms/pulsing in my face and my jaw feels very strangely weak. Do other's experience this, including the pulsing, just triggered by noise, not grinding or other physical stress? I am even wondering if I do have noise damage in my inner ears, not 'just' TMJ, the ear sensitivity is so bad, and it actually began several weeks ago when I had to listen to my dear (awful!) neighbours playing incredibly loud music for hours, I mean I can directly trace its beginning to that rather than to its foggily beginning after a TMJ diagnosis (though I do have TMJ also).

One more thing, I did get a nightguard from the dentist, it took two tries to get it somewhat right (my bite is so irregular, different heights on each side) but actually it still feels wrong, it allows me to move my mouth and grind on the left but not the right and also seems very tight across the top front teeth, I wore it the first night and had pulsing, constriction, throbbing across the roof of my mouth I couldn0t sleep, it was like having something tied tightly around your arm it cuts off blood flow. After I took it out the throbbing ceased after about ten mins. That was last week, I couldn't get in to see the dentist again till tomorrow so I haven't been able to wear it really as I can't sleep with the throbbing sensation and am also afraid I will grind down the teeth on the left since I could feel I ground an acrylic filling lower in just that one night (my poor teeth, desperate to grind somewhere! now I am viewing them too as unruly children who will go mad in the night, strange perspective suddenly!). But it's interesting how things have evolved, I thought if anything it would be the nightguard which helped me to feel better, but infact, in the last days, something else has given me relief...in a way it's good I haven't been using the nightguard thus far as I know for certain other things have helped and am not attributing my improvement to the guard as I undoubtedly would have been doing had I acutally been wearing it latterly. Now I just hope, after it is reshaped tomorrow, that it doesn't cause some kind of regression.

Isobel