Do you have ear ringing and hearing loss with TMJ?

Al4 · 09-21-2002, 10:29 PM

Does your TMJ cause ringing or hearing loss in the ears? If yes, how bad are your ear symptoms? Does wearing a splint help or make things worse?
Thank you

crystalll · 09-22-2002, 07:34 PM

Hi Al4,

A lot of times it's the ear symptoms that lead people to an original diagnosis of TMJD. My symptoms began with mild ear aches several years ago. I now have the ear ringing, subjective hearing loss, fullness, dizziness etc. I've been wearing a splint 24/7 for almost three months, and so far have found no measurable improvement. Sometimes it takes awhile to get the jaw into its proper physiological position, so I'm still hanging in there. I should mention that my jaw did click on opening, which made it easier to diagnose TMJD. Have you been diagnosed with TMJ disorder?

Crystal

Al4 · 09-23-2002, 03:04 AM

Hello Crystalll,

Hasn’t your dizziness or tinnitus improved at least a little bit after three months of wearing your splints? Have you seen an ENT doctor, and what did he/she say? What is subjective hearing loss, and how is it different from hearing loss due to diseases of the ear? How is it diagnosed?

Thank you.

justanotherday · 09-23-2002, 07:53 PM

yes they are ringing right now as a matter of fact...oh what a delight tmj is

crystalll · 09-23-2002, 08:00 PM

Hi again,

When it comes to TMJD it seems that everybody has a different combination of symptoms, which makes treatment difficult. I've been experiencing most of the ear symptoms for about a year, so it may take awhile for them to ease up. Also, when I first got my splint I needed an adjustment immediately because my symptoms became worse. My muscles went into spasm and it took some time (and muscle relaxants) to get it back to a dull roar. This roller coaster makes it difficult to gauge whether or not there has been any improvement.
I've been to two ENT doctors. The first one found nothing wrong with me and suggested it was anxiety! The second ENT did an ENG (dizziness test), and I'm still waiting to get the results. I'm sure his tests will be negative as well. Subjective hearing loss is something that doesn't show up on tests. I sometimes have a hard time hearing certain sounds while other sounds are REALLY loud. It's considered "subjective" because it's not detected by an audiologist.

Crystal