Cymy Sue

Hi Anastasia,

Since I joined this Forum I have been truly amazed at how many members (especially young members) who suffer with terrible ear problems at the onset or early stages of TMJD problems, Tinnitis being one of the hardest symtoms to deal with.

I always had ear pain, ear aches & a degree of hyperacusis, but I was 23 years into TMJD treatment (including several surgeries) when I started experiencing Tinnitis. A little over 2 years ago, it started with some brief ringing episodes and then one day, it was like a jet engine lodged in my head and never turned off.

I saw about 5 ENT's who said there was absolutely no connection. Many members have been told the same thing. A Neurotologist finally convinced me by explaining the connection. He told me if I could get something done with the TMJD, it would help the Tinnitis, it might even go away. I felt hopeless. I had been told a few months before, that there was absolutely nothing else that could be done for me.

(That information was incorrect. A splint has worked wonders for all of my TMJD symtoms, including the Tinnitis)

If the Tinnitis is caused by muscle spasms due to TMJD, a Splint can help. Several people on the board have gotten different degrees of relief with Splint Therapy. Also, everyone seems to respond on different timetables with many reporting the Tinnitis is usually the last symtom to ease up.

I started Splint Therapy about 5 months ago and responded very quickly. My splint was designed primarily for Muscle relaxation and passive repositioning. The Tinnitis started to get better within a few weeks. I still have it, but the majority of the time, I barely notice it. Some days, it's gone. Occasionally, I have a bad day with it, but I believe eventually, it will go away.

I want to stress to you that I did not have any nerve damage to my ears or other ear related problems. It was all totally TMJD related.

There are many discussions on this Board regarding ear problems and Tinnitis. I also checked the "Hearing Disorders" and "Inner Ear" Forums for information when I first joined HB.

I bumped up an old post with some of the first information I found (TMJD/Tinnitis Connection). I thought it was interesting since I could not find anyone who would make the connection.

Also, for me to understand why...helped a little. This is what the Neurotologist told me and I have read very similiar explanations.

Ear problems are very common with TMJD.
Two very small muscles are usually the cause.
The Tensor Veli Pallantini and the Tensor Tympani muscles connect to the muscles of mastication and the ears. Grinding, clenching, chewing and talking cause these muscles to shorten and that puts a constant pull or strain on the auricular cavity. This causes ear ache, pain, fullness, congestion, TINNITIS, hyperacusis, hearing loss, etc.

Light sensitivety seems to be a common complaint also. There are also a couple of small muscles that are involved in chewing that connect around and behind the eyes.

I found that sleeping with "White Noise" helps.(I still do that)
I also used the "White Noise Ear Maskers" (Dr. Jastreboff's Theory) Both of these helped me to deal with it a little better, but Muscle Spasms were the cause and I didn't get any real relief until I got the splint.

I hope you get the same relief.

Cymy Sue


[This message has been edited by Cymy Sue (edited 06-16-2003).]