Tinnitus louder with jaw clench?

[alonso713]

Just wondered how many people's T gets louder when they clench their jaw. I've had it for four years now and have always thought it might have happened after my braces came off and I started wearing a retainer. Sometimes I do feel myself tensing my jaw and it feels a little tight, but not painful. When I do an active clench, the pitch does go up and then right down again when I unclench.

[rabbits65]

I think my tinnitus may have been brought on when I had trouble with my TMJ joint . I had a few teeth out too and I think any stress around the face neck and head brings on the tinnitus , well it appears .

[TimSussex]

Hi Rabido,

I have the same. I have had T for over 2 years now. ENT said it was brought on by a viral ear infection - I most certainly did NOT have an ear infection of any type. In all honesty, I think they were lead by me saying that I had felt a TINY bit unwell prior to the onset. I was VERY stressed and then took a holiday for 2 weeks, came back to the stress and within 2 weeks, T came into my life!

I have all my wisdom teeth and am I wondering if clenching due to stress and the stress itself brought T along. I intend to see a dentist ASAP and perhaps have a tooth out (I have one which has broken after having RCT anyway, so it may as well come out).

Because I didn't have a diagnosis and being one of those determined buggers, I intend to explore EVERY angle before giving in ad accepting that my beautiful silence has gone forever!

When i clench, my T certainly changes loudness and pitch.... fingers crossed and will update soon. Hello everyone by the way

[Jh59]

Hi Rabido,My T goes up in pitch and loudness when I clench me teeth. I thought everyone had T noise and this clench change! I have had T for at least 30plus years. I don't seem to relax my jaw, always tense.

One Osteopath did "pull" my jaw but don't remember if T changed as it was 20 years ago.

I think my T is from this tight jaw and eustasion tube dysfunction. But of course GPs do nothing except a few hearing tests over the years which leads to nothing else.

All the best,

John

[purenostalgia]

Rabido, when I yawn my hearing is cut off and I hear nothing, it returns when I release my jaw.

I have just had a tooth extracted and a new set of upper dentures fitted, but so far no effect on my Tinnitus.

Take care

Mike

[surreycccfan]

I have spoken to a couple of audiologist about this as I have wondered this to. Basically as I understand it (and I am no clinician) it seems many people can do a physical manoeuvre that alters the loudness and pitch of their tinnitus - know as somatic modulation of tinnitus

This was first observed and published in a paper in 1999 by Dr Robert Levine, a neurologist

It seems this can be explained by the fact that at the point that sounds enter the brainstem at the dorsal cochlear nucleus and start getting processed. At the very same point sensory information from the face, neck and jaw enters and gets processed

However, somatosensory tinnitus may occur alongside a head/neck injury and may have a different diagnosis/explanation

I think this is covered in one of the BTA webinar that Tony Kay did (I believe this is still free on the BTA website)

Hope this helps

[Allgie]

Yep - mine does that - clenched teeth or wide open jaw, gets louder !

[alonso713]

Thanks all for your replies, really appreciated! I thought it would be a common thing but couldn't find anything conclusive. Reckon six fellow clenching subjects confirms that it's common!

I remember vividly, maybe a month after it started, my neck really "snapped" when I stood up and oh so briefly the tinnitus went away. It came back after a few minutes but, in that moment, absolute bliss. Never had that sweet release since! Recently I've had definite tension in my neck/shoulders and noticed that the tinnitus had increased as well, which set me back on the path of exploring the braces/retainer jaw connection. I've been massaging the masseter muscle and really trying to make stretching part of the daily routine (but that's still a work in progress). One lives in hope (as do you all) that it settles back to a more tolerable level.

[Don_Alejandro]

I have quite poor bones and joints - osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, costochondritis etc. And TMJ....

Some years ago I underwent some quite lengthy dental work which caused various clicks and pops in my right ear from that day on - most noticeable when eating. Then earlier this year I had a wisdom tooth removed from the left side. I had noise and popping in my left ear almost immediately. I experienced pain for over a month. AND for the first time in my life, a continuous high pitched ringing in the same ear... tinnitus.

Does it increase in volume when I clench my jaw? YES, very much so - both the ringing and the joint creaks and pops. Eating is now a pretty noisy experience. My great passion is music and the tinnitus has seriously affected this most precious part of my life.

My dentist didn't and doesn't want to know. They said it has nothing to do with having a tooth extracted, I have an underlying condition - TMJ. My conclusion is that dental work, particularly extractions, is often a trigger for tinnitus. I strongly believe this is routinely brushed under the carpet by the dental profession. It's a minefield for them so they're just ducking the whole issue