Clenching Jaw alters pitch

[chris-104]

Hi, had Tinnitus for a while now, 3yrs, does anyone has anyone experienced a change in tone and volume when clenching their jaw?

[perlcoder]

Hi chris-104,

Yes. I think that is a very common phenomenon. Many of us notice it at the onset of our T, but whenever it occurs, I have never read anything that suggests it is significant.,

[RobertCLL]

Yes I have the same experience.

[DownUnderInAus]

Hi Chris, Yes, my tinnitus can be altered by clenching my jaw, moving my neck from left to right, or up and down. I believe that mine might be something cervical? Cheers

[Hidden]

Hi PericoderI have T in my left ear only and can change the tone of T when clenching my jaw. It is possible, that like me, you have T linked to TMJ Temporial Mandibular Joint disorder. You might also be able to change the T volume by twisting your neck. Go to You Tube and seek out TMJ exercises. The upper spine/neck also plays a part, so look at neck exercises as well. These have reduced my T over the last 6 months. Try taking up swimming as I find I can stop the T completely for up to 30hours after a 40 minute swim doing 40 lengths. The crawl is the most effective.

Personally, I believe that this form of T is down to localised blood flow restrictions in and around the ear. Part of getting older. Exercise dilates the blood vessels and improves blood flow, thus reducing the T. Getting yourself fit, blood pressure down and better posture have worked for me, to the point that I often struggle to hear the T at all.

It takes time, so persevere. 6 months.

Also, check your ears for wax build up, my GP was useless despite being ENT qualified so I bought an ear camera, £16.00 on ebay and cleared my own ears out.

Good luck.

Marcus

[Marlayna in reply to Hidden]

Totally agree!

[sun_1234 in reply to Marlayna]

thank you for your nice information and success story. I can’t do swimming because I have a big hole in my one ear. Dr said I have to be very careful with that. My tinnitus is too loud and always change and spike. so many sounds in mu ear and head 😢. Always feel anxious and depressed.

[chris-104 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, that's very helpfull.

[perlcoder in reply to Hidden]

Hi MDAllen,

Thanks for this. Sorry I am a bit late responding - you slightly misspelled my nick so I didn't get a notification.

I have had T for more than 20 years now, and I have tried various forms of exercise - including for TMJ. In my case they do have some small effect, but mainly (I think), because any form of concentration on a good piece of physiotherapy relaxes the mind, and T with it.

I am a totally rubbish swimmer - I would probably drown 😩

Ear wax has been an issue since my long-vanished early 20s, and I have had it syringed away every few years. When my T began, it was one of my first suspects as culprit, and I immediately had my ears checked, a little earlier than usual, and precaution syringed. No help then or later I am afraid.

My BP is a bit high at the moment, but not terribly so. I have never carried much weight and my BMI is well within range.

I think that, in my case, the T really is 90% determined by hearing loss in my left ear, which continues to deteriorate. Such is life, but thank you very much for your suggestions - and for having your own success story to report here in the forum. It is good for all of us to hear those.

[ks1966]

Hello. I do too. No one seems to have an answer. I hope you do.

[chris-104 in reply to ks1966]

somatosensory Tinnitus, Google this it will give you some insight.Good Luck

[ks1966]

Thanks

[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. Stay safe

[chris-104 in reply to surreycccfan]

Thank you, i do have a prolapse in my upper back, which gives constant neck problems, maybe this is the cause in my case.Many Thanks

[Blueeye55]

Yes mine is the same and changes amplitude and some time pitch when I clench ,my dentist did shave my back teeth a little as he said the bit was a bit off but it made no difference ,so then I tried TMJ massage where they massage the inside of th3 mouth very close to the jaw joint but again it made no real difference for me but it may for you if you have Jaw issues,but don’t forget that many of the nerves around the Ear going through or very close to th3 muscles of the jaw so movement of said muscles may affect or stress the nerves causing a change in sound so I believe it’s more an effect than a cause ,Do you suffer from snoring ?