Noise ramped up after walk TMJD

[Seabob]

Hi - I have recently been told i have TMJD - awaiting a CT scan, the Tinnitus fluctuates, it was low before i went for a walk and now has ramped up high, i dont think its a coincidence that it has gone high straight after my walk? I am trying to improve my posture and relax my jaw, any ideas why this is?? i guess my jaw is moving a lot whilst walking!! Exercise is good for you but it has resulted in this? Thank you.

[Happyrosie]

I’d look at it from a different angle. Walks outside are beneficial for T as you can listen to the real world, birds singing, rain etc. So T fades a bit, Then it’s louder when you come home.

[Seabob in reply to Happyrosie]

Hi, yes i love walking, and all the benefits, it was just that the T was quiet before i went for my walk, i found a video that explained how cold air effects the muscles and nerves and we do tense up as a result, so maybe the cold wind stirred up something in my face and triggered the T, my next walk will involve wrapping up my face well!! I was even looking at ear muffs but not sure im a little too old but who cares!!! 😆

[waterfalls123456 in reply to Seabob]

Wear a woolen scarf to warm the air. Also see if your dentist can give you TMJ exercises- mine has given me some.

[Seabob in reply to waterfalls123456]

Thank you...yes have started doing some exercises to try and help, many thanks 🤗

[LunaVi]

My T always amps up after any form of exercise which I assume is just down to an increase in blood flow. It can be very frustrating when T fluctuates but once you realise your triggers it can become easier to cope with any temporary increases in noise.

With my TMJ I find the cold on my face/ears can trigger pain and wind in my ears would definitely spike my T. I always have my ears covered if I do venture out (noise cancelling headphones or gel ear plugs/muffs) and find a balaclava great for keeping my face cozy during colder weather.

As you say exercise is good for you so don't let it put you off getting out for your walks.

[Seabob in reply to LunaVi]

Hi and thanks so much for your reply, yes i was very disappointed that i ended up with such noise after a lovely walk!! but lesson learnt and will in future add more layers, i was concentrating on trying to keep my jaw relaxed but didnt think about keeping the area warm!! its all a learning curve!!! 🙄🤗

[Sonnybee]

Hi there Seabob. All the replies here are spot on. I've had tinnitus long enough to know that every time we get a spike, we tend to blame it on whatever we were doing, eating, drinking etc, just before the spike. 99% of the time, its not connected. The danger is however, we then tend to go into avoidance mode, avoiding all the things we think might be the culprit. Before too long, we've stopped doing all the things we love. This increases anxiety, and allows tinnitus to rule our lives, making it more difficult to get over it. A vicious circle. There are far more plus points to going for a walk, exercise etc, so think of that before you go out. It has taken me a heck of a while to work this out!! I wish someone had told me this at the start!! Take care and keep walking.

[Seabob in reply to Sonnybee]

Thank you so much, an excellent point, i totally agree and my anxiety has a huge part of this, the benefits of walking outweigh my own anxious thoughts, grateful to you for sharing your knowledge 🤗

[Doxiemom1]

Do you perhaps unconsciously grit your teeth when you walk?

[Seabob]

Hi -it's likely!! i was making a big effort to keep relaxed but old habits die hard and i guess i really need to be very mindful of this!! My neighbour kindly gave me a diagram of the spine today as he has had a chiropractor work on his spine and you can see clearly how everything works together so well, so ofcourse when one or more joints are not working well things are thrown out of allignment, i can hear my neck crunching when i walk, ENT suggested i may have arthritis in my neck so am working on being far more conscious of my posture. Thank you for your reply. 🤗

[PuddingChipsAndGravy]

Hopefully this won't be the case for you but is it possible you have hyperacusis? I triggered my tinnitus years ago and it used to completely go away, until I triggered it with more electronic noise again, after which it would usually go away but hasn't this time. When I go out now, just usual noise of traffic makes it worse and I have been more or less hibernating since June but just starting to try and get out and about. I love walking so it's been killing me.

[Seabob in reply to PuddingChipsAndGravy]

Hi, thank you for your reply, I'm really not sure but i do have episodes of hypersensitivity, my ears/head pressure today are just awful, i need some exercise so my husband and i walked to the local shop, i felt so ill in the shop as my ears are hissing - i come home and burst into tears, i dont know how i can function at work if i cant go round a shop without feeling ill, i presume its balance related? i have a CT next wednesday and hope something will be evident otherwise i am at my wits end with all this, i know i am not alone but its so hard to deal with.

[PuddingChipsAndGravy]

Yeah it's awful and as you may be finding, a lot of the onus is on you to do all the research and no one seems to be able to tell you anything. My issue was caused by loud music but I do clench my teeth and use a splint in my mouth. Since my tinnitus/hyperacusis returned with a vengeance this time, my clenching is worse and my jaw and mouth are really sore. I am seeing various physios to get some relief and might get a different mouth guard, depending on if I have sleep apnoea, which is a possibility.

If it is related to your TMJ that should actually be a good thing as it will be physical and can be helped (cured) via physio/mouthguard etc. Sadly I think mine is worsened by stress and I can't snap out of the circle. If not then it may go away as I mine always did until I had a bad year this year with a traumatic family bereavement. I am going for slightly longer walks and touch wood am a bit better. I did get bad headaches when it was at its worse and my balance was slightly affected but now that's because I have BPPV (vertigo). I sound like a right hypochondriac.

As I can't stress enough, everyone is different and the mind can come into this a lot and I hesitated mentioning this as if you have a CT scan and it finds something that can be fixed, then of course that would be great but I remember it being incredibly loud when I had mine. I think was OK at the time but would be nervous having one now.

[Seabob in reply to PuddingChipsAndGravy]

Hi am so so sorry you sound like you are still going through such a hard time, i had an MRI scan three months ago and that was dreadful, apparently the CT should be quieter but i will see if i can wear some ear plugs? we cant be the only ones sensitive to noise, like you say if its TMJD related which is the ENT view then am hoping i can find ways to get better, i feel i cant function at the mo, am off work sick, i think anxiety is a major part of all this with me, and as you say dealing with that alone is mega hard, one day i feel brighter and able to cope but when my head goes bonkers and the sound ramps up i react emotionally as if its a release for the pressure,

[PuddingChipsAndGravy]

Oh yeah sorry I get them mixed up. CTs are indeed quieter! Hopefully the TMJ route will be a fruitful one. The mouth splint used to sort me out a treat but I am stressing too much now and there's only a certain amount they can do. I did try one for during the day but that was on the bottom teeth and I hated it. Not cheap either.

[Seabob in reply to PuddingChipsAndGravy]

No indeed, i would be grateful for a diagnosis of something as i have had four years of ear pain and no explanation, the first ENT i saw four years ago gave me no clues as to what causes the pain and i gave up until this year, however i feel i am now rock bottom and in a mess that is hard to get out of.