Muscle tightness around ear

[Hazlenuts4]

I have had tinnitus in left ear and tightness around right ear for 2 1/2 years. It started after a significant health issue so i know i was stressed. I was referred to ENT who after an MRI checking for ear tumours discharged me. I have since been diagnosed with TMD joint and muscle problems, had botox and wear mouthguard. The OMF consultant said there are no links between TMJ and Tinnitus but I have seen on Tinnitus UK the info that says there are so i have found a physio who specialises in this. My question is does anyone else have this problem and if so how did you join it all up as I don't seem to fit under a medical team?

[ghlla]

Hi there,

I'm unlikely to be of much help, but thought I would respond as what you are describing is perhaps similar to what I am experiencing.

My T is linked to anxiety first of all, that I can't deny. It gets worse with heightened anxiety, which in turn makes the anxiety worse. It's a cycle many folks here can relate to.

However at the moment I have upper back, neck and head pain (generally the back on the left side). I also have a mouthguard due to teeth grinding. I think I have the symptoms of TMJ but not formally diagnosed. I do believe there is a link between TMJ, upper back/neck/head pain and T. I am not a doctor and it's perhaps naive to disagree with one, but indeed many folks here will agree of there being a link.

[Hazlenuts4 in reply to ghlla]

Thank you ghlla for your reply. I too have tight neck and back muscles and i think that it may all be connected and stress runs alongside. It is just knowing how to address it as i seem to be needing to pull my own care plan together

[ghlla in reply to Hazlenuts4]

My next step is to see a GP towards a physio referral for the upper back and neck pain. I'll not look to have the T addressed, anything that improves that leads to an improvement of T would be a happy addition.

[Hazlenuts4 in reply to ghlla]

I hope all goes well with your referral to the GP

[Theatregirl]

Hi

I can't really help you but I too have tinnitus on one side with very bad pains in my neck. I see a pysio quite a lot but so far there is no change in the tinnitus. How do you find a pysio that specialises in this? I am also seeing a dentist as I have jaw pain.

I agree with hazelnuts it does seem we have to put together our own care plan and hope for the best.

I do think there is a link between tinnitus and tmj as I have read it on so many forums. I wish you luck.

[Hazlenuts4 in reply to Theatregirl]

Hi Theatregirl thank you for your reply. I found a physio through The Association of Chartered physiotherapists in Temporomandibular Disorders ACPTMD. The physio i see did an assessment of my posture and gave me guidance on how to improve this and identified that i also had tightness in my neck and upper back.

[M00n_Zero_2]

This sounds a lot like what I experience from time to time, so thank you for posting this as it is very difficult to find anything about this condition anywhere.

It was particularly bad recently during a bout of flu.

I've started wearing a mouth guard, especially moulded for me through my dentist, and this has helped a lot as I was grinding my teeth a lot. This was and is a result of emotional stress that I have been experiencing through work and personal issues.

I also think with me it's possibly linked to my tinnitus and Patulous Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, and this was the case during the flu bout where my throat, ear, and jaw were sore. The advice on NHS 24 was to drink plenty of water, which I think did help, but also resting and letting my body recover from the flu. Taking vitamin D also seemed to help, as I hadn't been taking it previously.

I'm not sure that this reply will help you, but this is my experience and I hope it helps.

[Hazlenuts4 in reply to M00n_Zero_2]

I am grateful for your reply so thank you

[Sassyjax1]

Hello,

I got TMJ after an operation on my spine. I have full spinal stenosis, but never suffered from T until 8 days after my initial spine operation. My T gets worse on head & neck movements. I was referred to a max fax specialist who did a scan & confirmed TMJ. However, they only gave me jaw exercises to do.

Yesterday, I had a dental appointment and the dentist said there’s a lot of people who have very significant TMJ, but don’t have tinnitus. (The max fax surgeon had also told me this previously). I also have cervical stenosis and hadn’t had T in the 12 years since diagnosis. My neuro surgeon says it’s unlikely my T is related to my neck at all as she believes, if it was, then I would have had it years ago. I’m using a mouth guard at night, as advised by the dentist & max fax surgeon.

I definitely believe that T can be a result of jaw/neck issues. I also think stress can be a major factor too. I don’t have hearing loss, so that’s one good thing from all of this I suppose. My T has gradually got worse over the time I have had it, so I haven’t habituated. I’m persevering with the bite guard at night & do the stretching exercises advised by the surgeon. Unfortunately, they told me, unless the jaw does not open or close fully, then they don’t intervene surgically. They also said surgery is unlikely to resolve tinnitus anyway.

Sorry I can’t provide any solutions for you, but please do ask your GP and/or your dentist for referrals. You haven’t anything to lose & intervention could mean your symptoms may be more manageable. You are doing all the right things already. It may be worth asking to be referred to a pain team also.

All the best,

[Hazlenuts4 in reply to Sassyjax1]

Hi sassyjax1 my tinnitus started 5 months after several operations on my chest which also resulted in tightness. I too find that my tinnitus can change with head and neck movements and some days is louder than others. After physio it is often louder for a few days but will reduce but does not go. I was referred to the maxillofacial department by my dentist which seemed odd talking to them about ear pain, and was diagnosed with TMD dysfunction.

[Sassyjax1 in reply to Hazlenuts4]

My dentist told me yesterday that TMD is extremely common. Lots of people don’t realise they have it until they get severe symptoms or tinnitus. I have a neighbour whose jaw was broken in an accident and she lost all her teeth. Yet she has no tinnitus despite having to have her jaw wired together . All I wish for is habituation. I don’t expect the tinnitus will ever go away for me. Habituation is eluding me. I can’t be in silence with T yet. I’m not sure if I can habituate to something that keeps changing. Maybe some people do. Not heard of it though. Even people with tinnitus recoil when I say mine can change pitch & volume with neck & jaw movements. Yet we can’t be the only ones who suffer somatically.

[Fridays_Child_62]

I can't comment on possible links between TMJ and tinnitus but your issue reminds me of what I experienced for a period of a couple of years, and still on and off. After a sudden ear issue accompanied by more erratic tinnitus, I began to feel tightness in and around my ear on a daily basis - it was a different feeling from a full ear. I found that applying heat to the area temporarily eased it and lying down also relieved it. It would eventually go of its own accord and I would then experience a trickling water feeling in my ear, a sign that it was easing. I never got to the bottom of it although I have a feeling it was connected with tensing muscles in my ear, as I also experienced other muscle-related symptoms. I hope that yours disappears, although I don't feel we ever completely get rid of these things once we've got them.

[Hazlenuts4 in reply to Fridays_Child_62]

Hi Fridays_Child_62 mine will sometimes ease when lying down and I too have tightness in various muscles. I'm hoping in time it will improve and thank you for replying.

[ToetappingPoet]

There's lots of references to TMJ & tinnitus on Julian Cowan Hill's Quieten app. Worth visiting. He has exercises on there too. It's free.

[Hazlenuts4 in reply to ToetappingPoet]

Great suggestion, thank you.

[Hel_C]

MindEar ran a workshop recently which talked about this and somatic tinnitus the presenter was a physiotherapist who had done her PhD and other research in this area. You are not alone. I cannot remember how I got to be on their mailing list but I have now been to two of their masterclasses and they have been very helpful.

[Hazlenuts4 in reply to Hel_C]

Thank you for recommending MindEar. I have just downloaded it.

[Theatregirl]

Thank you for your reply hazelnuts4. I will look into this. Exercises may help too as toetapping poet recommended worth a try. It's all such trial and error really.

[Karlos99]

I have tmj disfunction and when I open my jaw my tinnitus gets louder. I also have occipital neuralgia. I think the jaw is putting pressure on inflamed nerves running close to the ear causing tinnitus.

I’m seeing pain management at the hospital next month to discuss nerve block. Clinical studies have shown this to help tinnitus.

Study

[Hazlenuts4 in reply to Karlos99]

Thank you for posting this. It would be good to know how you get on.