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Re: tmj- tinnitus



Very sorry to hear about the tinnitus Erdem - so are your doctors sure that's what it is?
 
The following only made sense in retrospect: In 2001 we were subjected to a lot of plaster and paint dust from sanding at our flat, and in order to clear my nose and hopefully avoid snoring (we were after all not married a year at that time) I frankly used enough nasal spray to call it abuse.  My sinuses and ears would be totally clogged, and the only relief was the spray.  I would administer it, then lie on the floor to let it work its way to the back of my sinuses.  I believe in the process I may have pushed some of that particulate matter back further into my sinuses, to the area of my eustation [sp?] tubes surrounding the ear.  Six months after this I began to experience a slight balance problem once in a while, but mostly I noticed that if I had the water on in the kitchen, I couldn't hear my wife in the next room.  At the same time I noticed that the scrapes and banging noises on the Tube in London really made me jump, and it wasn't as if they were louder, just that I was noticing them a lot more, suddenly.  Several months later I couldn't discern what my wife was saying if she was in the kitchen with me and I had the water on full.
 
So, off to the NHS, who with only a single hearing test and my description declared it "tinnitus", and sent me to therapy (aka How To Deal With Something The Rest Of Your Life, sort of).  I wanted more than just a fobbed-off pat answer and my inquiries for several years have come to no avail.  The hissing is higher-pitched than a regular hiss, like I need a Dolby system in my head, 24/7.  It's worst when I have any sinus congestion.  A year ago I fell off a ladder from too far up to be good sense because I had a moment of vertigo while at the top, briefly.  NHS still has no official opinion as to what it IS, and so it is not a problem to them, with the exception of one doctor who studied the vertigo and had me sent for cat scans and MRIs, though they were never fully followed through or investigated.  I have a CD full of the MRIs that I'm going to turn into art at some point; and can generally hear through the hissing except when there's a batch of white noise or a crackling bag of chips or something, then that noise nearly becomes the only noise in the world.  I still hope one of these days I'll encounter a doctor who really wants to get to the root of things.  One item I discovered was Otosclerosis, a kind of hardening of the tubes round your ears, which can cause similar effects, but usually in people who are older than me I think.  My search continues, and I hope that I can still hear beyond the hissing in another ten years.
 
So I'm not sure tinnitus is all it's presented as - or perhaps it's the catch-all of ear disorders.  My two cents, with part of my senses.

Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 6:28 PM
Subject: tmj- tinnitus

dear friends,
 
i have been diagnosed with this disease. tmj - tinnitus
 
the major cause is too much stress, too much coffee, problems with the jaw ( which mostly happens if you grind your teeth while asleep because of stress ). since we all work hard under too much stress and other things, wanted to share this with you. could happen to anyone of us.
 
i know that the cure is not hard and will take around 1 month or so. 
 
please be kind to yourself guys.
 
best.
 
erdem h.