Tinnitus & TMJ

Tinnitus is typically infrequent and short-lived. But for people who have tinnitus every day, it can be a terribly distressing and life-disrupting experience. If your doctor cannot find a reason for your symptoms, your tinnitus may be TMJ-related, and TMJ tinnitus treatment may be what you need.

What Is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is an annoying sensation of hearing a sound when no external sound is present. The sounds are often described as ringing, humming, buzzing, roaring, clicking, or hissing. It can be non-stop or intermittent, in one ear or both, and be constant or vary in intensity from day to day.

The Connection Between Tinnitus & TMJ Problems

TMJ problems can cause pain in your jaw muscles or jaw joints, limited jaw motion, jaw muscle tension and tightness, jaw joint clicking, popping, and or locking (lockjaw), headache pain in your temples, a bite that doesn’t feel normal, or a combination of all of them.

The relationship between tinnitus and TMJ only impacts a small number of patients. In these patients, it is thought that persistently tense jaw muscles and/or inflamed TMJs (jaw joints) compromise the function of the Eustachian tube, tympanic membrane, or malleus bone which leads to ear symptoms, including tinnitus

Is Your Tinnitus TMJ-Related?

Does the tinnitus vary in intensity from day to day?
Is the tinnitus more prominent when you wake up in the morning?
Does the intensity of the tinnitus change when you open or close your mouth?
Does the tinnitus change when you move your jaw side-to-side?
Does the tinnitus change when you move your head?

If you answered yes to any of the above, there’s a chance your tinnitus is TMJ-related. At New York TMJ & Orofacial Pain, we see patients many patients with tinnitus and TMJ, and we have a host of TMJ tinnitus treatment strategies that can help, such as:

Intra-oral appliances
Relaxation techniques
Trigger point and other therapeutic injections
Medications
Exercises
BOTOX® injections
Self-massage techniques
Physical therapy

TMJ Tinnitus Treatment At New York
TMJ & Orofacial Pain

If your doctor has not been able to find signs of an ear infection or other ear problems, and you suspect your tinnitus is TMJ-related, we can help. We have three convenient offices in the NYC metro area that offer TMJ tinnitus treatment. Make an appointment by calling 888-560-6674, or if you can’t call, complete this quick form , and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

More Information About Tinnitus TMJ & Treatment

The connection between tinnitus and TMJ is just one explanation for what causes the problem. Other causes are identifiable damage to the inner ear hair cells, age-related hearing loss, exposure to loud noises, earwax blockage, and changes in the health of the bones in the middle ear. Less commonly, tinnitus is associated with Meniere’s disease, trauma to the head and neck region, and TMJ problems. For some people, however, the cause is never discovered.

The nerves that serve your jaw muscles and joints are also responsible for the function and tone of muscles that determine the size of your Eustachian tube and the tone of your tympanic membrane. Alterations in the function of these two structures can be responsible for tinnitus.

There is one specific ligament connecting your middle ear bone (the malleus) to your jawbone. When a TMJ problem changes the position of your lower jaw, the malleus can be altered in its function due to ligamentous traction, which can lead to tinnitus.

The main nerve supply from the jaw joint has been shown to have connections to parts of the brain involved with hearing and the interpretation of sound. If TMJ problems alter the function of this nerve, it’s quite possible that the brain will interpret normal sounds as abnormal, and patients will report tinnitus.

Because TMJ problems are often associated with neck problems, evaluations of the neck must also be part of an overall assessment. There is evidence that nerve endings in the neck make connections to the hearing centers of the brain. Ear symptoms, therefore, have been shown to emerge as a result of long-standing neck problems or those created by acute trauma.

TMJ Tinnitus Treatment In New York

If your doctor has not found a link between your tinnitus symptoms and any disease process, it may be time to assess your jaw and neck structures to see if you need TMJ tinnitus treatment. There may, indeed, be a connection between your tinnitus and TMJ problems.

Make an appointment by calling 888-560-6674. If you can’t call, please complete this quick form , and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Tinnitus & TMJ

Tinnitus & TMJ

What Is Tinnitus?

The Connection Between Tinnitus & TMJ Problems

TMJ Tinnitus Treatment At New York TMJ & Orofacial Pain

More Information About Tinnitus TMJ & Treatment

TMJ Tinnitus Treatment In New York

TMJ Tinnitus Treatment At New York
TMJ & Orofacial Pain