by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady wrote,
I have had high-pitched tonal tinnitus for 14 months. It’s been at the same level pretty much everyday, although once in a while it gets a little lower, but it’s always there 24/7. I have noticed that if I move my jaw, my tinnitus in my left ear gets louder! And strangely, if I turn my head hard right it gets louder in my right ear, and if I turn it hard left, it gets louder in my left ear. Are these just characteristics of tinnitus? I don’t ever grind my teeth and I have never had whiplash or any neck problems? What is going on and how can I get rid of this?
Has this been going on since you got your tonal tinnitus 14 month ago, or is it just recent? If you got it all at the same time, then I think these things are related.
The good news is that proper treatment can likely eliminate your tinnitus or make it far less noticeable. Let me explain.
When you move your jaw and worse tinnitus results, you likely have a form of somatic (body) tinnitus caused by your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) not working properly. Since your TMJ is very close to your ear, if it is not aligned properly, it puts strain on your ear structures and can result in louder tinnitus, as you have discovered.
Doctors call this temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD). You can have a dentist or chiropractor that specializes in TMJ/TMD disorders check it out and help get it back into proper alignment. That should eliminate this source of tinnitus.
Turning your neck to the left or right and hearing louder tinnitus is actually quite common. This indicates that your neck is out of alignment to some degree. Commonly, this is the result of the two big muscles (the ones on each side of your neck that bulge out when your head is turned hard left or right) are not in proper balance with each other. (These muscles go by the fancy name of sternocleidomastoid “ster-noe-kly-doe-mas-toid” [sterno—from your breast bone or sternum, cleido—from your collar bone or clavicle, and mastoid—from the mastoid bone behind your ear]). When these muscles are not in balance, they pull on your neck vertebrae and the mastoid area near your ears, and this can result in louder tinnitus.
Again, the good news is that a chiropractor can treat this so this somatic tinnitus almost fades away.
You have an interesting variation of this condition. I’ve not heard of people that can make the tinnitus in their left ear become louder by turning their head hard to the left, and making their tinnitus in their right ear get louder by turning their head to the right—but I’m not surprised that it does that.
When my neck is “out” at bit, I can make my tinnitus momentarily louder when I turn my head hard to the left or the right. It affects both ears equally.
If you want to learn more about somatic tinnitus and its several variations, you can learn more in my book, Take Control of Your Tinnitus—Here’s How.
You have finally explained my tinnitus ringing in my ears when laying down right or left can ring louder because my neck is not aligned. But I’m nervous about being aligned by my chiropracter . Please respond
Hi Jerry:
What are your concerns about chiropractors? If you choose a good one, you should get good results. Some are better than others so ask around. I’ve been to very good ones, not so good ones and very rough ones over the years. I know who I’m not going back to. My current chiropractor has been practicing for over 60 years–I’m afraid he’ll be retiring soon–he must be well over 80–but he knows how to “fix” me when I have problems.
Regards
Neil
Rarely does it happen, but you can have a Stroke due to Chiropractic adjustment. Your vertebral artery passes through an arcuate foramen and can be injured.
Doctors kill people everyday with prescription drugs….I’ll take my chances with a chiropractor!
Would a chiropractor actually help eliminate tinnitus? I myself also have pulsating tinnitus in my left year. Went to ENT, hearing was OK, I had some pressure issue in my right ear. Did a brain MRI to rule out tumors, it was a clear. My tinnitus is unbearable and I’m only 34. I just want to make it stop! It does get worse when I move my head or jaw too.
Hi Sean:
The first thing I need to know is whether your pulsatile is in unison with your heartbeat, or is not correlated with your heartbeat, but still pulsatile.
Second, what caused your tinnitus in the first place–how long ago? What were the circumstances surrounding your getting it?
IF your tinnitus is caused by your vertebrae/jaw being out of proper alignment, then proper chiropractic treatment could eliminate your tinnitus. However, if your tinnitus is from other causes, then probably chiropractic treatment won’t help.
Cordially,
Neil
FYI, this can be a symptom of anemia, not an early symptom but I’ve had it. Get a basic blood workup.
My tinnitus started abruptly about 5 weeks ago and is constant. It is a high pitched ringing and is way worse in the left. When it first started was only in left ear but now in both. It changes throughout the day. I’ve had some muscular neck issues I’ve beeen going to PT for. I am really at a loss of what to do- I am seeing a new PT who specializes in neck/jaw. This is significantly reducing my quality of life and no one seems to have answers other than it should go away eventually. Official diagnosis front ent was muscular tinnitus and hearing tests were normal. It gets worse if I move neck back, or if I move bottom jaw forward. Also worse when lying on my side. If it is a muscular issue, Will this stop when the muscle is better? The ent said there is probably a spasm of the inner ear muscle(s) and I can feel them pulsing and clicking if I put a finger in my ear.
Hi Lauren:
What changed in your life just before your tinnitus began? Did you have any head or neck trauma? Any changes or additions to any medications? Any increased stress, anxiety or depression? Or?
Tinnitus just doesn’t start for no reason–although oftentimes doctors can’t find a reason.
If your tinnitus is related to neck and head muscles, jaw alignment or cervical vertebrae not in proper alignment, the first things I’d do is go to an upper cervical chiropractor and get things properly aligned. You can find one of the special kind of chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ . Your chiropractor can tell you whether head and neck massage will also help you.
I’m not disagreeing with your ENT as to what you have, but he doesn’t seem to think of upper cervical spine alignment as the real cause. I suspect it is the culprit.
That could also be the root of your pulsing and clicking feeling which is almost certainly the tensor tympani muscle in your middle ear going into spasm (myoclonus). Once your neck is in proper alignment and is holding its position correctly, you may find this pulsing also goes away.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
I have been living with tinnitus for more than 11 years now. I am 40 now and it all started with sinusitis. Its the continuous hissing sound that i hear 24/7. Sometimes it varies but is always there. It increases if i stretch out my jaws. What do you suggest please so that i could get rid of it permanently
Hi Jeetendra:
I don’t know of any way to get rid of it permanently that’s guaranteed to work. I tell people to habituate to their tinnitus, then whether you hear it or not doesn’t matter as it no longer bothers you and you may go for hours without being aware of your tinnitus.
My tinnitus is a high-pitched hissy-whine sound. I’ve had it for more than 60 years, but its no big deal as I choose not to let it bother me but it always flares up when I write, speak or think about tinnitus (such as right now).
Cordially,
Neil
I have had a whooshing sound in my right ear for nearly a year now. It gets worst when I bend my neck to the side ,down or back.if I press on my neck it stops.I also have a lot of head pains and cold like spot pains in my face. Also when I lay on my right side my left ear spasms to any noise like the tv or someone speaking. Also I feel a sticky sensation in my right ear when I speak loud or somebody speaks loud.can anyone help me
Hi Esther:
If I had those symptoms, I’d head straight to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and have him check out that the vertebrae in my neck were all in proper alignment. I think a lot of your problems are as a result of this.
You can find one of the special kind of chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ then click on the “Practitioners” button along the top. Tell him all of these symptoms you have mentioned here.
Once you have your neck properly aligned and it holds it’s proper alignment (it may take several treatments before it holds), then I’d see what symptoms you have remaining (if any), and I can help you with the next steps.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Esther:
If I had your symptoms, the first thing I’d suspect is that a nerve in my neck was pinched. The solution would be to seek treatment from a special kind of chiropractor that specializes in the upper cervical spine (UCS). These people are able to work wonders for certain ailments and they are very gentle–not the bone cracker kind. They focus mostly on your top two vertebra (C1 (Atlas) & C2 (Axis). If this joint is “off” then you could have some of the symptoms you are experiencing.
You can find a chiropractor specializing in UCS by going to the following URL and entering your location. You can also read about the things these special chiropractors can do for you at this same website. Here is the URL.
http://www.upcspine.com/
Choose the “Practitioners” tab along the top to find the one closest to you.
Once you know that your vertebrae are all in proper alignment and are holding their correct positions, Evaluate whether you have any remaining symptoms in your ears and head area. If so, let me know and I’ll see what other steps you might take.
Cordially,
Neil
I developed a high pitch tinnitus on 3/18/21. Woke up and there was a high pitch squeal in my ears. I too can make it louder when I extend my jaw forward. The weird thing is when I bring my jaw back into position the tinnitus stops for a few seconds. Have had back problems all my life. Lower spine has disc about 70% degenerated. Upper C5 I believe is about 50% degenerated. I have been going to a very well know and good chiropractor who also has mild tinnitus. He felt he could improve my tinnitus since my upper cervical was out of alignment and my head was positioned off center. Have been going for 14 sessions and I think it has improved a little, but not sure if I am wasting my time or not. Still have about a month left of treatment and he still thinks he can make some more improvements. My question is should I be seeing an upper cervical specialist or is a general chiropractor ok. The other weird thing is my tinnitus settles down over time when I am in a quite room. In the morning when I first awake, it is very mild. Went to ENT and had all the test and my hearing was good except for my left ear was slightly below normal on the high end frequency.
Hi Chris:
To answer your question, does your current chiropractor have a means of measuring how far out your C1 and C2 are? Then, is he putting these vertebrae back into correct alignment and can he prove it. If not, then I’d see a upper cervical chiropractor.
If your C1 and C2 are out and he puts them back, why do you need to keep going back. To me, the reason to go back is if they won’t hold their position and you have to go back and get them realigned again until they begin holding their proper position. If they are holding their proper position, then you don’t need to go back again and again.
Cordially,
Neil
My tinnitus started shortly after seeing an upper cervical chiropractor. I let him adjust c1 for about 6 months. I had to stop it, because it was the worst feeling when I felt it pop out of place. I don’t experience that with a full body chiropractor. I regret seeing an upper cervical specialist now.
Hi Julie:
Let me get this straight. Your chiropractor puts your neck into proper alignment with no trouble and all is well, then later, when you you turn your neck or whatever, it pops out of place and your tinnitus gets worse, correct?
What kind of upper cervical chiropractor did you go to–Blair? NUCA? Atlas Orthogonal? etc.?
Not all chiropractors are equal. Some are much better than others. Somebody had to be the top of his class and someone had to be at the bottom. So you need to pick a good one. If one isn’t really helping you (and 6 months is more than enough trial) then try another one that uses a different method.
Cordially,
Neil
Chiropracter’s can’t help me because I’m fused from C3 to C7. So what do you suggest?
My husband treats TMJ and has for over 45 years. If I was a compliant patient and followed his recommendations, I would most likely get better. He got rid of the ringing in my ears 30 years ago but when I had my neck fused 10 years ago the ringing came back with a 10 fold. I do have permanent nerve damage due to the fusions.
Hi EFD:
Why can’t an upper cervical spine chiropractor help adjust your C1 and C2, even if C3 through for C7 are fused? He may not be able to adjust you as much as he would like to get your neck into proper alignment but it might be worth while checking to see whether he could at least adjust your neck to some degree in order to get your neck into better alignment. He’d take x-rays and then discuss his findings with you, and then you could mutually decide whether you want to have a treatment or not.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Doc, you really believe in chiropractic and I get that,my husband used to think the same. But I have a unique problem. I have a form of osteogenesis imperfecta and have fractured my vertebrae 13 times from thoracic to lumbar and 109 breaks/fractures overall. One of which occurred on the chiropractic table during an adjustment. Granted he felt absolutely awful, besides himself as he knew my issues and was being as cautious as possible but as you can see it’s not an option. I have had ringing for over a year which I thought was from my low dose pain meds( it did that sometimes) but I was switched and it was still there THEN JUST NOW my right ear went bust it feels clogged but I hear a wind tunnel sound wend I bend my head to the left. I’ve cleaned them, flushed them, and I dont have sinus issues that I know of. I wear dentures as the OI destroyed my teeth and unbeknownst to me I have been type 1 diabetic for a while but only diagnosed July 2019. That didnt help my teeth either. I’m 55, I used to be a tri-athle te which is why type 1 was not found(burned off sugar) am epileptic too, grand mal clonic tonics..the reason I fracture so often.well what and how to I fix this ear??? Thanks..and no chiropractor please. Meg
Hello Dr. Bauman,
After searching for a Chiropractor here in Germany I settled for the American Chiropractor institute in Dusseldorf. They studied my MRI and told me to make an appointment with a specialist in vertebra surgery for a professional opinion. The Professor informed me that the nerve root canals in my neck C5 6 and 7 were quite narrow and I had a herniated disc C5. I have also suffered from psoriatic psoriasis since 1985 and in his opinion these were probably contributing factors to my Tinnitus especially when I informed him that my neck was a remote control and I could adjust the volume of the tinnitus with neck movement. He said that the stenosis in my neck would get worse. So where do I go from here he said a chiropractor would be of no help.
Thank you for listening
Hi Richard:
The only upper cervical spine chiropractor I know of in Germany is Dr. Kay Nickelsen in Cologne. You can get her contact information at http://www.upcspine.com/prac3.asp?rid=3&r=Europe&sid=161&s=Cologne&cid=3&c=GERMANY. I’d check with her and see what she says.
Medical doctors typically don’t like chiropractors so downplay what they do–so of course they’d say chiropractic wouldn’t help and you need surgery. It may be true about needing surgery, but it sure wouldn’t hurt to have the opinion of an upper cervical chiropractor first. Then you can make up your mind on what you think you should do.
Cordially,
Neil
hello doctor neal i came across youre web site i have tinnitus and mine also changes frequency when i move my jaw in out it gets louder softer it reminds me of an episode of gilligans island where his tooth becomes a radio receiver and every time he moved his jaw it would tune to a different station . ive had mine 45 years and my grandmother used to complain about a strange noise in her ears ,now i know after so many years she must of had tinnitus question is this genetics at play
Hi Ted:
Moving your jaw or clenching your teeth is a common way to make your tinnitus change in pitch if you have somatosensory tinnitus.
If your grandmother could do the same–she likely also had somatosensory tinnitus. If she heard her tinnitus without any body movements, she likely had the familiar neurophysiological tinnitus.
It’s hard to know whether tinnitus is genetic or basically a lifestyle issue. For example, if a genetic mutation runs in your family that affects how you jaw is built/hung, then it could be genetic, otherwise I’d think it was a result of lifestyle–you did something that caused your jaw to be misaligned.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi there I have had tinnitus in my right for many years but have also experience intermittent humming in my left ear for several years. It used to vanish for a weeks or months at a time but currently is happening all day. It comes in l short bursts of less then a minute. Stops for a few second s then starts again. Also when I move my head or jaw it stops for a few seconds. I was wondering what kind of tinnitus this may be if its tinnitus at all.
Hi Scott:
What you describe sounds like tinnitus alright. There are numerous tinnitus sounds and several kinds of tinnitus. What I think you have is called somatosensory tinnitus or even “typewriter tinnitus”.
If you have these kinds of tinnitus, you probably also have some problems with your jaw, neck, shoulders or upper back being painfully tight, which is what you seem to also have.
Chiropractic adjustment, massage and exercise can often help reduce these kinds of tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Did this ever get sorted it’s driving me to suicide I have exactly the same
When I open my mouth wide it goes when I tilt my head Down it goes when I turn my head left to right it’s louder PLEASE HELP ME
Hi Tom:
When your tinnitus changes in volume or goes away or comes on strong when you move your neck, jaw, etc. you know that your vertebrae and/or jaw are out of proper alignment. The solution is to go to a chiropractor and get yourself properly aligned. You may also find a massage therapist helpful too.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
I have a similar situation. When I turn my neck, or open my jaw, the volume will double. I’m 5 appointments into the upper cranial chrio, but have not noticed any improvement yet. Mine will also change volume if I tense my neck, so I feel like it’s a muscle or nerve in the neck, but that’s just my gut feeling. Are you aware of anything that might help this situation?
Hi Chris:
If your upper cervical chiropractor isn’t helping your neck after 5 treatments, then there probably is no point continuing seeing him. I assume that your C1 and C2 are in proper alignment now?
It is obvious that your neck, shoulders and head/jaw are “tight”. You need to learn how to relax these muscles. You might be better served by having massage therapy and ask your therapist what kinds of exercises you need to practice to keep these muscles from tightening up like they are.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi I have a high pitched ringing in my right ear. A little bit in my left. I have had three MRIs. 2 MRI showed that I had jaw was aligned. When I turn my neck my tinnitus gets louder to the right. I open my mouth and my tinnitus gets louder. Can you please help me.
Hi Mke:
See my reply to Jim. You probably need to see an upper cervical chiropractor and get the top of your neck aligned properly. When everything is in proper alignment, your somatic tinnitus should go away. Typically, medical doctors don’t look for these tiny misalignments that can cause all these problems.
Cordially,
Neil
My husband treats TMJ and lectures all over the country. MRI’s are performed laying down, hardly a proper way to diagnose disc dislocation. TMJ tomograms are the best way to properly diagnose TMJ dislocation .
How many visits to a Chiropractors is required to fix this problem? I seen one once, and was told several visits in a week would be required, but I was unable to follow up d/t distance to their office?
Hi Jim:
I’s hard to say how many chiropractic treatments you’ll need, but I can tell you why you’ll likely need multiple treatments. When a joint is slightly out of place (chiropractors call this a subluxation), they can generally easily put it back into proper alignment. But here’s the rub. In order to be “out” the ligaments and tendons and thus muscles are stretched one way and contracted the other way. The longer things are out of place, the more “used” the ligaments, etc. are to their new orientation. When the chiropractor puts them back into correct alignment, they can quickly slip out of place and revert to their wrong position again. Thus you may need several to many treatments to keep putting it back until the ligaments, tendons and muscles get used to being in the correct alignment once again. Hopefully, with each additional treatment, they will hold their correct position for longer periods of time and will not slip “out” quite as much as last time.
The longer the subluxation has existed often determines how long it will take the joint to keep its correct position. One rule of thumb is that for every year it has been out of place, it will take a month of treatments to get it to hold its correct position. Hence the need for multiple treatments.
Another factor is how careful you are to not do anything to let it slip back out after treatments. For example, one chiropractor tells his patients who are coming for neck treatments to back into a parking stall so they can drive straight out without having to turn their heads after treatment. This is because in order to back out you have to turn your head sharply and this can cause the joint to slip out again and undo the treatment.
The more careful you are, the longer a treatment will “hold” until the ligaments, etc. shrink and hold the new (correct) position. Having said that, you want to go the minimum number of times needed to keep things in proper alignment. To much treatment can keep stretching these ligaments so they never shrink to the right size. Thus you don’t want to be over-treated.
Typically, you may need a treatment every day or two at the start and then the time lengthens between treatments as the ligaments hold better.
You may find you get better results by going to a special kind of chiropractor called an upper cervical chiropractor. You can find one near you by going to http://www.upcspine.com and clicking on the “Practitioners” link.
Cordially,
Neil
ANch’io ho i vostri problemi,speriamo che presto si risolva la grave anomalia della medicina.
Dr. Neil — thank you so much. This makes sense. When my head is straight my tinnitus is about a 2 (from 1-10) — often times I don’t hear it at all (or notice it). But when I turn to the left or right I hear it loud.
I was surfing and got roughed up last week and it bothered me. Went to chiro — my neck was VERY VERY tight he said – felt better after adjustment.
When I go for regular massage and chiro my tinnitus is almost 1 or even 0! When I don’t go or have lots of stress it bothers me more…
My name is Cade and I attended a concert 24 hours ago. My ears haven’t stopped ringing and the ringing is louder in my left ear. The ringing has decreased, but it has not stopped and I am beginning to worry. What steps should I take to make sure this goes away, if any?
Hi Cade:
There are not guarantees that the ringing will go away, but what I’d do right now is get some N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) and take it as well as magnesium and zinc. At least this will help mitigate the problem.
Read my articles at
http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/loud-music-and-hearing-loss/
and
http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/vitamins-a-c-e-combined-with-magnesium-help-prevent-noise-induced-hearing-loss/
and act accordingly.
That’s what I’d do right away–like today if possible.
If the tinnitus persists more than two weeks or so, then I’d probably also add Arches Tinnitus formula to the mix.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil. I hope this thread is still alive. I’ve had tinnitus for about 11 months. Definitely gets louder when turning my head left or right. I see above comments and would want to tell you that I had a good dose of whiplash about 25 yrs ago that seemed to cause some damage to my neck and upper back/shoulders that has never really healed. Not a life changing problem, just really annoying. However, my doctor sent me to get a hearing test after the onset of the tinnitus. Hearing is fine, but ear Doc was curious about the turning my head part and asked if I had seen a cardiologist about this. ??? I cant remember now why he asked this. Any comments you have about the relationship of the whiplash or the cardiologist comment would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Hi Dan:
I’d suggest you read my article “Atlas Adjustments Alleviate Meniere’s Disease” at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/atlas-adjustments-alleviate-menieres-disease/ . You’ll find that whiplash from many years ago can cause all sorts of problems years later. The person to go to is a upper cervical spine chiropractor. The link for find them is in this article.
As you read this article, read between the lines–for conditions apart from Meniere’s disease–for I think they apply to you.
Cordially,
Neil
What about the other way?
When The Jaw is open big it is gone, When my head is straight it’s a 3, Left, 5, Right 0.
And mine is more of a “Running Heartbeat”, Sounds like my heartbeat muffled in my ear.
Hi Bill:
Interesting. My first reaction is that your neck is “off” and you need a chiropractic adjustment to get your head hung straight. See if that solves the problem.
The other possibility is that you have pulsatile tinnitus where your tinnitus is in time with your heartbeat. If that is the problem and your neck is in proper alignment, you could have clogged arteries, or turbulent blood flow in arteries near your inner ear. If that is the case, you might want to be checked out by a vascular doctor.
Cordially,
Neil
My tinnitus came on suddenly April 12th 2015. After numerous testing, MRI’s, blood work, ENT’s, Specialists, etc, we still have not found the cause for my tinnitus. The ENT suggested it could be from hearing loss, however, Im 37, in pretty good health and never had problems with my ears plus the tinnitus was sudden. Its extremely loud and high pitched. I have TMJ and wear a bite guard at night to save what is left of my teeth. My jaw pops constantly when I eat and I get headaches easily. Could I possibly benefit from seeing a chiropractor? Could I ever get relief from my tinnitus? Right now the only relief I have is a pair of $4200 ReSound hearing aids with a tinnitus masker in them, but the ringing is so loud, it doesn’t help all the time. I hear it 24/7.
Hi Sheila:
Tinnitus can result from your neck being “out”. One indication is TMJ such as you have. I think a trip to the chiropractor would be well worth the effort. However, I’d suggest you go to a special kind of chiropractor called an upper cervical spine chiropractor. I think they will are the most likely kind of chiropractor to really help you.
Read my comprehensive article on Meniere’s disease to see what these guys can do–just read between the lines for your condition as I wrote it specifically in regards to Meniere’s disease, but it also helps lots of other conditions. I also give the links so you can find one of these special chiropractors near you. The URL to this article is http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/atlas-adjustments-alleviate-menieres-disease/
Once the chiropractor has said you are properly lined up, see what happens to your tinnitus. In may go away or partially go away and you may find you don’t have headaches anymore either. If you still have problems with your tinnitus after this, let me know and we can brainstorm the next step–but I really feel going to a upper cervical spine chiropractor is the best step you can take at this point.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you!! I will take a look at the article as well as see if I can find a specialist in my area. I have an appointment with a TMJ specialist next week and a chiropractor tomorrow. Im not giving up on finding the cause of the tinnitus. Its been since April and masking it with the hearing aids doesn’t solve the initial problem. Im hopeful we will get answers and resolution soon!
Any update on your condition? I have suffered from tinnitus for about 24 yrs. It has gotten worse in my left ear. I endure most of the symptoms you mentioned so I’m curious to know if after visiting TMJ doctor and Chiropractor your tinnitus has improved.
Hi Doctor Neil,
I’ve just discovered your page and read the contributions from other sufferers of tinitus and wonder if you could advise at all.
I’ve had constant tinnitus in my left ear for approx 4 yrs now. I’ve just turned 60 yrs old but apart from this problem I’ve always been in good health.
The tinnitus is constant, although it varies in intensity, and like other contributors to your page, turning my head to the left increases the pitch. It is slightly pulsatile in nature too. Initially the pulsating bear was very strong but this has diminished over the years, however, when I go to sleep at night I’m woken up by the strong pulsating hiss and have to get up to ease the sound.
I’ve tried my local GP, had MRI, scans, had physio, and even acupuncture etc and everything shows normal.
I do get a slight ache at the top of my left trapezius muscle especially once I fall asleep. I’m just wondering if you think visiting a chiropracter might assist or is it something I will just have to tolerate as my GP tells me.
Many thanks
Hi Stephen:
Did the physiotherapist say that he/she found anything wrong? Did the physio make any difference at all?
As I see it, going to an upper cervical chiropractor to be sure that your C1 and C2 are in proper alignment won’t do any harm and will help if they are out of alignment. These chiropractors are able to work wonders for certain ailments and they are very gentle–not the bone cracker kind. They focus mostly on your top two vertebra (C1 (Atlas) & C2 (Axis). If this joint is “off” then you could have some of the symptoms you are experiencing such as the ear problems and headaches.
You can find a chiropractor specializing in UCS by going to the following URL and entering your location. You can also read about the things these special chiropractors can do for you at this same website. Here is the URL.
http://www.upcspine.com/
Choose the “Practitioners” link along the top to find the one closest to you.
There is a lot of good information on UCS chiropractic on this page also.
The alternative is just to learn to live with it–but I’d check out any viable alternatives before I resigned myself to this.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Neil,
I have suffered with tinnitus in both ears for 8 years. Just recently however, out of nowhere, the volume not only increased, but I also started experiencing the somatic effect that you talk about, whereby neck turning and jaw opening increase the volume even more. Encouraged by reading the information posted here, I took your advice and went to see an upper cervical chiropractor that was on your list. X-rays showed that I was definitely out of alignment, but after 2 months of NUCCA and Arp Wave therapy, although the doctor says that I am now holding my alignment, regrettably there has been no improvement in my condition. Do you have any other ideas or insights?
Sincerely,
Kenneth
Hi Kenneth:
Assuming your upper cervical chiropractor did all the right things, you now know your tinnitus is not due to your C1 and C2 being out of alignment. The next step would be to see whether you have other sources of somatosensory tinnitus, since it seems that your tinnitus came on suddenly and has somatic elements to it.
I think the best way to proceed now is to look at all sources of somatosensory tinnitus and rule them out one by one and see if you could eliminate your louder tinnitus. My new tinnitus book is out now and I have put a big chapter in it just on somatosensory tinnitus to help people like you. You can get it at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/.
We’ve been working on the theory that you have somatosensory tinnitus and that caused the spike in your tinnitus. It may be that the main cause of your tinnitus is something else, but it has a small somatosensory component.
A good place to start is to go back in your mind to just before your louder tinnitus started and see what changed. What happened back then that could have possibly triggered your louder tinnitus. Any ideas?
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Neil, thank you so much for your reply. The day that the louder somatic tinnitus started, I had an MRI done of my knee. Due to the loud noises in the ‘tunnel’, i was given headphones to listen to music. This was at 1:00 pm and I did not notice anything different upon leaving the hospital. At 10:00 pm that evening is when the the louder tinnitus “turned on”…literally like a switch was turned on. Because of the time lapse, I considered it a coincidence but more and more i think it could be related somehow. Do you?
The ‘main’ cause of my tinnitus, diagnosed 8 years ago was damage to my inner ear due to playing drums in rock bands back in my earlier days. I will order your book in hopes that it will help me. I was also referred to an audiologist that specializes in trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and Neuromonics (Music therapy). Are you familar with these treatments?
Thank you and God bless,
Kenneth
Hi Kenneth:
I don’t see how somatic tinnitus would be the result of an MRI. I do see how it could cause noise-induced tinnitus though.
I explain trans-cranial magnetic stimulation and Neuromonics in my tinnitus book and what kind of results you might expect.
Cordially,
Neil
How can i allign my neck naturally so the ringing stops?
Hi Carlos:
I’d see a chiropractor. The best kind of chiropractor for this is called an upper cervical spine chiropractor. To find one near you go to http://www.upcspine.com/ and click on the “Practitioners” button to find one in your country and local area.
You can also find a lot of good information on this condition and how to treat it in the latest edition of my book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus–Here’s How”. You can get it at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ .
Cordially,
Neil
When i open my mouth and turn my head my left ear only rings,could the braces caused this? How can i fix it please Reply.
Hi Carlos:
I doubt the braces themselves have anything to do with your tinnitus. However, it could have resulted from opening your mouth wide at the dentists to have the braces installed. From what you have said, I think you have a form of somatic tinnitus that involves not only your temporomandibular joint (TMJ), but also the top two vertebrae in your neck. Getting these things back into proper alignment should eliminate your tinnitus from this cause. Read a number of my replies to others and seek the same treatment—an upper cervical spine chiropractor and if necessary, a dentist that specializes in treating TMJ problems.
If i dont treat this will it hurt the hearing of my left ear?
Hi Carlos:
It shouldn’t, unless if it is your neck out and pinches the auditory nerve.
Cordially,
Neil
Will i get permanent tinnitus if i dont treat whats causing it
Hi Carlos:
Not necessarily, but you might if the underlying condition gets worse. The good news is that if you get things back into proper alignment, the tinnitus will go away.
Cordially,
Neil
I will get a cleaning done at my dentist,will they find out something is wrong with my jaw by the xrays?
Hi Carlos:
If you have TMJ problems you want to go to a dentist that specializes in such problems, not to just any dentist.
Cordially,
Neil
How do i know i have a pinched auditory nerve? You got me worried know.
Hi Carlos:
If your C1 and C2 vertebrae are out of alignment, then you could have a pinched auditory nerve. The solution as I said before is to go to an upper cervical chiropractor.
Cordially,
Neil
Do i have to have pain,to know i have tmj? Or its not painful sometimes.i dont feel any pain
Why do i have ringing in only the left ear? How can tmj make only one ear ring?
When I lay down on my left side with my left ear touching the floor it pops about 5 times and the ringing goes away and I am able to hear perfectly fine again but as soon as I stand up or anything else that pops a couple more times and everything goes out I have Beyond pressure in my head if I try to raise my eyebrows it literally feels like my head is numb it is becoming to get very annoying I have been told that my top cervical vertebrae is fused or my school but there is nothing that can be done with it what could I possibly do because it’s getting to the point where I’m not able to hear at all in my left ear
Hi Aaron:
Personally, I don’t think your top vertebra is totally fused since you hear the pops when you lay down and your hearing comes back, etc. It may be partially fused. I’m sure from what you are describing is that various nerves originating in your upper neck are pinched causing the feeling of fullness (5th cranial nerve–trigeminal), numbness (7th cranial nerve–facial) and hearing/tinnitus problems (8th cranial nerve–auditory nerve).
Personally, the first thing I’d do is go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and see if he can get your upper neck vertebrae into proper alignment.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr., Interesting column. I have a “zinging” in my ears ON TOP of Tinnitus. I agree on seeing the Chiropractor but be extremely careful and DO NOT allow him to snap your head left or right. I did not know I had a Chiari problem & was in the hospital a few weeks later. A zillion to one problem but the Neurosurgeon still almost came over his desk to attack me for being stupid
Richie J
Hi Richie:
If you have read my replies to the comments under this article (see my reply to Carlos on April 10, 2016 for example), you’ll see that I stress that you want to go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor, not a conventional chiropractor. These guys are GENTLE for the most part and do not whip your neck around.
Cordially,
Neil
I have a drumming in my left ear for 5 days now and it is almost debilitating. It stops if I stretch out my neck. I will see my chiropractor and report back.
I too have a drumming noise. If it goes to the beat of your heart it’s probably pulsatile tinnitus. MRI with contrast is often requested to rule out various arterial causes. In my case that was ruled out and eventually middle ear spasms of the tensor tympani muscle (TTTS) was the diagnosis.
Hi Danielle:
If you have tonic tensor tympani sindrome, you’d do well to read my article on the subject at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/do-i-have-tonic-tensor-tympani-syndrome-ttts/ .
Cordially,
Neil
I am so excited to tell you, my neck was out. He fixed it! Within 3 hours, the few light drum beats I had went away. What a relief! I thought my carotid artery was blocked, and I would surely stroke out!
My tinnitus came from chiropractor and many more problems.
Hi Dr,
I have abnormal noise mostly in my right ear which is further accentuated when I open my jaw or turn my neck to the right. The noise is mostly of a hissing type.The sound becomes louder at night, at the time I am going to sleep.I have had this for quite some years but I considered it as normal so I did not do anything about it. In doing so my brain got used to the sound. However, I started becoming aware of the sound again some 2 weeks back for no reason. and this now affects my sleep and my daily activities. Could this be related to a misalignment of my neck or jaw? FYI I have a consultation scheduled with a Chiro on Wed.
Hi Vick:
Typically you PERCEIVE tinnitus sounds as louder at night because the contrast to the silence at night is greater than the contrast to your tinnitus and everyday sounds that tend to mask it. In these cases, your tinnitus is actually the same volume–it just seems louder.
However, there is another situation where your tinnitus actually becomes louder when you lay down and that is if your neck is off such that laying down puts more pressure on certain nerves. This could be because your neck vertebrae are out, your temporomandibular joint is not in proper alignment, or the two big muscles running down each side of your neck are not properly balanced (and thus pull things out of proper alignment).
Having a chiropractor get you in proper alignment should help rectify this problem. Sometimes it takes 2 or three practitioners to totally fix this if you have somatosensory tinnitus. You may also need physiotherapy or massage therapy for example. You can learn much more about this in the latest edition of my book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus”.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr
I have a noise in the same time with my heartbeat only in my right ear everytime I press in the left part of my neck , turn my head to the left , it is more high pitched when I tight my throat or when i press with force the left part of neck .In fact it is not the noise that bothers me but symptoms .. I feel pressure in my head , dizziness, difficulty in breathing especially when I’m sleeping .. I have done MRA of head and Neck , CTA of neck and nothing was found .. Just a maxillary sinus but that doesn’t creates the noise .. Doctors says it can comes from 1milion reason but didn’t get me the answer .. What do you think I should do ?
All the goods from me .
Hi Genah:
If I were you, the first thing I’d do is go to a chiropractor that specializes in the upper cervical spine and jaw misalignments (temporomandibular dysfunction). You know that your neck vertebrae and muscles are not in proper alignment when you can change your tinnitus by turning your neck, and/or changing your tinnitus by pressing on your face or neck.
Once your vertebrae and head and neck muscles are all in proper alignment, you will likely find that most of your problems go away. Then, if you still have pulsatile tinnitus, you could see a vascular surgeon regarding it.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil,
Am so glad to find this page.
A physiotherapist carried neck mobilisation on my Neck a week ago, since then I am expire constant ringing it did stop then restarted. Could she have misaligned my neck ?
Am in Sydney aus…
Thankyou in advance mel
Hi Mel:
It’s entirely possible she misaligned your neck. Or it could be that some of the muscles in your neck and face are under too much tension (out of balance) and this is causing your tinnitus. So it seems she probably has more work to do on you to get you properly balanced and aligned.
Cordially,
Neil
I have unilateral tonal tinnitus in my right ear, do your original comments apply, or does the fact that I have unilateral tinnitus make it different?
I meant to say in my comment above that my tinnitus is also modulated by turning my neck and moving my jaw as with the lady you quoted.
Hi Pyers:
I think it doesn’t make any difference whether you have tinnitus in one side or both. Your neck/jaw likely is not in proper alignment. It is probably the way it is out that it only causes problems on one side.
Cordially,
Neil
I also have the condition described in the thread and I know its due to cervical misalignment and severly tight SCM muscles. I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which causes very loose ligaments and hypermobility. I sublux joints constantly. I tried making an appointment with one of the chiropractors on your list only to be told she cannot help me. Any other types of doctors I can try?
Hi Gigi:
You have a rare condition that makes you a special case. What I suggest is that you try another upper cervical chiropractor and see if you get the same answer or not.
The only other suggestion I have is to try physiotherapy or massage therapy to try to get/hold things in place–as much as your condition will allow. I don’t know what else you can do.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi there. Can weight gain cause tinnitus? Or perhaps a rise in blood pressure caused by weight gain. I got tinnitus out of the blue, no loud noises or violent accidents. It is louder on some days and softer on others but doesn’t seem to dissipate fully any day. I am 42 and have seen regular and upper cervical chiropractors on your suggestions in reading these articles and nothing yet. The only thing different in my life in the past months is I have gained about 15 pounds over the summer making me a but overweight. Could there be a correlation? I’m on a regimen to lose the weight either way but would be nice to know this tinnitus will go away at the end of my road.
PS in supplementation to the above, due to the the slight rise in BP, my dr prescribed me Amlodipin. I have looked this up, and do not see it listed as a drug that causes tinnintus.
Thanks for your help in advance, Paul.
Hi Paul:
Yes, it is possible you could get tinnitus from a rise in blood pressure. I don’t know how likely it is in your case.
However, Amlodipine definitely can cause tinnitus (and hearing loss). Both the PDR and CPS drug “bibles” list tinnitus as a side effect. Besides this, I have received a number of anecdotal reports of people getting tinnitus from taking Amlodipine. Some got tinnitus just two days after they started on this drug. Others didn’t get tinnitus until 2 or more years later. So there is quite a variation.
The good news is that some people found when they went off the Amlodipine, their tinnitus went away in a few hours to a few days. So you might want to try this and see what happens. That would be a good way to tell whether the Amlodipine is affecting your ears or not. If you’re going to do this, run it by your doctor.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Neil,
I’m going mad with this. It’s killing me. I have VERY loud 3khz ‘approx’ screaming in my ears. It’s relentless and has been for nearly a year. On top of that, I have other noises that are in different frequency ranges, some of which are much higher in frequency than I would be able to hear in the real world. Furthermore, when I have my head upright, I have a LOW end rumble, perhaps 30Hz. When I tilt my head back, the low end attenuates.
My GP prescribed an anti-psychotic drug Sertraline. It sent me over the edge for 6 days and I stopped taking it.
I have an ENT appointment for the 23’rd December but I suspect that in line with my GP’s comments, “..Nothing can be done as it’s not sexy enough for studies to be carried out into the cause and remedy…”
He went on to say, “It’s a neurological disorder, brought on through stress, that manifests itself with tinnitus.”
I can’t sleep, I can’t concentrate..
Please offer some advice! My life is falling apart!
Many thanks in advance for any glimmer of hope.
Terry,
Hi Terry:
Yes, there are things that you can do to get your tinnitus under control–so take heart. Doctors may not be able to help you–but that is because they are only looking for something physical to fix. They know little about tinnitus and how to control it.
First, before I can help you much, I need to know far more about your tinnitus and what caused it. You’ve had it for a year. What happened back then in the weeks before it began?
Second, there are no drugs approved by the FDA for tinnitus–so that should tell you that taking drugs is a waste of time and can make your tinnitus worse.
Third, the fact that your tinnitus changes with head movement/position tell me that at least some of your tinnitus is due to your neck and face muscles/tendons/vertebrae being out of proper alignment. Thes can easily be the result of stress among other things.
Fourth, you need to learn how to deal with your tinnitus–to take control of it, because otherwise, it takes control of you (like it has). You will find a wealth of information on all of this in my tinnitus book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus”. You can get it at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ .
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Mr.Bauman,
I have the same problem ear ringing nearly over the year. When I turn my neck left and right the volume changes. When open my jaw the same – volume changes. I found out that i have TMJ but without the pain. Can you give me some ideas what to do?
I’m planning to go to atlas specialist to put it in the right position. Will the TMJ go in the position after the alignment ? Or I will need TMJ specialist to correct it separately? Do I have a correct logic in my plan? Thank you in advance
Hi Aleksander:
It sounds like you have somatosensory tinnitus all right.
After you get your upper cervical spine in proper alignment, you may find that your TMJ goes away, or you may have to go to a TMJ specialist and/or a massage therapist or physiotherapist.
Sometimes the chiropractor can get everything aligned, but often you need both him and some additional help from the others I mentioned.
Note: you may have to go back to the chiropractor several times to be sure the adjustment is “holding” and has not fallen out of alignment which can easily happen if your neck has been out of alignment for some time. It takes times for the muscles, ligament, etc. to change their shape to hold the new position properly.
You can go to 2 or 3 health care practitioners at the same time to treat this condition. You can have neck problems, TMJ problems and facial muscle problems that all need to be addressed in order to get rid of the tinnitus.
You’ve got the right idea, but modify it by the above.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Mr.Bauman,
Thanks a lot for your reply.
Two more questions: I’m going to align atlas next week. I’m worried a little bit about atlas influencing on tmj. Is it possible that atlas will will go to right position after the therapy but my TMJ will be more misaligned? or no? I’m asking this because one lady wrote about this thing after her alignment.
And one more question: Have you found in your researches that there is a connection between c1 and c2 misalignment and dystonia symptoms? Did your patients got rid from dystonia after putting the neck in right position. Thank you in advance.
Hi Aleksander:
If you go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor to get your Atlas and Axis adjusted, tell him that you also have TMJ and you’d like him to treat it as well. If you do that, I don’t think the Atlas/Axis treatment will negatively affect your TMJ.
I have not specifically seen anyone mention dystonia, but there are several causes, and if the underlying cause is a pinched nerve, then chiropractic should help. Of course, I don’t know what your cause was, but again, mention it to your upper cervical spine chiropractor and see what he says.
Cordially,
Neil
Dear Dr, I would like to firstly thank you for your willingness to help. I am 44 yrs old with 15 years of hearing problems that have resulted in 10 operations to treat cholesteatom and reconstruction of middle ear. I am now near completely deaf in the left ear but still have about 55% hearing remaining in the right. Unfortunately I know have big drops of hearing but find that moving my head backwards in a certain position regains an increased hearing level. From reading your posts am I to assume that I should also look to get treated by an upper cervical chiropractor? Your thoughts are welcome as even the ENT surgeons had no idea why this was happening and had no suggestions. Gratefully yours. William
Hi William:
I think that is what I’d do if I were in your shoes. Then, once you know your neck is in place, see how things have changed/improved. To me it seems there are 3 possibilities–nerves pinched; blood flow to inner ears impeded; or air pressure problems with Eustachian tubes. Upper cervical chiropractic can address the 1st and 3rd possibilities and possibly the 2nd as well.
Cordially,
Neil
Last question, are osteopaths as well qualified to treat this?
Hi William:
As far as I know, osteopaths do not take all the specialized training you need in order to successfully treat upper cervical spine issues.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi doc, ive had ringing/swishing in my right ear for 2 years now and when i turn my head to the left the volume increases its very annoying. Ive had a MRI done and the doctor said my artery in my neck “might” be inlarge which is why i hear a ringing/heartbeat sound, also if i put my fingers on the artery on the right side it stops but once i release the ringing and heartbeat sound continue. Any info would help thanks.
Hi Frank:
You have a type of tinnitus called somatosensary tinnitus, or sometimes just called somatic tinnitus. The proof of this is turning your neck makes your tinnitus louder. The most likely way to fix this is go to an upper cervical chiropractor and have your C1 and C2 put into proper alignment and/or get your jaw adjusted for TMD.
When you get tinnitus that beats in unison with your heartbeat, and by pressing on the artery you can stop it shows that you also have pulsatile tinnitus. This can be caused by high blood pressure, clogged arteries, etc. It is a vascular problem and a good vascular surgeon should be able to help you with this.
Cordially,
Neil
Typically, this is a medical problem
Dear Dr. Bauman.
For 1,5 months ago i suddenly lost my hearing on the left ear, and i GOT tinnitus – mostly in my deaf ear, but also a little bit in my right ear. My right ear has normal hearing.
The tinnitus sounds are high frekvent and with “bussing”.
Diagnose: sudden deafness, with no explanation why. Not sick, no ear desease. I am a stressfull person in my daily life, so maybe that is the explenation. They found nothing in the MRI. When i turn my head right the ringing is extra strong. I bite nails. Tried acupuncture and healing. I also react on loud sounds- the tinnitus gets worse.
Maybe you have som advices?
Kind regards from a 34 year old woman from Norway
Hi Emilie:
I’m not surprised you got tinnitus as tinnitus almost always accompanies sudden hearing loss.
If your tinnitus gets louder when you turn your neck, that shows that your neck vertebrae are out of proper alignment. This causes tight neck muscles. So does your stress.
The solution is to go to a chiropractor and get your back into proper alignment and maybe have some head, neck and shoulder massage to get your muscles relaxed.
But if you don’t learn how to relax and “hang loose”, your stress will just tighten everything up again and you’ll be in the same shape as you are now.
It sounds like you also have reactive tinnitus where you tinnitus gets louder in response to louder sounds. If this is a problem for you, either try to avoid loud sounds, or wear ear plugs when around them–BUT DON’T wear them when you don’t need to or else you’ll make this condition even worse.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for your quick respons! I used ear plugges the first week, But my audiologist told me to take them out. It works okey, but do you know if it will be worse if i do not use plugs? I Will certenly use them if i am going to conserts, etc. I have several high piched sounds, and it sounds like they all gather together when i turn my head to the right in a fast motion. I’ve been to a naprapat who treated my neck. My neck actually feels find and not stiff. I also wonder if i sucseed at stressing down if my tinnitus will get better. When that is said my doctor will send me to the hospital for tests regarding a cochlea implant. Some people say that the implant, because of hearing other sound, can relief the tinnitus. Do you have any experience in this? Thank you so much for your feedback!
PS. The tinnitus also change when i move my head hard backwards.
Hi Emilie:
You only wear the ear plugs when you need them–when your tinnitus reacts and gets too loud. As soon as the sound goes back to levels below where your tinnitus reacts, take them out. It sounds like you were wearing them all/most of the time–and that is bad. It will just make things worse. That’s why your audiologist said not to wear ear plugs.
You have some sort of somatosensory tinnitus. The proof is that you get it louder when you turn your head, or move it back. Typically that is because either your vertebrae are “out” or your miscles are tight and not in proper alignment. They may have a lot of knots in them too. Massage therapy should be able to get them loosened up and get rid of the knots.
However this kind of tinnitus is separate from your constant tinnitus that is almost certainly the result of your hearing loss.
It is true that for many people with CIs, their tinnitus reduces or goes away when they have their CI on, but when they take it off at night, typically, their tinnitus comes back, but often not as loud as it was before the CI surgery.
Here in the USA, it is not easy to get a CI just for tinnitus reduction but I’ve heard of a few people that have had one for this reason.
Cordially,
Neil
Again, Thank you. So, the tinnitus i have when i move my neck may be something a ciropractot can help me with but not the other tinnitus? I’ve had this for 1,5 months. When can i know it Will be chronical? And is there any reports of what kind of tinnitus is the worst? Hi pitched? Low? Last question: have you heard about people who experienced worse tinnitus after a cochlea implant? Kind regards A
Hi Emilie:
Yes, that is true, to answer your first question.
If you’ve had constant tinnitus for 1.5 months–ever since you had the hearing loss episode, then I’d say it is chronic.
I think which pitch of tinnitus bothers you is more a personal thing. I’m sure I have read something about it, but just as sure I can’t remember where. The kind of sounds you hear is a different matter. For example, a constant sound–low-pitched hum or high-frequency hiss is much easier to ignore than a constantly-changing sound or staccato sound.
There are never any guarantees what you tinnitus will do after CI surgery. Many (maybe most) people experience MUCH louder tinnitus right after the surgery-and it may or may not drop down in the month or so before turn-on. But almost everyone says that after they are turned on their tinnitus drops dramatically.
However, there are those that still have significant tinnitus even after turn-on, but they are in the minority. Note that many people report that their tinnitus rises each night when they take their CI processor off–but drops the next morning when they put their processor back on.
Cordially,
Neil
Yes. And my sound is changing. But espesially after many activities. Do you know if it is more difficult to make the tinnitus better with implant if there are several tinnitus sounds? And last, but not least – do you have any tips/advices for me in this process?
Hi Emilie:
I don’t really think it makes any difference as to the number of sounds. But if you have somatosensory tinnitus (your neck out, muscles tight, etc.) getting a CI shouldn’t make any difference to that tinnitus.
For your tinnitus as a result of your hearing loss, the most important thing is to not worry or obsess over it. Treat it as a totally unimportant sound such as the sound your fridge makes and ignore it. This will allow it to fade away in time.
If you consider it a threat to your well-being in any way, it will just get worse.
All of this and much more is explained in my book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus”. You would do well to get a copy and read it. You can get the eBook version and then you won’t have to pay the horrible postage costs it foreign countries. You can get this book at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/
Cordially,
Neil
Hi
I have suffered with tinnitus since Christmas, so about 11 weeks now. It is constant and high pitched, 75% right ear and 25% left ear. It worsens when I press on my right temple in particular. Also worsens when I move my head to the right or the left or open my mouth widely. It also gets worse if I press around my face.
I am waiting to see an ENT specialist. I have had an MRI scan, so far all negative. Have tried zinc and magnesium and ginko balboa. Any advice you can give me. Tinnitus is there all the time but sometimes can be a little better in certain postures. Please any advice would be very much appreciated. I have had a hearing test moderate/mild hearing loss in both ears, however I believe I can hear quite comfortably. Tinnitus came on suddenly, nothing I can remember out of the ordinary. I am 54 years old.
Hi Anne:
Your tinnitus is called somatosensory tinnitus. Thus it gets worse when you press on certain places on your face and neck, or turn your head, etc. Typically, this is caused by “tight” muscles in your head, neck and shoulders because your top two vertebrae are out of proper alignment.
The proof of this is that depending on your posture, your tinnitus varies in loudness. If you can find a relaxed position, it goes down in volume, and up when the muscles are under strain.
Chapters 9 and 20 respectively in my book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus” explain the cause and treatment of this kind of tinnitus. You would do well to read this book as most doctors don’t have a clue how to deal with this kind of tinnitus. You can get it at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Bauman
I have suffered from tinnitus for some years now but today I notice that when I was wearing my earphones the volume increased and the sound was clearer in my right ear when I opened my mouth or moved my jaw to the left do you know what could cause this also this does not happen in my left ear , I have tinnitus in both ears but the left is the loudest
Hi Malcolm:
I wouldn’t be surprised if your opening your mouth wide also opened your Eustachian tube–equalized the air pressure–and thus you heard better for a few minutes. In could be that your C1 and C2 vertebrae in your neck are out of proper alignment and thus are affecting one of your Eustachian tubes.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi there, i have TMJ and my ears are are always crackling when i swallow and yawn.
I started massaging treatments and fysiotherapy for my TMJ and neck pain a week ago.
.Since today my right ear all of a sudden felt full and after a while trying to open my ear up it started ringing. The ringing increases when i talk or hear people talk. It’s been an hour now of the constant ringing and i’m freaking out. What would be the best thing to do?
Hi Ally:
If you have TMJ, very often that indicates that the top two or more vertebrae in your neck are out of alignment. Physiotherapy can help for sure, but you also need to have a chiropractor properly align your neck. Once your neck is properly aligned, then the physiotherapy will be more beneficial.
I think the cause of your tinnitus (ringing in your ear) and feeling of fullness and other symptoms are the result of your Eustachian tubes not working properly. This is likely due to the nerve that feeds them (your 5th cranial nerve or trigeminal nerve) being pinched in your upper neck.
My choice would be to go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and have him get your neck into proper alignment. You can find such special chiropractors by going to the following URL and entering your location. You can also read about the things these special chiropractors can do for you at this same website. Here is the URL.
http://www.upcspine.com/
Choose the “Practitioners” link along the top to find the one closest to you.
There is a lot of good information on UCS chiropractic on this page also.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi,
Thanks for the great post. I have tinnitus on my left hear. The sound of ringing increases while moving my neck from left to right and also during jaw movement. I also have very mild balance problem. do you think this is beause TBJ/TBD disorder.
Hi Saggy:
It is likely that either your neck and or jaw are out of proper alignment and are causing your somatosensory tinnitus. I think it may also affect your balance depending what is out and which way it is out–in other words–which nerve is being pinched.
Hopefully, an upper cervical chiropractor and physiotherapist and/or massage therapist working together can get everything straightened out and get you back into shape again.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. My tinnitus is pretty severe. Usually an 8 of 10 most days. I saw the comments about people turning thier head left and right causing the ringing to get louder. Mine has never done that. What I have experienced is when I “look down” this causes the volume to go up. For example, if I lay in bed with my head propped up on pillows, this will always increase the volume. What do you think is the reason for this? Thanks
Hi Mike:
I’d say your neck is out of whack–just in a different way from those who have louder tinnitus from turning their necks sideways. Or you are bending your neck and pinching a nerve in the process.
Cordially,
Neil
So would you recommend a upper cervical chiropracter for this? Thanks for your response.
Hi Mike:
There’s no guarantee that that is going to be the cure, but an upper cervical spine chiropractor would be a good place to start. At least you will know whether your neck is out and by how much if it is. That’s what I would try first.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
I’ve had tinnitus for 13 months now. I have a history of poor posture (working in front of the computer for long hours), bad sleeping habits (sleeping on my stomach) and whiplash (hit from the right side). I have corrected my posture and sleeping habits (I now have a standing workstation and I sleep on my back) and my tinnitus has improved quite a bit. I’ve noticed that it changes when I turn to the left or right, so I assume it to be somatic. I had an X-ray and MRI done recently and both came back that “the brainstem and cerebellum are in anatomic alignment with the skull base.” “The cervical spinal cord is normal in size and has normal signal intensity.” (from the report). I still have some tinnitus, but like I said, it is much less severe in intensity since I’ve been working my SCM muscles and making life changes. My question is this: since the tinnitus is somatic but the cervical spine is in alignment, is this mainly a muscle issue? If I continue to stretch and massage the SCM muscles, use good posture, and sleep on my back, should the tinnitus, in theory, essentially cease? Thank you.
I forgot to mention that I have also been seeing a chiropractor for about a year now.
Hi Jack:
You are doing a lot of the things I recommend to get your tinnitus under control and making your health better in the process. Keep up the good work.
Is the chiropractor you are seeing an upper cervical chiropractor or a conventional one?
If all you have is somatic tinnitus (you could have more than one kind at the same time), then likely your problems are muscle-related. Or probably more specifically, the fascia bundles between your muscles. Working with a massage therapist that is good at reducing the knots in the fascia in your head, face and neck would be an excellent idea.
If you get all the bones, tendons, ligaments, fascia, etc. all properly aligned and relaxed, then if your tinnitus is from this sole cause, theoretically it should go away. In actual fact, this is quite hard to do, but as you have found, you can greatly reduce the tinnitus so it no longer bothers you.
Cordially,
Neil
Jack, your situation sounds exactly like mine, but I am not as far along as you. I work at a computer all day, have not had good posture habits (head forward) and have slept on my stomach most of my life. I have what I believe to be somatic tinnitus. It came on suddenly 5 months ago. I have been seeing an upper cervical chiropractor for about 3.5 months now but without a lot of improvement.
I have been working on my posture but think I will try the standup desk as you have and will try physio and massage to complement the chiropractic.
It has encouraged me hearing about how your T has been reduced. Thanks for your post.
Stretch’s, light exercises and perhaps a neck pillow instead of a regular one. Sleep on your back with small pillow.
These things worked for me.
I have pulsatile tinnitus of the left ear since 2006, after an MRI done for severe vertigo. In the beginning it was occasional, usually noticed only at night. Presently it is more frequent, disappears when head is turned to the left, during Valsalva’s maneuver or when I press my left carotid artery or lower my head below heart level or I hold my breath. The pulsatile tinnitus increases when I am tired, take a deep breath or cough.
I’m a hypertensive and diabetic for more than 10 yrs
MRIs done post 2006 didnt reveal any abnormalities
Hi C:
My suggestion would be that you see a good vascular surgeon and see if he can discover what is causing your pulsatile tinnitus. As you probably know, pulsatile tinnitus is related to blood flow in the arteries close to your ears. Hopefully, a good cardiac or vascular surgeon should be able to pinpoint the cause and also fix it.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello DR Neil,
Almost 3 Months ago I got a strong cold. For a week I had a very runny nose, and then it passed away. Few days later I had a pop sound in my left ear at the same second a low loud noise (such as a sound of an engine) has started. At the day after it got really loud and for the next week I thought that my life is over. I went to a ENT doctor, said it’s only a tinnitus and I will have to learn how to live with that. I did an head + ears MRI found everything is okay but some fluids found on my right mastoid. The volume got like a 50% lower for most of the days, while some days it’s the worst. 2 Weeks after my tinnitus has started on my left ear, a different sound (more like a high sound, such as wind) has started in my right ear. I think it may be related to the fact that I started working in a new job because: (1) I’m driving every day 45 KM with height change (700M above the sea to 0M above the sea) and (2) I’m working on the 24 floor with speedy elevators. (3) I’m sitting most of the day next to a computer, and am not doing sport at all. Sometimes I can hear (and feel) my heartbeat from my right ear as well (sound like a pop sound but I found out it’s actually coordinated to my heartbeat).
It’s all started 1 month after I started with my new job. Do you think it may be related to the facts above?
Interesting facts that I found out that cause my right ear (only) tinnitus to get stronger:
1. Starching my neck hard to the right
2. Burping or yawning (only real one works)
I also found out that this will cause the tinnitus a small volume change for a second:
1. Pressing on my teethes
2. Opening my mouth
3. Closing my eyes
One ENT specialist recommended me to do a Myringotomy, do you think it may help?
Hi Dan:
The kind of tinnitus you have that is related to body positions/motions is called somatic tinnitus. Typically, this is because your head/neck/shoulders are out of proper alignment and put strain on the muscles. Certain nerves take this strain information and send it to your brain where it gets sent to the wrong place–and you hear it as tinnitus when you move/stretch/clench etc.
The only reason to do a Myringotomy in my opinion is when your middle ear is so clogged that it will burst the eardrum. If it can equalize the air pressure through the Eustachian tube to any degree, I think its better to let the gunk in your middle ear/Eustachian tube drain away naturally.
The changes in air pressure as you go to and from work, and up and down in the elevator means that air has to go to/from your middle ear regularly–and if their is gunk clogging up the Eustachian tube–you’ll hear crackling when you yawn/swallow as the air bubbles pop as they push their way through. If the air can’t get through, then your ear drum bulges in/out with the changes in air pressure and this can hurt.
You might find in the short term that decongestants help clear your middle ears so the air can pass. But don’t take decongestants longer than needed as they can have a bad effect when you try to go off them.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Neil,
I have had Tinnitus for over a month consistently. I have had TMJ on the right side for 20 years. ENT stated hearing is normal and no ear pressure. When I turn my head to the far left the ringing in the right ear stops. Also when I open up my jaw wide the ringing stops. Very strange. Any advice?
Hi LaRhonda:
When you have tinnitus that changes in volume when you move your head/jaw/neck, you have a variety of tinnitus called somatosensory tinnitus. Often, the “cure” is to go to an upper cervical chiropractor and get your C1 and C2 vertebrae put into proper alignment. This may be all it takes. Other times, you need to also have massage on your face and neck and shoulders to loosen up the tight muscles/tendons/fascia that put tension on the bones of your head and neck and pull them out of alignment.
When things are all relaxed and back in place, your tinnitus should go away.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
i had an mri with contrast head&neck two months ago and after a few days i have had loud tinnitus, when i move my head left or up or open my jaw wide, i can hear another louder tinnitus, went to the dentist confirmed no TMJ, i don’t know where it’s coming from, neck or head, any advice?
Hi Joe:
If your tinnitus changes when you move your head or jaw, that indicates that you have somatosensory tinnitus. Personally, I’d go to an upper cervical chiropractor and get your neck checked out to be sure it is in proper alignment, then if you still have problems after a few days, it wouldn’t hurt to go to a massage therapist and have them work on your face, neck and shoulders to be sure your muscles properly relax. When everything is in proper alignment and your muscles/tendons/ligaments/fascia are all properly relaxed and working properly, this kind of tinnitus should go away. (It worked for me–and that’s not even why I went for these treatments–just a bonus side effect in my case.)
If you are stressed and tense, this just makes it all come back, so you need to learn how to relax and let the tension go out of your face and neck and shoulders.
Cordially,
Neil
I have tinnitus and have had it for a long time I am now enrolled a management program. I also wear hearing aids of good quality. So my question is can yawning increase the volume of you tinnitus?
Hi Jimmie Joe:
As far as I know, yawning does not change the volume of your tinnitus. At least it doesn’t change mine. However, I can think of one reason why yawning appears to change the volume of your tinnitus. It is not the yawning itself, but the extreme movement of your jaw that changes the volume of your tinnitus. This happens if your jaw is not properly aligned, and/or the muscles in your jaw, face and neck are tight.
For example, many people find their tinnitus increases in volume if they turn their neck all the way hard left or hard right, or if they clench their teeth. If you can do this, then I don’t see any reason why yawning wouldn’t also increase its volume.
Basically, this indicates that your top two neck vertebrae are not in proper alignment. Once everything is in proper alignment, this no longer happens.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi. My name is Jaslin, and i am 11 years old. I have Strep-Throat, and for some reason i hear ringing in my right ear. When i stand, it gets louder. When i lay down, it is lower. Can you please help or explain? Thank you.
Hi Jaslin:
When you have an active virus in your body–such as strep throat–if the virus gets into your inner ears it can cause all sorts of things to happen. It could affect your hearing, or give you tinnitus (the ringing in your ear) or affect your balance or all three. Hopefully, your tinnitus will go away when your strep throat clears up.
If you are taking medicine for your strep throat, it is possible that the drug is causing your tinnitus–hundreds of drugs do–so that is another possibility.
You haven’t given me enough information to try to figure out why your tinnitus is louder when you stand up–whether it’s coincidental, or the result of your change in position.
Cordially,
Neil
Good day to you Dr. Neil,
First of all, thank you for all you do for your patients. It’s good to see a doctor trying to offer explanations, instead of the usual “deal with it”.
I’m 23 , and I’ve been having Tinnitus since I was a kid/early teen. There wasn’t really a cause for it, it just started, and I had it ever since. Doctors back then called “stress” and “low blood pressure” the culprit, which was bonkers, but I digress.
I’ve been living with it for over 10 years, and it really didn’t ever bother me. That was until a couple of months ago, where my Tinnitus seemed to get louder, but it kind of normalised itself. A couple of days ago, something frightening happened however…
In addition to my usual Tinnitus, now I hear a different kind of ringing, like a chime, unlike my high pitched constant TT, whenever I hear certain sounds, like the wind, a car passing by, a ventilator, OR when I’m moving.
It’s hard to tell, but it’s only when I hear sounds, or when I move my entire body.
Unlike others wrote before me, tilting my head or shaking it doesn’t produce a sound, or a worsening.
So, when I stand perfectly still, and it’s all quiet, I hear just my usual Tinnitus. As soon as there is wind, or as soon as I start walking, the new sound (chime) appears.
It’s very hard to tell, but I think it’s either only my left ear, or mainly my left ear that’s affected.
I don’t drink or smoke, I do sports on a regular basis, and there is no noise in my life. Expect for listening to music through headphones once every 2 weeks, and playing videogames with headphones every night. I wouldn’t say that the volume of the games is too loud, but now I’m afraid to ever use headphones again..
I did an Xray of my spine, and Doctors said it was fine, but that can be misleading.
Any advice you could give me, Dr Neil? I’ve been reading your blog, but still, I guess I’m so startled I need some handholding.
I took some meds, Cortisol and the likes, but they only make me lose my appetite, which doesn’t help.
Kind regards, and thanks again for all you do,
Marco Marcel (Austria)
Hi Marco:
I’m not a medical doctor so I don’t have patients. I simply try to help and educate people as to what their problems may be and how to best deal with them.
This new tinnitus didn’t come out of the blue–something must have changed. Any ideas what might have happened?
Did you do anything to your neck or head–any trauma of any kind? Did you recently get hit in any sport or wrench your back or neck? Is your neck “tight”? When you say it comes when you move, I immediately think of a somato-sensory kind of tinnitus, that is, tinnitus related to your body and not your ears.
That it also happens when you are perfectly still makes it seem like it is a different problem. But I think they are both related as you get the identical result in either case.
There’s nothing wrong with wearing headphones as long as you keep the volume to a resonable level. A good level is to keep all sounds to approximately the same level as you hearing people talking. If you do that, you should never hurt your ears from too much sound.
Think back to the days immediately preceding this new tinnitus and see if there is anything you can think of that might have caused it. Look for what was different.
Also, tell me more about the sounds it reacts to and also the sounds it doesn’t react to.
I need more information so I can try to help you.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi there again, Doctor Neil,
What a quick response! 🙂 Mea culpa, yes, we’re not your patients, but in a way we are patients nonetheless..
That’s just the thing that’s puzzling me as well, I can’t really think of anything that went different than usual. I wasn’t having any stress, didn’t get exposed to any unusual loud noise, didn’t get hurt etc…
Only thing out of the ordinary, I did a blood analysis 2 weeks ago to check for borrelia and the likes (since apparently they can cause TT as well), and apart from my blood looking quite healthy and disease free, the Medic only told me I was low on Kalium (I think it’s called potassium in english), so I started taking potassium pills. Only 1 per day though, even though the daily limit was 3, and even if you took 3, it still would be only a third of your daily supply.
I wanted to start slow, since too much potassium is as bad as to little, as you surely know.
Getting back on track, no, unfortunately I can’t think of any physical disturbance that could have sparked this.
That is, I only can account for the stuff I’m aware of. Who knows what my neck does during sleep, since I sleep most comfortably on my belly, but once again, I do this since I was a boy.
It is as you say. One should think it would either stem from the body, or the “ears”, …however like you said, both trigger the same result. Whether I move, or I hear the wind. Same sound. And a very distinct one in comparison to the usual ol’ tone.
Thanks for taking me that fear, Doctor Neil. As sad as it may sound, being able to use headphones to lose myself in videogames has helped me substantially.. Especially since through the Headphones natural static sound, it’s like my TT didn’t exist.
Certainly, Doctor Neil. I will try to provide you with all I know myself.
Well…now that I start thinking about it. Everything started Saturday, I think. And on Saturday, the only unusual thing was, that we were doing some garden work at our property, and my father used a chainsaw for 5 minutes. I was about 3 Meters away, and neither of us had hearing protection. Then we were fighting with the tree we just felled, some pulling and dragging, but nothing a young sporty person couldn’t handle..right?
At first, it was only a few things, but the more I got aware of it, well, the list grew.
The shorter list perhaps, is the sounds I can still hear without the ringing accompanying it.
Thankfully speech isn’t one. I can hear conversations perfectly fine, or at least I think I do. Then it’s crickets chirping. Right outside my window there are a lot of them. Their sound is there every night. Radio/TV and smartphone sounds are fine too, EXCEPT certain songs. I was driving in a car today, and some songs did trigger it, others didn’t. Must be something about frequency. Only thing I can tell you is that “Take me home, country roads” still works fine with me .. 🙂
Apart from that, birds are also fine, and my dogs barking too. His heavy breathing triggers it, on the other hand. When driving, only when I hit higher gears with faster revolutions, I can slightly hear it.
Yeah…those are the only sounds left unaffected, I fear.
Sounds that do trigger it, are pretty much the rest. Worst are: Ventilators, whether it’s the one on my laptop, or the ventilation in my bathroom, they trigger it instantly. Then running sinks. As long as the stream is running down. Then the wind. (which hurts me the most) If it’s a strong wind, the ringing gets subdued by the sound of it, but its still there, only less loud. Mild and moderate wind is where it’s at its worst.
Cars that are passing by, distant engine sounds of agricultural machines or vacuum cleaners, those are bad too. And then finally, when I’m in my bed, trying not to move to have some piece of it, as soon as I move, even just slightly pulling or pushing the blanket, there it is again. It could be somatic, but what if it’s reacting to the minimal sound of moving around your arms under a blanket? I don’t really know if it’s somatic or reacting to the sound of me turning about… which pains me to say.
So in conclusion, it pretty much reacts to all sounds, even now, every time I hit a key while typing, I can hear the slight afterring of each hit.
On the other hand, it doesn’t seem to react to organic sounds, human or animal, and certain electrical sounds as well.
I’m sorry for this very incomplete and erratic list, Doc, I’m only dealing with the new ringing for a couple of days now, and I spent most of them in my room with earplugs on, since in my country, it seems that the medical field is even blanker when it comes to Tinnitus and the likes than the rest of the world, and I didn’t know what to do. I thought, maybe if I protect my ears from outside noise, the new ringing would get away?
Sorry for the textbarrage, it feels good though, to be able to talk to a professional who takes you seriously.
Thanks again.
Kind regards,
Marco
Hi Marco:
Yes, in a way you may be patients, but I prefer to think of you as friends.
I’m wondering if the potassium pills you are taking are causing your strange problem. I’d suggest stopping taking them for a week or so and see if it makes any difference. What kind of potassium is it–potassium gluconate or what? Also, what is the dose in mg that you are taking?
When weird things happen you have to track down all the possibilities and I’ve heard from another person who had problems when she began taking potassium gluconate and it went away when she stopped. Her tinnitus returned to normal about 3 days later. So its worth a try. In her case she was taking 550 mg a day, but maybe you are more sensitive and don’t need that much to cause problems.
It might not have been anything you did on Saturday, it could have happened in the week or two before then and finally showed up on Saturday. So see if there is anything obvious in the previous two weeks as well apart from starting taking the potassium.
It seems that the things that trigger your chimes the most are constant background sounds such as fans, wind noise, water running, etc. as opposed to sounds that are discrete and broken up. That makes me wonder if it has anything to do with audio pareidolia. You can learn more about audio paredolia in my article at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/apophenia-audio-pareidolia-and-musical-ear-syndrome/.
Do not wear ear protectors unless you are around truly loud sounds. You NEVER want to overprotect your ears or you can just make things worse–and you don’t want to do that.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello again, Doc Neil,
What a charming way to describe what you’re doing 🙂
As you suggested, I stopped taking them on Sunday. Let’s see if they are related. Coming days might show it.
I think the brand is called “Pure encapsulations”, and it says “Potassium citrate” on the box (Kaliumcitrat). On the back it states: 3 capsules as daily portion consist of 600mg potassium, which is about 30% of the recommended daily intake, according to the box. I took only 1, and sometimes 2 per day, for around 2 weeks now.
I will try to re-evaluate the last 2 weeks, to see if something else comes to mind.
Something that does come to mind, since I occasionally play airsoft (dress up like a soldier and run around in the woods… I know it sounds dumb), I was wearing a heavy helmet (around 3-4 pounds). My neck always felt stiff after prolonged exposure to it, so it even dawned on me that wearing that stupid thing might not be good for me, so I stopped using it. Last time was in mid May though, so about 1month ago, and I only wore it for about 2 hours.
I will read the article attentively, thanks for pointing me to it.
I see, I had a hunch I wasn’t doing the right thing with protecting them too much.
Thing is, if there’s no sound, the ringing is gone, or severely muffled… that’s what makes covering up attractive.
If it’s alright, I will respond again, after reading the article.
Last question from me for now: What is your take on me experiencing it mainly, or even solely on the left ear? Does that rule stuff out, or is it just too hard/early to tell? When I cover up my left side, it appears to be greatly reduced.
(PS: Please excuse the occasional typo, I’m giving it my best)
Thanks again, Doc!
Kind regards
Marco
Hi Marco:
If your tinnitus goes away in the absence of sound and comes back the louder sounds get, then you could have reactive tinnitus. Reactive tinnitus is a combination of tinnitus and hyperacusis. There are so many possibilities. You can read my comprehensive article on reactive tinnitus at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/reactive-tinnitus/ . Does this make sense in your situation?
I’m not sure I understand. If you cover your left ear, your chimes drops in volume or goes away–is that what you are saying? That could be another clue in whether you have reactive tinnitus or not.
But if your top two vertebrae in your neck are out, it could also give you weird ear problems.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi again, Dr Neil 🙂
Thanks for spending so much time on me, I greatly appreciate it.
Once again, a very intriguing article. After reading it, one can surely say that there are a lot of parallels in this field, as you have stated.
I wouldn’t really say that I fit the bill for RT, but there’s only so much a non specialist can say.
Pardon me, my narrative was not quite clear enough, just to recap:
My “normal” Tinnitus (the one I’ve been having for around 10 years – constant line like high pitched sound) doesn’t change at all. Whether there’s sound or not, loud or not, doesn’t matter. So this TT is relatively easy to mask for me.
The new kind of ringing in my ear, which sounds very distinct from my old TT, only appears when there is sound, or when I’m moving, oddly. So if I cover my ears, (or mainly left ear in my case) AND STAND STILL, the ringing doesn’t seem to appear, or it’s so low, I can’t really make it out.
If I move around, while covering my ears, it’s even harder to tell, since I’m moving and there are still muffled sounds from the outside world, that could cause a miniscule ringing. I was mowing the lawn with earplugs today, and it was like, whenever my foot connected with the earth, the “slam” caused a miniscule ringing in the left ear.
It’s hard to tell for me, Dr Neil, as you can imagine, there are so many overlapping factors. And the plain old TT (while covered up) doesn’t make deducing how or when the ringing appears either.
To conclude: If I put an earplug in my left ear, the ringing is severely reduced, or doesn’t appear. But since I’m never in a completely quiet environment, and there are still some sounds that reach my ear through the plugs, plus I’m moving about, I can’t further tell.
I did an X-ray of my spine with “functional shots”. That means, 3 pics from 3 different angles, front and then left and right, and each for each picture I had to either look up or down as much as I could. Docs said it was fine, apart from one area that was a bit off to one side, but it was nothing to worry, they said…
I’m contemplating on doing another X-ray, or just seek out a specialist, since whenever I tilt my head back, there’s a slight “cracking” sound to be heard in my neck. Had this for as long as I can remember.
I read your article, about Atlas – Axis problematic. Your articles are indeed very comprehensive and a blessing, for us who are searching.
Kind regards,
Marco
Hi Marco:
It’s interesting that when walking, the “slam” of your foot on the ground causes the tinnitus to chime. To me this indicates that this chiming tinnitus is of somatosensory origin–and the “shock” of each footstep is generating an impulse that is being interpreted by your brain as a sound. This could be because a nerve is being overstimulated at this point, or it could be because your vestibulocochlear nerve is being pinched by your C1 or C2 vertebrae.
As to your functional xrays and being off a bit and nothing to worry about, that is a lot of baloney when it comes to your ears. Upper cervical spine chiropractors are concerned if your C1 and C2 are off be even 1 degree. My neck was off by 3 degrees in two directions and that was enough to cause me periodic bouts of vertigo. Since I was treated to get properly aligned, I’ve not had such a bout since. So we’re talking almost miniscule amounts–and typical medical doctors don’t worry about that. They don’t realize just how little you can be off and that this results in ear problems.
You might do well to see an upper cervical spine chiropractor and be checked out to be sure you upper cervical spine is truly in proper alignment.
You’ve read my comprehensive article on Meniere’s disease at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/atlas-adjustments-alleviate-menieres-disease/ . Since you don’t have Meniere’s disease, just read between the lines for other results of being “out”. Near the end of this article it tells you how to find one of these special chiropractors.
This is another factor to check out and see if it fits your situation.
It could well be that you have several factors to consider, but all of them together are giving you this strange tinnitus. You’ll find a lot of these explained in my book on tinnitus “Take Control of Your Tinnitus at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/
Cordially,
Neil
Oh, and btw, I’m “only” freaked out due to the new ringing. I kind of accepted the old Tinnitus. For years I tried to focus on sounds like the wind etc. to distract myself from the TT.
Unfortunately, I can’t really do that anymore. So I really need to get rid of this new sound induced ringing…
Concerning my neck, when I tilt my head back, you can hear a slight cracking noise. I had this for over 10 years now too. My sleeping posture is also not too good. Sleeping on the stomach. But still… I did this for the last decade without ever having problems.
Hello,
3 months ago I fell on the floor in a loud environment. 3-4 days after that I started hearing tinnitus in my left ear. I was able to ignore it, but it was present all the time. After a month It got much louder and I also experienced hearing loss in that ear. MRI showed that I have water in left inner ear. When I open my jaw, turn my head left/right and when I push my head onto my palm tinnitus gets worse. I have seen many doctors, and mostly they just tell me to ignore it. I got to listen a song with white noise on left channel.
Hi Mike:
Your tinnitus could have been the result of the loud environment and had nothing to do with your falling–unless you fell and hit your head. The louder tinnitus a month later was probably the result of result of your hearing loss. Tinnitus that changes with neck movements indicates that your neck vertebrae are not in proper alignment. I’d suggest going to an upper cervical spine chiropractor (not a conventional chiropractor) and have him carefully align your neck. This may make this kind of tinnitus go away. You can find upper cervical spine chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ then click on “practitioners”.
Cordially,
Neil
thank you.
What is your opinion on atlasprofilax method?
Hi Mike:
It can help some people, but the chances are high that instead of fixing the problem, it will hurt them because they don’t take x-rays to see which direction your atlas is out (if it is). As I understand it, they use the one treatment fits all approach. This is very dangerous as your atlas can be out in a number of different directions and if you move it in the wrong direction, you’ve jut make things worse, not better.
Furthermore, there is no official training for these practitioners. In contrast, I’d suggest an upper cervical spine chiropractor. These doctors not only have a doctor of chiropractic degree, but also have taken additional training in the upper cervical spine specialty. They typically take precise x-rays so they can tell you exactly how far out your atlas is and in what direction. Then they tailor the treatment specifically to get your aligned properly.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you. Your answer makes sense.
Hi, Dr. Neil, I have ringing in my ears. Both ears go really high pitch if I move my head to the left, my left ear rings super loud. Same thing happens to the right. I know you say to visit the chiropractor but I had a cervical spine fusion C-4 through C-7. I had this done in 2014. I did not develop this ringing till about 6 months ago. I had 3 back surgeries last year alone. Could that be the cause and please, what should I do if I can’t see the chiropractor?? Thanks so much for dealing with all these questions for so many years… 🙂
Hi Loggercat:
Since your somatosensory tinnitus did not begin until 6 months ago, I don’t think your spinal fusion 4 years ago is the primary culprit–but the more recent back surgeries you had. I’d suggest going to an upper cervical spine chiropractor to be sure your C1 and C2 are properly aligned if that is possible now. You may also need to see a massage therapist to work on your face and neck muscles. Together they may be able to get your tinnitus to fade away, but that depends on your specific situation. If your upper cervical chiropractor says it is “no go” then reducing muscle tension in your neck and face may be the only solution.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil,
I’ve had tinnitus come and go ever since I was a teenager and I’m now pushing 40. It never has lasted long so I’ve never been able to pinpoint anything. I’ve had it constant the last few days. I noticed it Saturday morning when I woke up and it’s now Tuesday. It’s a constant high pitched ringing as Marco had described. I’m a left BKA from a motorcycle accident April of 2017. I had a serious concussion with worsening symptoms so I thought perhaps the ringing was a new symptom. Sunday night I went to the ER for the ringing and pain in my residual limb. The ringing has been throwing off my equilibrium a bit but definitely not vertigo. The ER looked in my ears and told me that they dont see anything wrong and called it tinnitus. This was the first time I had ever heard the word. Unfortunately at my current time I can’t afford your book but plan to pick up a copy at a later time as it looks like a good education. I decided to read some of the posts as there are tons going back to 2015 and you take the time to answer each one which is impressive I’d like to add and I’m sure hundreds thank you. I’ve learned quite a bit. I was able to find your site knowing that I’m facing tinnitus and that the terrible ringing has a name. When I turn my head to the left or right it spikes up louder for a moment and often tends to happen when I blink and move my jaw but not always. I can get temporary relief by listening to music at a volume above the ringing or if I can manage to fall asleep. It always seems worse in the mornings and unfortunately my insurance wont cover a chiropractor. One post I read was either a question or more likely your reply where neck alignment while sleeping can cause a problem. I’ve been in the doghouse so to speak for the last week and have been sleeping on an air mattres. It’s really thick and is a serta with a built in pump that inflates and deflates it. Sometimes I can sleep all night if the air pressure is favorable or I end up waking up in the middle of the night with a sore shoulder as I’m a side sleeper. I’ve had at least one good night of sleep and the ringing remains and I’ve had 2 really bad nights where I only get an hour sleep due to the ringing and other discomforts. Last night when the tv and everything was shut down the ringing appeared a lot louder than normal. After a really rough night I decided it was my turn to speak up. I thought this morning that I had deduced the issue but realized while writing my short novel here that I had a pretty good nights sleep Sunday night after zero sleep Saturday night and the ringing remains. Do you think that it may take a few nights of good sleep to get the ringing to subside in some sort? The high pitched ringing is driving me bonkers and needs to stop before it drives me to drink or perhaps something more drastic. I eagerly await your suggestions and hopefully I can get the ringing to subside soon. Thank you for all that you do. I saw in your conversations with Marco that you look at us as friends but I kinda agree with Marco, were all patients in a sense suffering from tinnitus.
Hi Ryan:
Tinnitus just doesn’t come “out of the blue”. There is always a reason–although finding that reason may be hard of nigh impossible.
The first thing I check is to see what drugs a person is taking. Ever so many (around 600) are associated with tinnitus. Sometimes the tinnitus doesn’t come immediately after you begin a new drug or change the dose on an existing drug–there may be a delay of hours, days, weeks, months or years. Since you have had some physical problems because of and since your accident, I’m sure you have taken a number of drugs that might be culprits.
Tinnitus does not affect equilibrium, but a condition that causes tinnitus (for example a drug) can also cause balance problems, so drugs are a possibility. If you tell me the drugs you are on, I can tell you whether that seems a likely possibility. You can write me privately if you desire.
The fact that your tinnitus spikes when you move your head hard a port or starboard, or blinking an eye or moving your jaw tells me that you have somatosensory (body) tinnitus in addition to probably the common neurophysiological kind of tinnitus most people talk about. Somatosensory tinnitus is typically caused by your neck being out of proper alignment which can also cause your face and jaw to be pulled out of alignment–hence any movements can spike your tinnitus.
Masking your tinnitus with sound is one good treatment–but it doesn’t fundamentally do anything to fix your tinnitus. You don’t even have to completely mask it (drown it out), but just have some real sounds to listen to gain relief. Surround yourself with sounds to help take your mind off your tinnitus. Just keep the sound level down to speech levels or lower as you don’t want to add noise-induced tinnitus to your problems. In the quiet, your tinnitus always sounds louder as you don’t have other sounds to partially mask it.
And since your tinnitus is louder when you wake up, it is likely that your neck is out of proper alignment. When you get up and move around, your neck aligns itself a bit better and your tinnitus level then drops as the pressure comes off the nerves.
A few good night’s sleep may or may not stop the ringing, but it will certainly make it easier for you to cope with the tinnitus.
You do not have to let tinnitus run (and ruin) your life. You can take control of it. The first step is to realize that tinnitus is NOT a threat to your well-being. When you do that, you can slowly habituate to your tinnitus so it will no longer bother you and will tend to fade into the background. You need to totally ignore your tinnitus and focus on the loves of your life. Treat your tinnitus as a totally unimportant sound that your brain can safely ignore such as the sounds your fridge makes. You don’t focus on them. So treat your tinnitus the same.
The more you worry about your tinnitus, the louder and more intrusive in can become.
I’d try to get to an upper cervical spine chiropractor if you can possibly do it and get your head “screwed on properly”. That could fix your tinnitus and possibly other problems that resulted from your accident. I’m almost positive that your neck suffered trauma in the accident. So that is a priority to get attended to.
I wish you well.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil
I am hoping you can help me! I first had tinnitus when I was early 20’s. In hospital they gave me Codeine as a pain killer – bringing on severe tinnitus. I had to put a loud ticking clock by my bed so I could sleep at night. Thankfully it got better, but I have since had the odd occurence over the years. However, it has now been with me solidly for nearly two years – I am now late 50’s.
Stupidly I decided to try Botox – immediately horrendous headaches set in, together with tinnitus and very high blood pressure. Thankfully the headaches disappeared after two weeks and my bp stabilised (I have been on meds for high bp since my 30’s). I kept hoping my tinnitus would go but sadly it hasn’t. Like most, I seem to have good and bad days.
I visited an ENT surgeon and had hearing tests – it seems I do have some damage to my upper range of hearing which he says could be causing the tinnitus. However, I am not convinced by this and am beginning to wonder if it could be caused either by my blood pressure, or my neck/back. Like some of the others, it seems to get quieter if I bend my head down, and louder if I my head hold back or turn to the left. I also notice it that it can be louder when I have rested on my bed with two pillows. Sometimes I can hear it pulsating which is why I wonder if my blood pressure could also be contributing.
I have also had neck and back problems in the past. A ridiculous ‘whiplash’ injury from one of those hair wash basins at the hair salon – this took months of physio visits, acupuncture and traction to put right. Also I have a weakness in my lower back which leads to a slipped disc occasionally. Recently I had also been undergoing physio on my first rib which had become raised after an injury last year. This is much better, but still not right.
Apologies for listing all my physical ailments, but I thought it may be good to give you the full background!
Hi Karen:
Botox can cause headaches, tinnitus and hearing loss, so you are not alone in experiencing these side effects after taking Botox.
How do you know that your hearing loss is not one of the side effects of the Botox? And your tinnitus could well be a result of your high-frequency hearing loss. It could also be from other causes including the Botox.
Too often we think of tinnitus as one “thing” whereas it can arise from a number of conditions. So you could have tinnitus from the Botox, from the high blood pressure, from the hearing loss, and from your neck being out of whack.
The tinnitus from your neck being out of whack is somatosensory tinnitus and is different from tinnitus caused by the Botox for example, which is a neurophysiological kind of tinnitus. Thus you need different treatments.
High blood pressure could also cause somatosensory tinnitus–typically pulsatile tinnitus–as your blood flows through constricted arteries and thus becomes more turbulent which you hear as one kind of tinnitus.
If I were you, the first thing I’d do is go to an upper cervical chiropractor and have my neck and back checked out. You want to be sure your C1 and C2 vertebrae are in proper alignment as that can cause tinnitus and other ear problems.
You also need to look at using 2 pillows as it is obviously “kinking” your neck and could be a cause of some of your tinnitus. But seeing an upper cervical spine chiropractor (NOT a conventional chiropractor) should be your first priority.
Cordially,
Neil
Hey Dr Neil,
I thought I’d share my situation with you (and your readers). I’ve had tinnitus, off and on for a couple of years. recently turned 61, in great shape, but age is “undefeated”, so I just figured it was part of the process. A couple of weeks ago I got together with some of the guys I grew up with (actually had not seen a couple of them in 40 years) part of the gathering including golf. I don’t golf, but I figured what the heck and spending 3 plus hours with the guys was going to be a blast. I’m pretty sure I tweaked my neck golfing, and my T has gotten a bit worse. This was actually a “god send”, because I believe my tinnitus is either jaw (TMJ) or neck related. It’s only on one side (left), it’s a high pitch that comes and goes, but the most “interesting” symptoms are
– if I bite down hard/chinch my jaw, the volume and pitch increases
– if I pull my jaw in, flexing my SCM muscles, the volume and pitch increases
– if I tip my head to the left (left ear to left shoulder), the volume and pitch increases, nothing on the right
– and the big ‘kicker’, if I place my right hand on the right side of my face/jaw, and push firmly to the left, it really increases. If I do the same this on the left, pushing right, nothing.
I spoke with my primary care Dr’s office yesterday, he will return my call sometime today, and we’ll go from there. I don’t have any of the normal TMJ symptoms, like popping, clicking, pain. But when I open my mouth somewhat wide and close it slowly, there’s a “hitch” in my jaw. I have no idea if that’s normal or not. But regarding my neck, I was a wrestler and coach for years, continued training with my sons even when they were at the college level, so my neck has taken a ‘beating’ over the years, I’m sure a chiropractor would have a field day with me.
Thanks for the great info.
Regards, Phil
Hi Phil:
I’m sure your neck is out of proper alignment. I’d go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor rather than a conventional chiropractor and get your C1 and C2 (top two cervical vertebrae) into proper alignment. Conventional chiropractors don’t have the specialized training to do this.
This may be all you need to get your tinnitus under control. However, you may also need facial/neck massage and/or attention to your TMJ.
Cordially,
Neil
Quick update.
I have been going to the chiropractor and massage therapist. So you were correct my upper cervical was “out of whack”, but it was worse than that. I had shoulder surgery 10 years ago (o-scope, not cut) on my left shoulder. I more than likely didn’t rehab enough before I got back into my routine, and over time my left should pulled forward cause everything on my left side to pull. The SCM on my left is over an inch thicker than on the right and the scalene muscles on the left are as tight as piano wire.
Making great progress, I had lost about 30% of the rotational ability in my neck and didn’t even know it. Twice a week adjustments and once a week deep tissue massage on the jaw, neck and shoulders have been a huge help. Interestingly, the night of or the day after my T flares up, than the next day, it’s totally gone. And each time it flares up less.
Regards, Phil
Hi Dr. Neal,
I kind of have the opposite problem, but am hoping you can help. I have intermittent pulsatile tinnitus in my right ear that sometimes is accompanied by mild vertigo (with nystagmus). It was constant from 11/23/17 to 5/11/18. I resigned from my job and the next day woke up and it was gone. Well, now it returns intermittently. I’ve had a few MRIs d/t migraines and a cervical syringoma (which spontaneously resolved in 2015) , most recently in 2016-but no MRA. MRIs have always been normal. So, it is pulsatile as it is consistent with my pulse (I am an RN, so I have correlated with my radial pulse). ENT did all their tests last year, and told me to go to neurology since I had excellent hearing in both ears and no deficits they could identify. When I got to neurology, they also stated they didn’t know-but offered neuro PT for the vertigo. Anyway, as I sit here with my right sided pulsatile tinnitis, it will stop completely while I vagal, but then slowly resume. If I turn my head “hard” to the left, it will stop as long as I hold my head as far left as it will go, but then return as soon as my head gets back to center. After reading some of the comments on here, it will stop if I open my jaw wide, but the “fullness” in the right hear will remain. Opening the jaw gets it to stop for a few moments after I close my jaw, but then slowly returns. I have zero problems with my sinuses-I do not get seasonal allergies. I regularly go to the dentist and just had a 3D “conal” imaging done. I’m going to get a copy of the read, but would like to think if there were issues with my jaw alignment, the radiologist would have told me. Oh, in 1998 I was treated by a chiropractor for torticollis for 4 weeks. I am frustrated and don’t know where to go to next. I am also insured very well, despite my PCP insisting my insurance won’t pay for an MRA. Thank you for any guidance you can offer me in what I can do next.
Hi Christina:
I agree, you seem to have the reverse of what other people have with pulsatile tinnitus. What stands out to me is that you have had, and probably continue to have, neck problems that might be at the root of all your problems. If I were in your shoes, I think what I would do is go to a special kind of chiropractor– an upper cervical spine chiropractor, not a conventional chiropractor, and make sure that your C1 and C2 vertebrae are in proper alignment. You can find one of these special chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ and then click on the “Practitioner” button at the top.
After you know your neck is in proper alignment, then see if your symptoms disappear. If they do go away then you know what the underlying problem was. If they don’t go away, let me know and we’ll see what the next logical step appears to be.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
I’ve had tinnitus in my left ear and a few times in my right ear for about 7 months. The ringing in my ear I’m am pretty confident was getting a large neck muscle down my spine pulled on my left side lifting weights. It took about a month for it to heal and my neck was stiff for a week or so. About a month after I got hurt I was under a lot of stress and my tinnitus started. It lasted about a month and half and while driving I turned my neck and it popped like it never had before and then it stopped ringing for about a month or so. I went to the gym got on a treadmill and it started back. Since then it has lasted for a week or so then completely stopped. On and off again. It always seemed to start back after going to the gym or doing hard work. I also noticed I couldn’t hear as well. My ringing was really annoying and was beeping on and off again. From 1 to 10 and 10 being bad it was a 6 or 7. You would think it would stop and then it would go again. I noticed it would start or get worse moving my neck or moving around. I went to an upper cervical chiropractor just over two weeks ago. My upper cervical spine was definitely out and to the left. I also had one leg smaller than the other because of it. He adjusted me and my hearing was immediately better and my tinnitus was down about 80%. I’ve had to have four adjustments so far. My tinnitus isn’t beeping but a constant whine that was not bad at all. It is now getting louder this past week and I’m now having more tinnitus in my right ear but not as bad mainly a buzz. Am I going through retracing? Will I get better? I know I may be healing but it’s kinda scary and makes you think I may have it for good. If I am retracing and I’ve had this for 7 months how long do you think it will take to heal for it to go away? Or will it partially go away from what it was? I am 30 years old. My chiropractor said it will go away but said it will take time for the nerves, muscles, and ligaments to heal. I just would feel better getting another opinion. Even though it’s getting louder it’s still nothing like it was before but still annoying but at least it’s a whine or light ringing.
Thanks,
Clint
Hi Clint:
I can’t say if it’s retracing that is making your tinnitus temporarily worse, or some other factor such as doing something that puts your neck out slightly again, or more stress or tension in your life, or anxiety or depression–all of which can cause your tinnitus to get louder again.
I’d go with your chiropractor–that it will get better, but will still take time. In the meantime, continue to learn to ignore it by focusing on the loves of your life and let it fade into the background as much as it will. When you focus on your tinnitus, that tells you limbic system that it is an important that you NEED to be able to hear so your limbic system cooperates and makes it louder. Conversely, if you completely ignore it, this gives your limbic system permission to make it softer.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
I’ve had tinnitus in left ear for 50 yrs, since an ear infection at age 6. Just something that’s always been there. Not something that I really notice except in a quiet setting. (It’s a high whine.) I have bruxism & wear a bite guard at night; tight trapezius muscles & trigger points near shoulder blades that PT says are actually neck pain. In yrs past, ENT said I have only a tiny bit of high frequency hearing loss typical for someone in their late 50’s. (After a loud rock concert in my 20’s that caused my ears to ring for 2 days I’ve used cotton in my ears for concerts ever since.) ENT also said I have Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, & never to fly with a head cold. I asked an audiologist if everyone has an ear “stop up” at random times every so often (not when ill) or if that might be due to the Eustachian problem. He said yes to the latter & not to worry unless it didn’t unstop with jaw movement. (I can always immediately unstop it that way.) Today I noticed that opening my mouth wide lessens the tinnitus, as does turning my head to the far right. Found your site when searching for a connection between teeth grinding & tinnitus. Had no idea! I feel all these symptoms are related. From others’ questions, I’m guessing you’ll say to see a cervical chiropractor. Any other advice for me? Thanks in advance!
Hi Lindsey:
No–seeing an upper cervical chiropractor still appears to be your first logical step to see if that takes care of your problems–unless, of course, you want to walk around with your mouth open and your head turned far right!
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Doc
Past three month ago when i sleep during morning i heard ring sound first start left ear and then immediately right ear i am suffer from neck pain from last 12 years also pain in my jaw joints and fore head joints( myofascial pain) i notice when i sleep and turn neck right or left my tinnitus is increases whole day my pure tone audio gram test is normal
Hi Nikhil:
I wouldn’t be surprised that your tinnitus is the result of your neck and jaw being out of proper alignment. And that causes various muscles to be tight on your face as well. Personally, what I’d do is go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and get things properly aligned and then if necessary, have massage therapy to get your fascia “unknotted” and working properly again. This should get rid of your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you doter for reply.
i do my MRI Scan of brain and cervical spine according to Brain MRI no obvious abnormality inner ear structure including the vestibule, cochlea and the semicircular canals appear normal bilateral internal auditory meati appear normal.
and in cervical spine MRI shows mild scoliosis with its convexity to the left side 1) diffuse disc bulge of the c6/c7 disc and associated bilateral ligament flave thickening cause compression of cord, there is mild indentation of the bilateral exiting c7 root nerve roots. 2)mild disc bulge of c4/c5 and c5/c6 disc cause mild indentation of the ventral surface of the cord.
i agree your suggestion of proper alignment and massage therapy i have question in my mind in 2017 my x-ray shows mild spondylosis in c2 and recent MRI not show any spondylosis and alignment
of spine i have still pain my neck and back side of head specially when sleeping pain radiate in c1 and c2 and upper musculoskeletal region and also in my tmj joint. fore head joint and tinnitus change in loudness and pitch (while sleeping) also change when i move my neck up or down and also press the point above tmj near to right ear
Hi Nikhil:
I’d suggest seeing an upper cervical chiropractor to get your cervical spine issues addressed as much as possible and then see how things are.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
I have had tinnitus for circa 20 years from noise exposure caused through DJ’ing many years back.
My tinnitus has always been around level 2 (out of 10) so has not been a major issue.
Circa 7 weeks ago, a new tone started at a perceived volume around 8 out of 10. The new frequency seems to be around 12,350 hz. This has plagued me since. The first week was crazy with various tones, low, high etc. Even a low bass frequency booming when my wife walked across the floor in time with her footsteps.
I am now jus trying to deal with the 12,350 hz that has remained.
Three days ago it disappeared? Last night it crept back in and today has been full throttle.
I am able to hold if off temporarily by stretching my mouth open repeatedly. However, it returns shortly after. Likewise, pushing my jaw forwards can intensify a sound in a major way but not the same tone?
Turning my head left and right seems to turn up the volume on a tone.
I have seen an ENT specialist, had an MRI and nothing major has shown up. They also checked the TMJ and mentioned that,
Quote:
“Both jaw joints and the cartilage within them seems to move a little inefficiently. I cannot think that this is related to the symptoms and there are no obvious symptoms from the jaw joints (clicking and pain on chewing).”
Likewise, commented on the C1 & C2 being fine (I was concerned that this may have been a contributing factor as I fell from a height as a small child and landed on my head, having to have my neck in a collar for a good while)
I am at a loss of why it suddenly started. Likewise, why it stopped then restarted?
I have cut all sugar, salt, alcohol, dairy, meat etc. and kept a through diary of intake and potential influences but can see no pattern?
I have been taking daily:
Vit -A – 6,00i.u
B12 -500ug
Niacin B3 100mg
Zinc 15mg
Magnesium 250mg
Co-enzyme q10 200mg
Any insight or thoughts would be hugely appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your time reading this post
Kind regards,
Craig
Hi Craig:
My first question is what happened 7 or 8 weeks ago that was different? Were you under more stress or anxiety? Did you have any kind of physical trauma? Did you neck or jaw feel particularly “tight” back then? Were your ears exposed to any loud sounds? Think about anything out of the ordinary that happened back then.
Second, you mentioned seeing an ENT and having an MRI. But what you conspicuously left out is any mention of seeing an upper cervical spine chiropractor. Neither the ENT or radiologist is skilled in reading the slight differences that show up when your C1 and C2 is out of proper alignment. I’ve heard from others that also had MRIs done and no one could see any problem, yet when the person went to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and he took his precision x-rays, the problem was obvious and treatment fixed the problem. So barring anything jumping out at me from my questions I’ve asked, I’d head to an upper cervical chiropractor and get checked out. Once you KNOW your are in proper alignment and it is holding, then its time to see whether you still have any problems and look further afield for the answers.
You have all sorts of somatic-induced tinnitus reactions, so this seems to be a likely cause.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
Thanks for the response.
I had building work going on at the house and feel a gas compressed nail gun may have been a contributing factor.
The symptoms seem to have subsided to a low level (maxing at maybe 4 /10). However, still intermittent. This has lead me to feel something physical may be contributing.
I have therefore booked an appointment with an upper cervical spine chiropractor next week. After that I will look into the TMJ potential if need be.
If it’s ok, I will update you know the results?
Thank you very kindly for your time, and sharing your thoughts on the matter.
Kind regards,
Craig
Hi again Dr. Bauman,
I contacted you about the flu shot and tinnitus a little while ago.
When people say their tinnitus gets louder when they turn their head sideways or when they open their jaw, do they mean it gets loud and stays loud, as long as you hold that position? Or do they mean it gets louder for a second and then returns to normal, with the neck still turned (or jaw still open)? My situation is latter, with the neck or jaw. I always assumed that it was just blood rushing by my ear that accounted for the momentary change in volume. Thanks!
Hi Michael:
Typically, it just gets louder for an instant, then begins dropping back to baseline again, but it can remain high as long as you hold the position, depending on how far “out” your neck/jaw is.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor Neil,
I had an accident last April. CT SCAN showed I got a blood clot in my brain. I was given Citicoline for a month but I never had a follow up CT SCAN. Everything seems fine so I didn’t go back for a follow-up examination especially that there was no instruction from the attending physician that I do so. Except for the scars, my life was back to normal.
Late October, I started to notice the hissing sound in my left ear. It was very tolerable but it’s 24/7 so I went to an ENT. I was given an antifungal eardrop because I was told that I had a fungal infection. After just a couple of days, I was able to remove some from my left ear but continued with the eardrop as advised. Went back to my ENT after a week of using the eardrop. My ENT told me that everything was clear and in all fairness, the hissing sound almost went away. I can barely hear it unless I focus on it. However, when I tap the back part of my head near the back of my left ear, I can feel that something is not right. It’s like there’s something in there and the sensation is similar to when water gets stuck in your ears after swimming or taking a bath. My ENT gave me an antibiotic for potential ear infection other than the fungal infection that I had. I’m down to my last two tablets but the high-pitched hissing sound is still there and honestly, it’s getting louder.
After almost a month of researching about tinnitus I found similar experiences and symptoms shared by others that were the same as mine.
As of writing,
1. The frequency of my Tinnitus gets higher when I yawn
2. The frequency of my Tinnitus changes when I move my neck left to right, or vice versa.
3. My right jaw pops when wide open (I only hear hissing in my left ear)
4. My jaws do not open/close at the same time
5. Sometimes I feel some discomfort or a little pain at the back of my head specifically the rear or lower part of the skull (the intersection of the skull and the spine)
6. Sometimes I get dizzy because of the non-stop high-pitched hissing
7. Mild hearing loss as per the audiogram BUT on my right ear and NOT the left where I hear the hissing
I wanted to have all these checked while it’s still early but please advise on what’s the best approach. Do I need to go to first to a dentist for possible TMJ issue, a Chiropractor, go back to my ENT? I know there’s no one definite way to deal with this but what’s the most logical and cost effective way to deal with my condition?
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Melvin
Hi Melvin:
The accident you had–was it a motor vehicle accident? If so, you most likely had some degree of whiplash–and that most likely moved your upper cervical vertebrae out of proper alignment–and that can affect your ears in a number of ways.
1 & 2: When your C1 and C2 vertebrae are out of proper alignment, you can have these experiences.
3 & 4: I’m sure you have temporomandibular dysfunction (TMJ/TMD) and this needs to be treated.
5. That also sounds like your C1 and C2 are out of whack.
6. I’ve never heard of tinnitus causing you to feel dizzy–but tinnitus and dizziness can both occur at the same time. The dizziness can be from your neck being out of proper alignment too.
7. Tinnitus and hearing loss don’t have to be in the same ear. If your tinnitus was the result of your hearing loss, then you’d expect them to be on the same side, but if your tinnitus is the result of vertebral misalignments, then it could be on either side.
What I’d do in your situation is first go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor (not a conventional one) and have him get your spine properly aligned–especially your C1 and C2 vertebrae. This may be all you need to get your jaw back in place–and if not, have him adjust that too. Once the UCS chiropractor has got you into proper alignment (and it is holding), then I’d see what issues are left. He should be able to advise you whether you should see a dentist for the TMJ or not.
Your tinnitus may or may not go away. You may also need some head/face/neck massage therapy to go along with the chiropractic treatments. In any case, you may be left with some tinnitus. Since it is soft, I’d just learn to ignore it and let it fade into the background as much as possible.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil,
Apologies for not being able to respond right away. Yes, it was a motorcycle accident. I took note of everything you said and I’ll definitely do them. I really want to thank you for your prompt response. I’m trying my best to retrain my brain to ignore the sounds I hear while I search for a good UCS Chiropractor near me.
THANK YOU MUCH DOC!
Best Regards,
Melvin
Hi Dr.,
I’ve had tinnitus issues since october. When I wake up in the morning and I turn my head to the left, I hear pulsatile tinnitus for a few seconds only. It usually diminishes a lot or sometimes completely disappears during the day. I also have jaw issues and I suspect I have TMJ, my jaw always pops, my joint are tender and painful when I put pressure on them, I hear a crackling sound when I eat or yawn and my jaw is tender when I wake up in the morning (I also clench my teeth a lot during the day and probably at night as well), and I also have tension in my temples almost every day even though it’s mild. I noticed that my tinnitus is often worse whenever I sleep on a bad mattress or pillow and have neck and back pain. My tinnitus is on the side where my TMJ is crackling as well, and if my head is straight, down, up or turned to the right, I don’t hear anything, only when I turn it to the left. Could my tinnitus be related to those neck/jaw problems ? If so, why did it appear only recently even though I’ve had jaw pain for years ?
Thank you!
Hi Charlotte:
It seems you have somatosensory tinnitus–that is, tinnitus related to your body movements. And since your head/neck seem to have a number of problems, if I were in your shoes, the first thing I’d do is seek out an upper cervical spine chiropractor and get your back and neck and jaw put back into proper alignment. You may have to go a number of times until the treatment “holds”. When you do that, it relieves pressure/irritation/hyperactivity of certain nerves and that may be all it takes to get rid of your tinnitus. You may also find that going to a massage therapist at the same time will help even more. (You’ve got to both get your vertebrae/jaw properly aligned and the tight muscles relaxed so they don’t pull things out of place because of their tension. You can find an upper cervical spine chiropractor at http://www.upcspine.com/.
When you sleep on a “bad” pillow it puts your neck into “wrong” positions and pinches/irritates nerves and causes the flare up in tinnitus.
Even though you’ve had back/neck/jaw problems for years, tinnitus related to this doesn’t always show up like you would expect. You could be just below the threshold for tinnitus, and then you are more stressed which pulls you “out” further and starts the tinnitus. The same can happen on the “bad” pillow.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for your quick reply! I’ll go to a chiropractor right after the holidays. Since the tinnitus only appears when I turn my head to the left and only lasts a few seconds, it couldn’t be pulsatile tinnitus due to circulation problems? That was my first idea but I wasn’t sure since it wasn’t constant.
Also, is it possible that my headaches will disappear after getting everything aligned? My main issue right now is that I feel tension in my temples, around my ears and in my jaw on a daily basis. The tinnitus almost disappears when my neck feels good, and it comes back when my neck is sore and painful.
One last question, can chiropractors align my jaw or do I have to go to an osteopath for that ?
Thank you so much!
Hi Charlotte:
If you get tinnitus when you turn your head, that is not pulsatile tinnitus. It’s one of the forms of somatosensory tinnitus.
Yes, there is a good chance your headaches will go away if they are from your neck vertebrae not being in proper alignment.
You’ll have to ask your upper cervical chiropractor what would be best in your case, but I think they can help you.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi doctor, I have my appointment scheduled soon but I wanted to ask if dizziness when I turn my head to either side could also be a sign that it is a problem with my vertebrae ? That happens only after I sleep too.
Thank you!
Hi Charlotte:
Yes, dizziness and vertigo can be indicative that your upper neck is out of proper alignment. This is why people with Meniere’s disease get periodic episodes of vertigo.
If you have dizziness after laying down and then get up, it could have a couple of causes. One is that your neck is out of whack and pinches your balance nerve when you are laying down, and when you get up it relieves the pressure and the dizziness goes away. The other reason is called orthostatic dizziness where when you stand up too fast, the blood to your head lags behind causing momentary dizziness. This is caused when your blood pressure is too low.
I think your problem is your neck is out of proper alignment. Going to an upper cervical chiropractor would be a good first step.
Cordially,
Neil
thank you for your reply. I finally have an appointment on Monday, it was hard to get one with the holidays.
For the last couple of days I’ve been getting vertigo when I move my head up and down, or when I turn around in bed and also when I get up or lay down fast. I’ve also had increased pain in my neck and I hear a cracking noise during those movements.
Hello !
I’ve had a lot of Anxiety and stress these past few weeks , due to some things that happened in my life, I had panic attacks and constant anxiety.
My doctor prescribed me Xanax for my anxiety and I took it for 3 days only and stopped because I don’t want to get hooked on it as I’ve heard its pretty easily to get hooked on.
3 Days ago I’ve started hearing a really loud pitch on both my hears and it’s driving me crazy , I can’t sleep , I can’t work as I am a software developer and can’t focus on my work because of the constant sound on my ears.
Some people are telling me it’s because of stress and Anxiety , but I also clench my jaw during the day and at night. I also sit at the computer for most of the day and have a really bad posture, do you think this might be permanent?
How can I search for help about this?
It does get worse if I press my hand on my forhead or tilt my neck.
waiting for a reply! Thank you very much 🙂
Gustavo.
Hi Gustavo:
I think you were wise to stop taking the Alprazolam (Xanax) before you developed bad side effects. Hundreds and hundreds of people have reported getting tinnitus from taking Xanax.
How long was it between the time you stopped the Xanax and you heard this loud tinnitus? If you stop taking Xanax “cold turkey”, this can happen, but I hardly think that it would happen when you were only on it for 3 days–however, you never know what might happen.
It is also possible that your tinnitus has nothing to do with using/stopping the Xanax, but has something to do with your anxiety. Anxiety by itself can cause tinnitus, but more likely in your case, I think the anxiety tightened up your neck and head muscles even more than they were, and that triggered your tinnitus by pinching various nerves.
What I’d do is go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor (not a conventional one unless there are no upper cervical chiropractors around) and get your neck vertebrae (the top two in particular) adjusted to be in proper alignment. This can also fix your jaw, or you might also need massage therapy at the same time. You can find upper cervical chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ and click on “Practitioners”.
It sure wouldn’t hurt to begin now and try to keep proper posture as much as possible.
Assuming your tinnitus is from anxiety or misaligned vertebrae, this should not be permanent, and should go away or greatly reduce in volume when you get things aligned properly and you get your anxiety under control.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, I have been experiencing constant tinnitus 24/7 for about 15 months now. There was no particular incident I can think of that triggered it. I was just sitting in mediation and it came on and never went away. I have been a dj for 33 years and around loud sound systems my whole life without properly protecting my ears, so in a since I guess I knew I had it coming. After I started talking to people about it, it was kind of normalized that it is common for people to have this condition and it never go away and that you just have to learn to live with it. Because of needing go through processes of transfering insurance coverage to my new place and traveling throughout the year it took me a whole 14 months to finally see an audiologist. The results show hearing loss in the 3000-8000 range, but another signigicant result was abnormal tympanogram in the right ear (it didn’t even register on the chart!) Since then I have been starting to panic about it all a little bit and haven’t been able to schedule in follow up visits with anybody. I feel like I need to see an ENT specialist, but there is a huge wait and procedure to go back to a GP to get a referal and the whole process coukd take months. I am suppose to leave for a 2 week emersive course where I stay out on some land away from home and with limited communication. I had started to panic a little because of how the tinnitus increased when I press on my temple above my ear or turn my neck. That is how I ran accross your web page and this article. I have read about 1/2 way down to at least see that this phenominom is somewhat common. However I am concerned about all the other things that might be going on (pressure in the skull etc.) Someone earlier mentioned that they should see a cardiologist. It would be nice to just get some peace of mind before I leave for this course that it’s not an emergency. Also do you recomned seeing an ENT specialist? Getting CAT scan other scan’s. I know someone mentioned their doctor recomended seeing a cardiologist when she told them abou the increased tinnitus with neck movements and I have been experiencing very slight tighness soreness around my upper chest from time to time off and on, but seems like it could just be muscular, hard to tell. Anyway I am just concerned about all the other health conditions that might be causing the tinnitus. The effect of it increasing with pressure on my temple above my ears and turning my neck have been there since the onset. Also before full time tinnitus which is a high frequency I did experinece a tone that would come on for 20-30 sec or so and then go away. This occured for years before the full time tinnitus started and still comes occasionally on top of the full time tinnitus, it’s also a high frequency but slightly lower than the constant tinnitus is. I was wondering what the difference is between the two.
I was also wondering what you thought about the abnormal tympanogram results?
Soory for all the length. I also wanted to add that the docotor didn’t see any wax buildup but I definatley feel and hear congestion in my inner ear when I open and close my jaw like when you change altitudes that has seemed to be there during this whole time. I have alos noticed my jaw popping ocassionally throughout the time of the tinnitus onset and even before
Hi Neptune:
Certainly not protecting your ears for 33 years as a DJ asking for trouble. So your tinnitus could be from that. But it could also be a result of your high-frequency hearing loss. Tinnitus almost always accompanies noise-induced hearing loss.
As for the tympanogram, are you saying it didn’t even draw a line at the bottom of the chart? Or that the line was at the bottom of the chart instead of a peak like it normally would be. I’d say either they didn’t seal your ear properly during the test, or your ear is totally plugged up.
If your tinnitus increases when you turn your neck or press on your head, then it is likely due to your neck being out of whack, not a cardiology problem.
If I were you, I’d go to a upper cervical spine chiropractor and make sure my C1 and C2 vertebrae are in proper alignment. These special chiropractors take precision xrays and can tell if you are out of alignment even 1 degree. It doesn’t take much to mess up your ears one way or another. You can find one by going to http://www.upcspine.com/ and clicking on “Practitioners”.
If your C1 and C2 or other vertebrae are out of proper alignment, it can cause your Eustachian tube not to work properly. That could account for your tympanogram result.
You could have two different kinds of tinnitus from two different causes. For example, one from the noise damage your ears have suffered through, and one from your neck being out of proper alignment. So you probably need two different treatments.
If you hear/feel congestion in your middle ear (not your inner ear), then that also can indicate Eustachian tube dysfunction resulting from your neck out of whack. So can your jaw popping.
So if it were me, the first thing I’d do is see an upper cervical spine chiropractor and let him get you properly aligned. Then after the treatment holds (it may take a few treatments depending on how long your neck has been “out” before it stays in place), I’d see what ear problems, if any, still remain. Then you can consider further treatment depending on their symptoms.
You should be able to see a chiropractor within a few days. Let me know what you find out.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Bauman..
Thank you for your prompt response. I want to thank you immensily for providing this forum. I was really panicing and it was certainly making my condition worse. When I came across this page and saw how common some of the conditions and experineces I had were it helped tremendously and began to calm me down and put my mind at ease a little. I had not taken any action to address my cronic tinnitus since the 14 months of it’s onset and it is so helpful to know there are so many options for addressing and helping it. You provide such a valuable service for all of us here and I am forever grateful for this.
As far as the tympanogram @ 226 Hz for the right ear it is just a straight line across the bottom with a slight up movement at the very end that just stops at the 0 mark at the bottom of the graph, Vol 1.99 with no reading under compliance, pressure or Gradient. The left ear is very low: Vol 1.4 Pressure 96 daPa, Compliance .84 ml, Gradient 65 daPa.
I feel like I have had the congestion in my ear and also the jaw poping since the onset of the cronic tinnitus or even before. The jaw popping is not that frequent and happens for a short period of time (few days or week) then goes away. The most reactioin I get to increased volume in the tinnitus is when I press on my head just above my ear, the harder I press the louder it gets. It happens on both sides, but is more intense on the left. I also get volume and intensity increase when I turn my neck either direction or clench my jaw like I mentioned.
It seems like there are multiple things going on… the prolonged loud noise exposure which I’m sure is connedted to the high frequency hearing loss, something going on with my Eustachian tube and congestion there, and cervical spine and maybe TMJ/TMD.
I had mentioned earlier I am about to leave for a 2 week intensive course where I will be out of town and off the grid, so I won’t be able to see a chiropractor or anybody during that time.
Like I mentioned I had not really taken any action to address my tinnitus for the last fourteen months, but after I saw the audiologist I started wanting to take action. I started to feel like my tinnitus had gotten worse and it started concerning me about how it changed with the pressure I put on my head and I started panicing a little bit that something was going on with pressure in my head, brain, skull etc. When I came across this thread it put my mind at ease a little though. It may be that it only seems worse because I am putting more attention on it though.
The one thing I have that I didn’t specifically see other people mention in this thread was the fact that my tinnitus increases in loudness and intensity when I press on my head above my ear. Is this common as well? It’s that in combination with the no pressure reading that has me a little concerned. Are there other health issues that could be causing this that’s specific to this phenomenon other than the ones we had mentioned?
It seems like most people here have gotten MRI’s before they even started writing you here, which is something I havent had done and will prob not be able to any time soon.
Since I won’t be able to do anything for the next few weeks, I was wondering if I need to be concerned. Also how important do you think it is it to get an MRI? I’d like to have a littel peace of mind leaving for this course.
Again thank so much for the time you commit to this it so increadibly valuable.
Much Gratitude…neptune
Hi Neptune:
Panicking and anxiety certainly don’t help ear problems. They typically get worse as your anxiety/stress go up. So you need to learn how to calm yourself down. Tinnitus particularly increases with anxiety and worry.
If you can habituate to your tinnitus, you don’t need to worry about it. Just continue to ignore it as much as possible and let it fade into the background. However, when it spikes and becomes excessively loud, it is certainly difficult not to panic and worry about it (but you still need to do learn to relax and not worry).
I should have mentioned this before, but when you put pressure on your head in various places and your tinnitus goes away, that is a symptom of likely having circulation problems (cardiology), but when you press and your tinnitus gets worse, then that is likely related to somatic tinnitus and your neck/head/jaw being out of proper alignment. So I don’t think you have heart/circulation problems from what you have told me.
With your flat-line tympanogram, I’d go to another audiologist and have another one done–to get a second reading/opinion. And have the complete audiological evaluation at the same time. If the results are the same, then I’d suggest you go to an ENT and find out what is going on. If the results are more normal, then I wouldn’t worry about it.
If your tympanogram is really a flat (or almost flat) line, then your audiogram should show you have a conductive hearing loss (or at least a mixed loss). You don’t mention that fact. So a second opinion on the audiogram would be useful.
People have MRIs because they go to doctors who don’t have a clue, so they order MRIs. Unless there is a very good reason to suspect you have an acoustic neuroma, or enlarged vestibular aqueducts, or a rare condition is suspected, I don’t see an MRI as being necessary.
From everything you have told me, I think your problems are related to your neck and not other causes. As such, there is no panic to get things attended to–just that the sooner you do it, the sooner you’ll feel better and hopefully your tinnitus will go away or drop in volume and intrusiveness. That’s my feeling on your condition.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Bauman…
Thank you again for responding so quickly, you were able to put my mind at some ease again befor I leave forf my course. I so admire your dedication to helping people here.
Just to review…cronic tinnitus 24/7 for the last 15 months is common. My tinnitus could be from long term exposure to loud music and hearing loss. It is normal for my tinnitus to increase with pressure on my head above my ear and turning neck. There could be something going on with my Eustatian Tube, congestion in the middle ear. Aslo the upper cervical spine and TMJ.
It’s hard not to believe that my tinnitus is due to exposure to loud noises and hearing loss as well as some kind of abnormal pressure in my ear. The other question I have is can I have multiple factors causing the same tinnitus sound and if so would getting my upper spine aligned and possible TMJ/TMD dealt with solve the problem, esp if it was tinnitus resulting from prolonged exposure to loud music and hearing loss. In other words if you have both or multiple types of tinnitus would fixing the somatic tinnitus do anything?
I will plan on starting with the things you mentioned when I get back and can make appointments, then report back and let you the results of that.
Thank you so much once again for all your help and valuable information!
With Gratitude….Neptune
Hi Neptune:
You can have two kinds of tinnitus at a time. If they both have similar sounds, getting rid of one kind wouldn’t appear to have done much, but it may reduce the volume of your remaining tinnitus.Then you have to work on the other kind and get it under control. There is a third complicating factor–sometimes tinnitus will take on a life of its own–so removing the cause doesn’t make any difference. This is because of your emotional and psychological makeup and failure to properly deal with your tinnitus in the first place. But you can work on this and get your tinnitus under control. It just takes longer. For example, some people have screaming tinnitus and say “it’s no big deal” while others can only hear their tinnitus in total quiet–yet they get bent out of shape over almost nothing. These latter people are the ones that are letting their tinnitus take on a life of its own and they do pay for it.
That is why you want to learn and practice good techniques for getting and keeping your tinnitus under control as laid out in my book “Take Control of Your Tinnitus”. Chapter 16 helps you understand how to do this.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor,
I have tinnitus (I think that’s what it is) when I turn my head to the left and only when I do that (I hear my heartbeat), the rest of the time I don’t have anything, but when I have my head turned to the left and I press in my neck (where I can feel my heartbeat) the tinnitus stops and starts again when I stop pressing. Could it be pulsatile tinnitus or is it somatic tinnitus as well ? The tinnitus only last a few seconds as well, and this always happen in the morning only.
Thank you
Hi Vika:
What you are experiencing is pulsatile tinnitus which is really one form of somatic tinnitus. When you press on your neck, you block the artery and since no blood flows at that point, you can’t hear your heartbeat. But when you let the pressure off, it returns.
Cordially,
Neil
Happy New Dr Bauman…im glad to come across this thread..Im a healthy 53 year old male that had a very rough chiropractic neck adjustment in August. Twenty four hours later i was suffering from tinnitus in my left ear that has now spread to both ears.
About 6 weeks ago i started experiencing vertigo that seems to be BPPV after reading the research on different types.
Tonally the tinnitus has backed off enough to tolerate and although I need masking sounds to sleep i am able to function.
The tinnitus sound can be modulated by turning my head hard left and also from moving my jaw forward. It also can be modulated by applying pressure just below the left temple.
Stiffness in my neck is right sided and that was the side that was violently adjusted. The vertigo has backed off to a slight dizziness over the last 2 weeks but the ringing is disruptive to my life although it has modulated to a lower constant tone. Could it all be healing on its own? Reading on this thread upper cervical issue seems possible for sure…..thanks for your input….much appreciated
Hi Lane:
From what you say, it sounds like you had a typical “bone cracker” conventional chiropractic treatment, and it has left you “out of whack”. Nothing at all like the gentle upper cervical chiropractor treatments. I think you need to go to an upper cervical chiropractor and undo the damage the other chiropractor did and get yourself “in whack” again. Your vertigo could also be because of your neck out and not because of BPPV. I don’t believe you are healing at all–just getting worse. I’d go to an upper cervical guy soon.
You can find an upper cervical chiropractor at http://www.upcspine.com/ and then click on “Practitioners”.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for this prompt reply… I live on Oahu but i think I’ve found a really solid practitioner on Maui…Dr Elster…Ive reached out to her and will look forward to getting myself healthy again…Thx again for your attention…Lane
Hi Dr Bauman,
It’s amazing to see all the advice you have given. It’s been interesting to read it all. For the past month I have had a “whooshing” sound in my left ear. Depending the way my neck is, is when I hear it. I turn my head right and I can hear it, my neck down I can also hear it but when I turn my neck left I can’t hear it. I don’t hear it 24/7 but does frequently come. I am yet to see my dr, next week I have an appointment booked but seeing your advice, I could also find a chiropractor, too? Thank you
Hi Ned:
Is the whooshing sound in unison to your heartbeat? If so, you have pulsatile tinnitus. The whooshing sound is one of the pulsatile tinnitus kind of sounds.
Since your tinnitus changes with the position of your neck, I’m certain your neck is out of proper alignment. Going to an upper cervical spine chiropractor (not a conventional one) would be a good idea.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for your reply. Yes the wooshing sound is in rhythm with my heartbeat. Your advice is much appreciated. I will try find a local one to see.
Hi,
Back in the end of June 2018 I suddenly developed tinnitus sounds like a 10 000 hz horizontal line .2 weeks later I was getting Hyperacusis like symtons.I was sensitive to sharp sounds,loud conversation etc.Saw my ENT and had a hearing test which indicated no loss.He told me it was in my brain.I wish he would have counseled me that it may have an emotional effect in terms of quality of life and it’s impact.6 weeks later in addition to tinnitus I diagnosed migraines with MOH.At the time I was taking Gabapentin,Baclofen, and percocet.I got off percocet and Gabapentin and recieved Botox for migraine but I have what I think is Daily Persistent Headaches.Going to a chiropractor to work on my neck.I have noticed that biting down on my teeth ,and moving my jaw forward and down increases the tinnitus pitch.Any suggestions.Life is little miserable with these conditions.
Hi Patrick:
Since you can change your tinnitus by biting down or moving your jaw indicates that you have somatic tinnitus to some degree. Going to an upper cervical chiropractor and/or having massage therapy can often help in such situations.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi doctor, so if my pulsatile tinnitus happens only when I turn my head or after sleeping in a bad position and having a painful neck, does that mean that my neck is the cause ? Or is it something cardiac ? I am 24 years old, never had any health issue so I don’t understand how it can be cardiac. However it all happened after I stretched too and my neck became very painful.
Hi Vika:
Very likely. Like you say, it is doubtful that it is related to your heart. I’d go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and have him check out your C1 and C2 vertebrae for proper alignment. You can find one of these special chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ and then click on “Practitioners”.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,
About 7 months ago, I started getting this frequent pulsing in my ear in the middle of the night that would wake me up. I noticed as I started to relax it would slow down and eventually stop and I can try and go back to sleep. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in November, and my anxiety does not seem to help. I currently have my blood pressure under control to where I no longer need to take blood pressure medication. As of the last 2 month, the pulsing in my ear comes and goes at various times of the day, and does NOT coincide with my heartbeat. About a month ago, I started getting the ringing in my ear, and it seems to get worse when I lay down at night. Recently, maybe about a week or so, I noticed crackling in my ear when I am laying down. For example, If I lay on my left side, which is the ear that has the most pulsing and ringing, then I move to turn on my back, my ear would pulse like 4 or 5 times and I hear crackling in my ear. It would happen when i move my head around on the pillow. Sometimes the sides of my neck feel a little pain. As well as my ear. The ear feels like it is full. I went to see two ENT doctors, and they did not see anything in the ear. They gave me a hearing test and tried to listen for the pulsing, but of course in the 40 seconds he was listening, he could not hear anything at the time. The hearing test came back perfect. I noticed the ringing is happening a little more often while I am sitting up now, but gets louder when I am laying down. This problem has made me feel so depressed since I can not figure out what is causing it or how it happened in the first place. I cry everyday because I am afraid that there is nothing that can be done as I have heard with many. Advise would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Tracy:
One possibility is the your neck is out of proper alignment and is pinching the vestibulocochlear nerve (8th cranial nerve) and that could be causing the tinnitus and the feeling that your ear is full due to Eustachian tube dysfunction.
Another possibility is that you have tonic tensor tympani syndrome (TTTS). This could also e because your neck is out of proper alignment.
As a first step, I’d go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and have him check that your C1 and C2 vertebrae are in proper alignment. That could be all that is wrong. You can find these special kind of chiropractors by going to http://www.upcspine.com/ and clicking on “Practitioners”.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr,
I have been suffering from both pulsatile and somatic for the past 2 years. Pulsatile goes up and down through out the day however somatic with a constant noise in the right ear 24/7. Nothing found in the MRI, Inner ear and cochlea is all normal. I am currently suffering from anxiety disorder not sure if either or is the reason for triggering each other.
I also have the same issues as others mentioned here when I turn my head left or right high pitch hissing sound.
Have an appointment with ENT specialist.
Do you know if any other reasons for this high constant hissing noise.
Thanks for your time.
Hi Mac:
One very common reason for high-pitched tinnitus is high-frequency hearing loss. You can have tinnitus from several causes at once–such as pulsatile tinnitus from vascular problems, somatic tinnitus from a tight neck, etc. and neurophysiologic tinnitus from hearing loss or from taking one of the many ototoxic drugs.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks for your response Dr. Neil.
I met with the ENT specialist and after reviewing the MRI report he said everything is normal and not sure what is causing the noise plus pulsation.
I do have a very mild hearing loss as per the ENT.
I am not sure where to go from here.
Hello. My problems started about a year ago. I have loud whooshing noise and a heartbeat like sound. It’s only in my right eat and when I turn my head right the noise almost disappears all the way. When I turn it left it’s gets louder. It’s to the point where it’s driving me crazy. Please help.
Hi Jessica:
Are these sounds you hear in unison with your heartbeat or not? If yes, then I’d suggest you see a vascular surgeon as it sounds like pulsatile tinnitus. If no, I think your upper cervical spine is out of proper alignment. If this is true, I go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and have things properly aligned. I think then you’ll find that these sounds disappear. You can find an upper cervical chiropractor under the practitioners tab at http://www.upcspine.com/ .
Cordially,
Neil
A nurse practitioner told me it wasn’t fluid in my ear. How do I get it out? If this doesn’t help I’ll go see the ear doc.
Hi Jessica:
If I were you, I’d do what I suggested you do and see an upper cervical chiropractor first. You want to treat the basic cause, not put a band-aid over a secondary issue.
Cordially,
Neil
Dr. Neil,
I’ve read most of your comments and replies from 2015 to current and I find a lot of similarities in my situation but wanted to ask for your advice. My ringing in the ears started about 2 months ago and I haven’t been able to tie it to any 1 event in my life that I thought, could explain why it suddenly showed up. I am 56 years old.
I had 2 major head on vehicle accidents, 1 in Oct. 1988 and 1 in Dec. 2014 that was severe enough to break my back. In May 2018, all my teeth were removed for dentures but haven’t been able to wear them due to bad dentist fitting. In Oct. 2018 I became clean from a severe 10 year opiate addiction, I used Kratom for the withdrawal process that was about 4 months. In Nov. thru Dec. 2018 I went through an unusual amount of stress. In mid Jan. 2019 a 1 week bout of stress, but I have always lived a stress-free life.
Within the last two weeks, I was forced to discontinue my SSRI’s but don’t seem to have any side effects or complications from them. Dec. 19th I had to get new computer glasses because the stress I went thru (computer related) put an extreme amount of strain on them so I could barely see. The RX’d me a heavy prism that I’ve spent the last 3 weeks trying to get used to them. Now they are taking all the prism out and I should get them back by the end of the week.
I consider the ringing to be a high-pitched scream, I turn my head to the left it gets louder, nothing to the right, of course when I yawn, but I found that applying pressure to the roof of my mouth, it gets louder. I found a note in my calendar that dates the ringing starting around Dec. 11th 2018.
I would certainly appreciate your advice.
Thank You in Advance,
Sincerely,
Dave
Dave
Hi Dr. Neil,
I had just left a comment asking for your opinion on the home page and then saw your book on Ototoxic drugs that sparked my interest. I mentioned that I had abruptly stopped my SSRI’s on Feb. 1, 2019 but failed to say what they were. I’ve been on these 2 medications since late 2015, Seroquel XR 50mg, 2 @ bed-time & Cymbalta 60mg, 1 @ wake-time. I owe my quality lifestyle to the balance of these 2 drugs taken at the correct times and dosing.
I had no Withdrawals from the abrupt stop or side affects to speak of. I see my psych doc in 2 days and I’m sure she’s not going to be happy but funding became the issue. I was sort of tense the first day, maybe 2 but I knew what to expect but it never showed up.
My Tinnitus started a month before that so I can’t say stopping the SSRIs effected my Tinnitus. I believe it made me more aware of it though. I thought it was a cool white noise at first, one I didn’t have to generate to help me go to sleep, I do use it for now to aid in sleep. It screams so loud now that I’m constantly wondering what’s leaking, or who’s behind me. I want to know what to expect next so I’m not caught off guard by anything. Half the battle to getting thru a symptom and getting thru it comfortably is knowing what to expect. So many get folks get freaked out when something happens that they should have known about or knew about but didn’t believe it. Knowing what to expect alleviates some of the uneasy pinned up stress over excessive worrying.
In my particular case, the SSRIs didn’t play a role in my Tinnitus, I think…
Regards,
Dave
Hi Dave:
You’ve really had a lot on your plate, haven’t you? Who knows exactly what caused her tinnitus. It may be a combination of several factors. I sure wouldn’t be surprised that sure C1 and C2 vertebrae are out of proper alignment and that could be causing some of your tinnitus, especially your somatic tinnitus where it changes when you move your head or pressure tongue to your roof your mouth the sort of thing.
If you are so inclined, I think it would be a good idea to see an upper cervical spine chiropractor and make sure your C1 and C2 vertebrae are properly aligned. you can find one near you by going to http://www.upcspine.com/ and clicking on the “Practitioners” tab.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank You Dr. Neil:
I certainly will see a chiropractor making sure they keep my C1 & C2 vertebrae in mind while checking alignment. With so much that’s happened in a relatively short timeframe, I really was at a loss.
Although the Tinnitus really hasn’t had a dramatic affect on my life, at this point, I certainly don’t want it to impart my hearing. Loosing hearing all together & or stability would have a profound impact on my life.
At this time, I’m sort of enjoying the built in white noise even though its like letting the air out of a ballon, that high pitch squeal. It effectively drowns out ambient noise but I’m constantly thinking something leaking. 🙂
I will return with the results and any info I can obtain for you.
Regards,
Dave
Hi Dave:
Just be sure the chiropractor is a upper cervical spine chiropractor, not just a conventional chiropractor.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, I had ringing in my left ear, I went to an upper cervical chriropractic and he discovered a misalign atlas C1 and c2 he did an adjustment and the ringing changed sound but didnt went away? I’m on my 2nd day after the adjustment is there a chance of it going away? I’m only 25 yrs old? Thanks in advance! Anything helps
I went to an ENT and I had minor hearing loss according to one test in the high pitch 4k hz and 35db, I asked the doctor if that could be because of the white noise I hear in the back of my head, he said could be, he was not of much help didn’t try to identify what could be causing it and just told me to live with it, i ask could my neck had something to do with it and said I’m not a neck doctor, so i had pain in my neck before my ear, so I decided to go upper cervical chriropractic and he discovered the misalignment, I had no pressure in my left ear, and feel fullness at times, and ringing changes sometimes is low and sometimes is high, sometimes in bed is low, it used to change tone when I moved my neck hard to one side, after the adjustment I felt a difference in tone right away, it wasnt as annoying as it was, but the volume was the same, is being 2 days after my adjustment and still sometimes I hear it sometimes I dont hear it that loud, i always hear white noise low in the back of my head regardless of the ringing? Could this go away or it maybe hearing loss? I’m sorry to bother you, I had lack of information on my previous comment so decided to give you guys a more detailed info on my condition, and give thanks in advise for any info! Thank you!
Hi Alex:
A hearing notch at 4 kHz is commonly caused by exposing your ears to loud sounds. This is called a “noise notch”. If your tinnitus is due to noise, then you need to use other techniques to deal with your tinnitus as I explained previously.
I’m sure you have two basic kinds of tinnitus. The upper cervical chiropractor is dealing with one kind–the tinnitus that changes with body movements. But that leaves the other–the “white noise” kind–probably due to exposing your ears to loud sounds. This kind of tinnitus often accompanies hearing loss such as you now have and typically is permanent.
However, that should not be a problem. You can learn to ignore it and over time it will fade into the background so you are not often even aware you have tinnitus, but it will always be there if you listen for it.
I’d suggest getting my book “Take Control of Your Tinnitus” to learn how to effectively deal with this tinnitus–especially Chapter 16. You can get it at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ .
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Alex:
It’s good that you are getting your C1 and C2 into proper alignment. That your tinnitus changed shows that good things are happening. You may need several treatments to make the adjustment hold. Once it is holding, then you can see whether your tinnitus is still there or is fading away.
But it also depends on whether your tinnitus is solely somatic tinnitus–in which case your neck, jaw and facial muscles may then need some massage therapy to loosen them up so they don’t send somatic signals to your brain that are interpreted as tinnitus.
If your tinnitus is also due to noise exposure for example, then you may get the somatic tinnitus under control by the above, but you’ll have to deal with the noise-induced tinnitus using other techniques.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor Neil! I had one more question I have 4 wisdom tooth and they are impacted, oral surgeon told me that he would not recommend removing them due to high risks, but my question is that I press with my hand on the left side of my “bottom” jaw and my ringing changes tone get high pitch, I dont have pain sometimes, could my tinnitus be from tmj? Even tho I had 45db hearing loss in 4k hz according to audiogram? Or could that hizzing sound mask the sounds from the hearing test? Making it look like I have hearing loss in 4k hz? Could that be a possibility? And the reason why I ask is because us people with this condition often can’t find peace untill they find what is causing it, and the hearing test I had was a regular sound test, but the hizzing in my ear is the same sound as the one from 4k hz? Could my jaw be the problem and the hizzing sound is making the audiogram look like I have hearing loss ? I also have an mri schedule for my jaw, I will come back to the forum after that mri and inform you of the results, only when a push with my hand on the bottom of my jaw close to my joint is when I notice the change, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for this forum and us people suffering from this condition, I’m sorry if I’m bothering you too much but is so many questions and no answers, thank you doc.
Hi Alex:
First, tinnitus does not affect the results of your hearing test (or not very much). If you find that the tones and your tinnitus are so similar that one hides in the other, just ask your audiologist to change the tone from a single tone to a double tone (e.g. beep-beep) which makes it easier to determine which is the real tone and which is tinnitus. Even better, if their audiometer has it, have them switch it to warble tones. I find warble tones are really easy to distinguish from tinnitus, even at faint levels.
I’d like to see your audiogram. You mention you have a 45 dB loss at 4 kHz. If this is a dip there, they call that a noise notch and it indicates you have damaged your hearing due to exposing your ears to loud noise. Thus, your tinnitus will be around that frequency too and is caused by your hearing loss.
Then, on top of that, you have problems with your jaw/neck not being aligned properly and that causes additional tinnitus. Getting things properly aligned can get rid of this additional tinnitus, but will not affect your noise-induced tinnitus.
Note: you may have TMJ problems, but often the real cause is that your C1 and C2 vertebrae are not in proper alignment which pulls on head and neck muscles that can result in TMJ problems. So you’d be wise to go to a upper cervical spine chiropractor (not a conventional chiropractor) and make sure your C1 and C2 are properly aligned before you worry about your TMJ. Otherwise its like trying to fix cracks in the wall when the real problem is the foundation is sinking and causing the cracks. You can find a upper cervical chiropractor at http://www.upcspine.com/ .
Additional confirmation that your neck is out is if you can change your tinnitus in pitch and/or loudness by turning your head all the way left and right. If your tinnitus spikes when you do this, or if your tinnitus changes when you clench your teeth, you know your neck is out.
Cordially,
Neil
Yeah I only have one tinnitus which is a hizzing sound I feel like I got knocked out that sound hizzing in my head and is loud in silence, that hizzing can get loud if I apply pressure on my lower jaw, which could be somatic tinnitus, but I don’t know if noise induced damage can cause somatic tinnitus, I know I can change the loudness by pressing my jaw, and I know that when I’m anxious or depress I get pressure or pulling from my left ear (damaged one) and tingling in my left eye lid, same side. So I just can’t put this together and is beating me down.
Hi Alex:
You can have noise-induced tinnitus, but if you TMJ is out, you can still modulate it by pressing on certain parts of your face and jaw. What you are really doing is causing somatic tinnitus which is superimposed on your existing tinnitus and the two together can make your existing tinnitus louder.
I know this is true as it works for me too. But when I got my neck into proper alignment, then I couldn’t generate the somatic tinnitus anymore–so I just had my regular tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
My audiogram is perfect 0 on my left side and 10 on 3k and 45 on 4k then it goes back up to 5 ag 6k is just that big notch at 45db 4k hz, I’m sorry I couldn’t find a way to upload that picture :-/
Hi Alex:
So you have a very definite noise notch in your right ear, but not in your left ear. I am used to visualizing audiograms from just seeing the hearing levels by frequency.
Cordially,
Neil
One more thing I did had my neck adjusted around 1 month or so, it was misaligned vertically not horizontally and I got precise adjustment,
Hell Dr. Bauman,
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions on this forum.
I have distressing pulsatile tinnitus, 75% L, 25% right.
I have many “somatic” symptoms that change volume of the tinnitus, but I also had imaging that showed bilateral narrowing of the transverse sinus 50% right and 80% left. due to prominent arachnoid granulations.
There has been some talk of stenting the sinus to stop the pulsatile tinnitus by opening up the sinus, but also talk about muscle issues in my (often tense) neck as the possible reason for the tinnitus.
Is there a way to determine which might be the cause?
When I put pressure on the pulsing in my neck, I assume near the jugular, it does not seem to change the sound which I think it would if it were the sinus narrowing.
Here are the many somatic effects with my tinnitus:
Makes the tinnitus worse:
Turn head to left or right,
Yawn
Chew
Push down on top of head
Pull down on upper cheeks (near nose).
Walking (stepping motion) often aggravates the sound
After being in loud environments
Makes the tinnitus better:
Tilt head down
Pull in chin and stretch up the back of neck
Clench my jaw
Lean on my chin
Go into push up position
Pushing on trigger points below cheekbone in front of ear, or below skull behind ear.
Blow and hold pressure into ears through nose, sound goes away
Laying down on my right side is generally, but not always quieter, and sound often switches sides when I switch sides
Other notes:
It is usually worse in the morning, and generally quieter in the evening.
It is usually pulsating but also sometimes steady, or both!
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR ANY THOUGHTS!
Chris
Hi Chris:
I don’t know anything about how your sinuses affect pulsatile tinnitus. So I can’t give you an opinion on the possible success of the stent. However, I know what I’d do if I were you.
Since you already know you neck is “tight” and your somatic tinnitus comes and goes, and from all the symptoms you have and can change with pressing on them or changing body position, I think that the first thing to do is see an upper cervical chiropractor (NOT a conventional one) and make sure your upper neck is properly aligned. These guys are so good they can align you within 1 degree.
You can find an upper cervical chiropractor at http://www.upcspine.com/ and then click on “Practitioners”.
Once I’d know my neck is properly aligned, then a massage therapist could work on your neck, shoulders and head muscles to make sure they are all properly relaxed and don’t have any trigger points left so they pull your neck out again.
At that point (and this may take a number of treatments from both the chiropractor and your massage therapist) you should not have any somatic issues that would affect your tinnitus.
If after all that, you still have pulsatile tinnitus, only then would I check further afield and think about your sinuses, etc., but I don’t think you’ll need to.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,
I think that makes sense. My only concern is if the transverse sinus narrowing is dangerous, but none of the doctors have said it is.
thank you
Chris
hello Dr.
I hear a very high frequency (16-17 khz approx, a bit distorted)
The sound increases when I move my neck to the left, to the right or when I open my mouth, etc.
This sound usually appears, when I watch TV, I listen to music, I play guitar or there is noise. It is very annoying, since the frequency is very high and it does not allow me to concentrate or watch a quiet movie.
When I am in a quiet room, the noise disappears (I do not hear tinnitus)
I always have muscle, neck and back pain.
Thank you, I await your response
Hi Nicolas:
Since your tinnitus changes when you move your neck and jaw, I’d say you have a form of somatic (body) tinnitus–typically caused by your neck or jaw or both being out of proper alignment.
You say the sound usually appears when you watch TV or play the guitar. Is this because of the particular way you are sitting/holding your head, or is it because of the sound? For example, if you sit watching the TV with the sound turned off do you still hear it or only with the sound turned on?
Since you have muscle, neck and back pain, I think that the first thing to do is see an upper cervical chiropractor (NOT a conventional one) and make sure your upper neck is properly aligned. These guys are so good they can align you within 1 degree.
You can find an upper cervical chiropractor at http://www.upcspine.com/ and then click on “Practitioners”.
Once I’d know my neck is properly aligned, then you may find that a massage therapist could work on your neck, shoulders and head muscles to make sure they are all properly relaxed and don’t have any trigger points left so they pull your neck out again.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Doctor,
Noise appears when there is sound. (all kinds of sounds)
For example, if I turn on a TV with active sound and normal volume, the annoying frequency appears in my ears of some (16-17 khz distorted).
The sound I hear is similar to the interference that old TVs produced, and when you turned them off, the frequency disappeared.
Indeed, when I move my neck to the left, it sounds louder than when I move it to the right. (I do not know what I’m hearing is the one that’s playing)
* When I speak, I feel as if the ear oscillates and the noise appears.
This started 2 weeks ago and initially the frequency was in the left ear, I do not know if it’s just the left one or also the right one.
My exams show a good hearing and a small sound loss in the left ear.
When I am in a quiet room, I can hear and feel the silence and it is great.
The strange thing is that everything is activated when there is SOUND.
Thanks, I’m listening.
** The guitar was just an example. =)
Hi Nicolas:
You could have two or more forms of tinnitus. I still think that your neck is out and going to an upper cervical chiropractor would be very beneficial is dealing with your somatic tinnitus.
At the same time, I think you have some sort of reactive tinnitus as well. Read my comprehensive article on reactive tinnitus and see what you think in relation to the tinnitus you only hear in the presence of noise. You can read it at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/reactive-tinnitus/ .
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor Bauman,
I first experienced tinnitus about a year and a half ago.
The audiologist says my hearing is ok and GP says ears are clear and ENT doc says likely caused from anti anxiety meds that I had taken for 6 months
when it started but have since been off them for over a year now and the ringing has been about the same since the onset. I notice the ringing increase when I put my head down touching my chin to the sternum. The ringing may also get a little stronger when turning my neck left and right and opening jaw but only a mild difference. I have read there is no cure for Somatic Tinnitus and only limited treatments, however, you recommend Upper Cervical Chiropractors often so your experience seems like this is a very worthwhile treatment. A friend recommended Dr Dennis Harding in CA who specializes in Atlas Orthogonal. Does this sound like the next step for me too.
Thanks so much for your input.
Hi Shawn:
It is very possible that your tinnitus did indeed originate from taking an anti-anxiety medication for 6 months. Some drugs cause permanent tinnitus in some people. So stopping the drug doesn’t always let the tinnitus fade away. This may be your case.
Now you notice certain body movements make your existing tinnitus temporarily worse. This is somatic tinnitus as you correctly point out.
Going to an upper cervical chiropractor can likely get rid of this tinnitus component, but I doubt that it will make any difference to your drug-induced tinnitus.
So if all you really want is to get rid of the somatic component in your tinnitus, then trying an upper cervical chiropractor is a good way to go. At least then you will know whether your tinnitus was caused by your neck (and other structures) being out of proper alignment.
Atlas Orthogonal is one of the 10 or so different methods of upper cervical chiropractic. All of them work–some better than others depending on the specific condition you have. It’s definitely worth a try.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, DR. Bauman.
4 weeks ago I started to experience a low pitched tinnitus that I can only perceive in quite rooms or when I go to sleep, I have no hearing loss, what I do have is an underbite, it’s an ortognatic issue which I had wore braces for about 1 year now to correct my teeth and I have double jaw surgery schedule in 3 weeks, when I move my jaw either to the sides, backwards or to the front I noticed that the sound intensity increases, could my tinnitus be related to my ortognatic issue, and if so could the surgery make it worse? Thank you in advance
Hi Jonathan:
What happened just before your tinnitus began 4 weeks ago? What was different that might have caused your tinnitus? Any changes in medications? Extra depression or anxiety? Back or neck tight? Exposed your ears to louder sounds? or what?
The cause of your tinnitus and the increased tinnitus with moving your jaw may be unrelated, but the jaw movement increases your basic tinnitus. The surgery could correct this latter tinnitus increase, but may or may not affect your basic tinnitus. And yes, there is always the chance it could make your tinnitus worse–at least in the short term while thing heal and get used to the new alignment.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for your quick reply, anxiety for sure, been having it for ar least 3 months before my tinnitus onset, I just woke up one morning with the tinnitus, I wasnt expose to louder noises the night before or anything like that, my audiogram is completely normal. I am 23 yo, regarding medicine I have been taking clonazepam 0.50 a day for about 1.5 months to help the anxiety, what are your thoughts about it?
Would you recommend to avoid the surgery?
One more thing I forgot to mention, I have had bruxism for several years
Hi Jonathan:
Clonazepam can can and does cause tinnitus in hundreds upon hundreds of people according to all the reports sent to the FDA. So it is quite possible that is the cause of your underlying tinnitus. Then your jaw problems and bruxism can make it worse with the somatic kind of tinnitus.
I’m not a medical doctor and don’t know your medical conditions so I can’t comment on that. Personally, if you doctor recommends the surgery and has no concerns about it, I’d probably follow his advice. If you are concerned, get a second opinion. Then make up your mind.
Cordially,
Neil
One last question, does stopping clonazepusually stops the tinnitus?
Hi Jonathan:
I don’t have any specific information on that. So the answer is, “It all depends”. You could try stopping the Clonazepam and see whether your tinnitus goes away in a couple of weeks or so. But if you do stop, you need to slowly taper down first as stopping cold turkey could cause worse tinnitus (among other things). It also depends on your emotional/psychological make-up and how you deal with your tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
I suddenly got this whooshing sound in my left ear about 4 days back. Its like a constant wind sound. But when i close my ear or press my neck the sound stops, sometimes when im walking it stops for a while b4 coming back. Is this tinnitus? Will it go away soon?
Hi Karuna:
Yes, the whooshing sound is one of the many tinnitus sounds. Since you can stop it by pressing on your neck, I think you have somatosensory (body generated) tinnitus. It is almost certain that the sounds you hear are the blood flowing through blood vessels in your neck/face/head near your ears. When you press on these blood vessels in your neck the sound stops as you temporarily stop the blood flow.
Now you need to find out what caused it. Did you take any new drugs or change the dose on existing medications in the past month or so? Do you have any cardiovascular conditions? Those are two common possibilities for this kind of tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil Bauman,
I discovered my tinnitus when I closed my ears really hard. It increased because I read on internet and obsessed over it . It’s been 6 months and it has never returned back to normal levels. All my audiograms are normal.
Also when I look up or turn my face extremely to the left , or clench my jaw tightly it increases.
Please suggest me what steps should I take. Where to go from here.( I recently shifted to Dubai)( also before I never noticed it except at night and it was very mild, I also have a habit of rolling my neck until my bones make a clicking sound which I stopped soon after I knew about my tinnitus)
Hi Amel:
Most people can hear tinnitus if they are in a totally quiet room for 15 minutes or more because your brain turns up its internal volume to try to hear something. Then obsessing about this tells your limbic system this sound is important so it turns up the internal volume even more and you hear it all the time. That is why you want to just ignore tinnitus and let it fade into the background.
You also have somatic tinnitus since you can make it worse by turning your head, etc. If you go to a chiropractor and get your neck vertebrae properly aligned, this should go away, but it may not take away the underlying tinnitus (unless that tinnitus is also somatic tinnitus).
From what little you have told me, I think the best plan is to quit focusing on your tinnitus and focus instead on the loves of your life. When you totally ignore your tinnitus it will begin to fade into the background and you will not notice it for hours on end. Thus, it becomes a non-issue.
And if you somatic tinnitus bothers you, go to a chiropractor and get your neck properly aligned.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil Bauman, I went to a regular chiropractor back in Dec 2018. I had a neck adjustment and about 20minutes after my left ear started to make a hissing, ringing sound. I had no issues prior. It does change with head movements. I have an appointment with a upper cervical on Thursday. Is this a type of somatic tinnitus that could be helped by seeing a upper cervical chiropractor possibly for a misaligned atlas irritating the hearing nerve. Thanks Ron
Hi Ron:
Sounds like the first chiropractor put you “out” when trying to fix your neck, thus giving you tinnitus. So the upper cervical guy should be able to put you back “in”. At least that is what I expect happened/will happen. Hopefully, then your tinnitus will go away either right away or in a few days as the nerve gets back to normal.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi neil, I also have been to ent, mri of the brain and neck that showed normal findings. Thanks again Ron
Hi Ron:
Upper cervical chiropractors take precision x-rays at specific angles and can thus see things that are “out” that doctors miss on MRIs. I think the doctors are looking for gross “outs” whereas, the upper cervical guys are looking for “minor” outs that cause the problems that the doctors ignore as not being significant.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi neil, the chiro stated per xrays my neck is way out. C1, is one way, c2 is the other and also c3 is misaligned. hes did one adjustment with several to follow. No change in tinnitus after first adjustment. He stated that there is compression in the neck from the misalignment. Thanks ron
Hi Ron:
It’s good to know what is out and needs proper aligning. There is no guarantee that it will fix the tinnitus, but it should make it a lot less if it doesn’t. And you should feel better all over once your neck is properly aligned and holds its proper position.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi neil, I’m scheduled for several appoint with the upper cervical chirpractor, he stated it will take alittle time to straighten neck out and see what happens. Thanks Ron
Hi neil, Another thing I notice with the left ear tinnitus is if I clench my neck while lifting or pulling, pushing I will get a really loud hissing noise out left ear. When I stop it goes back to the normal hissing ringing sound. What is your thought of this. Thanks Ron
Hi Ron:
Clenching your teeth makes tinnitus worse. This happens with most people–you might consider it normal. It is a form of somatic (body) tinnitus. I get it too–just tried it right now and my tinnitus got worse instantly for the duration I clenched my teeth. This can also be made worse if your neck is out of proper alignment.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil, Thanks for the information. I’ve spent the last 8months battling the noise in my ear. Its gave me alot of depression and anxiety. Ent and primary doctor stated there was nothing that could be done. I go thursday to the upper cervical specialist and I will let you know how everything goes. I’ve searched out every doctor with no help. I would not stop searching for answers due to the way the ringing came on after a regular neck manipulation. Thank you very much , Ron
i have been reading all the things on this page everyone has been posting.i have had it for a little over 2 months and have been trying everything i see you say to go to a chiro. well i finally did. went last week,did exrays. went back yesterday and he told me he can help.i am out of alignment really bad.he says he can help me.it will take time. i start next week 3 times a week for a month. he said it will be challenging due to my occupation but there is hope it will take long than normal.
Hi Stan:
That’s good that he thinks he can help you. What kind of upper cervical guy is he–Blair? NUCCA? Atlas Orthogonal?, etc.
Cordially,
Neil
hello neil. he is a NUCCA he is the only one in my area with in 50 miles.i figured it cant hurt to try it. he is about 10 miles from me .he seems to know alot about tinnitus.i am a residential plumber. he seems to think it has alot to do with my job.do to always having my neck in bad position.
Hi Stan:
That was the same with me when I needed to see an upper cervical guy–the closest to me was over an hour away and he was a NUCCA. The good news is he fixed my vertigo problem. It’s never come back.
I can understand you having your neck in all sorts of weird angles doing your job.
Cordially,
Neil
the ringing in my ears seems to get louder when i turn my head to the left but seems to quiet down when i look up at the ceiling.what could be causing that
Hi Shawn:
Probably your neck/shoulders/head muscles are tight and your vertebrae may be a bit out of proper alignment. A chiropractor and massage therapist should be able to get things back to normal.
Cordially,
Neil
It’s been 9 months since I started getting this low pitch noise and few months ago I didn’t know about Tinnitus, thanks to Google. Also I noticed while sleeping if I raise my head my tinnitus ( low pitch sound ) gets more louder.
Also of anybody can relate to this: Since then I started getting these blackouts in 15days intervals.
Can anybody experienced same? Plz help!
Hi Pradip:
What’s this about black-outs? Does your tinnitus correlate to them–get louder or softer?
If your tinnitus gets better when you raise your head, it could be that your neck is out of proper alignment and laying down puts it out worse, hence making your tinnitus worse.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Neil. I have just discovered your website and want to thank you so much for all your clear and detailed information. I have worn hearing aids for about 8 years for what I would call mild to medium hearing loss. I also have a mild tinnitus about which I have a few questions.
First, my tinnitus is in the form of a few soft high-frequency sounds. One is just a general soft buzz. Another is similar to the hum of an electric motor, as if there were a refrigerator running in the room. Most of the time I am not even aware of the tinnitus. I only become aware of it sitting in a quiet room, and then I become aware of it until conversation or other sounds distract me. Moving my jaw definitely changes the buzz sound – it is loudest when I open my jaw as widely as possible. However, this does not seem to affect the electric motor hum sound. I was amazed to read your comment that this indicated a TMJ issue which could be dealt with to eliminate the tinnitus. Since I am not normally even aware of my tinnitus do think it is worth seeking TMJ treatment? Would curing of this low level tinnitus improve my day-to-day hearing? Do you think the motor hum might also be cured even though jaw movement doesn’t seem to affect it?
And secondly, each time I have had a hearing test and my aids adjusted I have found the high frequency gain to be much too loud. Even after having this adjusted down and having fully gotten used to the setting I feel it is still higher than it should be. For instance I still find that the sounds of silverware hitting plates in a busy restaurant is the dominant sound – louder than it should be but no longer unbearable. I am wondering whether my high frequency tinnitus is masking the softer high frequency sounds in the hearing test and indicating a greater hearing loss than I really have in those frequencies. Might this be the case?
Finally, I live in the UK. Of course national borders are irrelevant to your practical advice on hearing issues, but some aspects of your website are necessarily addressed to US interests. Are you aware on any UK based sites that offer similar unbiased advice to yours? Again thank you so much for your thoughtful advice.
Hi James:
Since your tinnitus is not bothering you and in fact, you don’t hear it except in quiet places, I wouldn’t worry about trying to eliminate it. Just ignore it and get on with your life.
Your hearing aids are still not adjusted correctly if the higher-frequency sounds still bother you. Clinking cutlery and dishes are good indicators of whether your hearing aids are adjusted right–or if it is even possible to adjust them the way you want them to be adjusted.
I know this problem well. No hearing aids that I’ve tried work at the level I want/need. Thus in such situations, I just take my hearing aids off. That is my choice. I think in your case, you have recruitment or what I call amplification hyperacusis. Thus these higher-frequency sounds are going through the roof of your dynamic range and causing you discomfort/annoyance. The cure is to have the compression set BY FREQUENCY such that all sounds remain below your dynamic range ceiling. It’s not always possible depending on the flexibility of your hearing aids and the willingness of your audiologist to do this.
Some won’t do this as they say you need more high-frequency emphasis (which is true) but it still has to be in the context of your dynamic range. So there is a trade-off.
If you think your tinnitus is masking your test results, the solution is very simple (and I wish it were standard practice to use it all the time) and that is to ask your audiologist to switch the audiometer from simple tones to warble tones. Those are very easy to distinguish from tinnitus. Failing that, (not all audiometers have warble tones) to use the double beep feature–then you listen for the gap between the two beeps. This also helps you separate the tones from your tinnitus.
I’m not aware of any websites similar to mine. People tell me that mine is the only one in the world of its type–where you can get knowledgeable, unbiased, in-depth help for almost any questions relating to ears.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for such a quick and helpful reply! The suggestion for warble or double beep on the test is great. Hopefully it is available from my audiologist at the NHS. Thanks again.
– Jim
Hello Neil,
I’m hoping you can advise me as well. My left ear started buzzing our of the blue about a month ago. I went o my GP who gave me a spray in case I have an infection. It kind of worked as the ringing is not as loud but it’s still there and louder when I turn my head to the left. Also, when I put pressure with my finger behind my ear, the sound stops. Also, if I block my nostrils and exhale through them as you would do on a plane to make your ears pop due to the pressure, it hurts a little and it feels as if there is something in my ear, a blockage. Could it me earwax? Thank you.
Hi Beatris:
I very much doubt it is ear wax, but a quick trip to the doctor will tell you if it is or not.
When you can affect your tinnitus by turning your neck, or pressing on your head or face you know you have some sort of somatic (body) tinnitus. This can also be true for when you Eustachian tubes don’t work properly so you get that pressure feeling.
With the symptoms you describe, I’d go to a chiropractor and make sure your neck, particularly C1 and C2 are in proper alignment as well as your jaw.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil,
My tinnitus goes 10 fold when I have flu, is this common? and do you know the medical reason behind this?
I have high pitch tinnitus in my right ear past 2 years, never stops.
Also, in your multi-decades research have you heard of anyone who was cured of Tinnitus?
Thanks
Jon
Hi Jon:
I can’t say I’ve heard of tinnitus getting a lot louder just because you have the flu. However, if you use certain drugs and OTC meds, they could influence your tinnitus. And if your ears clog up, that could cause tinnitus to be worse.
Yes, people are cured of tinnitus. But that is a bit of a trick question and so is my answer. Since there are a number of kinds of tinnitus, there are a number of treatments. So depending on the kind of tinnitus you have, determines whether it is easy to “cure” or not. For example, if wax or a hair is touching your eardrum it can cause a fluttering tinnitus sound. Having your ears cleaned out will instantly “cure” this kind of tinnitus. If you have somatosensory tinnitus (body tinnitus) then fixing the underlying cause can also “cure” your tinnitus. For example, if you hear your tinnitus in unison to your heartbeat, you may have high blood pressure. Then getting your blood pressure under control could eliminate that kind of tinnitus.
If you have tinnitus from taking various drugs, then stopping the drug could also stop your tinnitus, so you’d be cured. However, if you have the common neurophysiologic kind of tinnitus, you may find a cure–for example if your tinnitus is caused because you are low on certain vitamins/minerals, etc. just supplementing whatever is lacking can get rid of your tinnitus. The same is true if a lack of blood flow to your inner ears is the cause of your tinnitus–then taking vitamin B3 or ginkgo biloba to increase your blood flow can get rid of that tinnitus.
If your tinnitus is caused by exposing your ears to loud noise, it can go away in a few hours or days, or it might stay for the rest of your life. Or if you have a hearing loss and tinnitus accompanies your hearing loss, then you’ll have tinnitus as long as the hearing loss persists. That is why for some people, wearing hearing aids essentially gets rid of their tinnitus. But if you are like me, I was born with a severe hearing loss (and its just gotten worse as I age) so I’ve had lifetime tinnitus. Nothing I’ve ever tried has ever gotten rid of it, but I am so habituated to it that it doesn’t bother me and hours can go by without my even being aware I have tinnitus–until like right now, my ears are screaming away because I’m writing to you about tinnitus (thanks a lot) but within 5 minutes of finishing this comment and going on to something else, again I won’t even be aware I have tinnitus. So whether there is a cure for tinnitus or not for this kind of tinnitus–I don’t care, because I don’t let my tinnitus bother me.
So you can see that the answer is not simple. And this is also one reason why they will NEVER find a drug that cures tinnitus–because there are so many kinds of tinnitus. They may find a drug that helps some people with one kind of tinnitus, but it won’t work with all people, nor with all kinds of tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much Dr Neil.
That explains why ENT docs cannot identify a particular root cause since there is not one.
Yes, when I get cold I feel like my ears are clogged including all my sinus areas. I do have pulsatile as well which is in sync with my heartbeat but I don’t hear it all day its severe some time during the day not sure what triggers it. It all started three months after I got into a car accident, at first it was very faint, both pulsatile and somatic one.
However the somatic type constant bird chirping is annoying only when I am studying for my exams in a quiet room.
I am taking Tylanol / Advil for my cold not sure if that is causing a sudden increase in pitch.
I hope some day soon there will be a cure and everyone’s Tinnitus is gone in just one pill 🙂 , like the one we take for a headache for quick relief.
Praying for everyone.
Thanks again
Hi Jon:
When you are in car accidents, you typically get some degree of whiplash–and that can affect your ears and result in tinnitus. It’s a good idea to see an upper cervical spine chiropractor (not a conventional one) and make sure you are in proper alignment–particularly your top two vertebrae. You can find one of these special chiropractors by going to http://www.upcspine.com and clicking on Practitioners.
I think of my “bird chirping” tinnitus as restful–like a flock of birds twittering in the trees beside me. I only get it occasionally, not all the time like my high-pitched hissy-whine constant tinnitus.
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) can cause tinnitus and does in numbers of people, but Ibuprofen (Advil) is worse. I have received more reports of people getting tinnitus from taking Ibuprofen than for almost any other drug. So I’d stop taking Ibuprofen and see whether your tinnitus goes away or reduces in volume. It may or may not as tinnitus from Ibuprofen can be temporary or permanent.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks again for your reply Dr Neil.
Yes, I found one Upper Cervical chiropractor near my place and will book an appointment to get it checked soon.
I have immediately stopped taking both Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen.
I have also noticed that any incident of high anxiety and stress increases my heartbeat and so does the pulsation and noise in the ear. I have to forcibly distract myself all the time to avoid being more anxious.
I have read your other responses to people that tinnitus flares up when in anxious state. Some other websites like ncbi also shows some relief after taking Magnesium L-Threonate or Gylcanate to reduce anxiety and produce more GABA. Do you have any more info or suggestion on this vitamins?
best regards
Hi Jon:
Do what you can do to get your stress/anxiety under control. One method is to regulate your breathing. For example, breathe in to a count of 8, hold your breath to a count of 8 then breathe out to a count of 8. If you concentrate on this for 15 minutes or more, you’ll find yourself less anxious than before.
I take magnesium threonate every day just for good health maintenance. Vitamin D3 is important too. I take 10,000 IU every day. And don’t forget the B vitamins.
And if you want to try something to help you relax and sleep better, I’d suggest the herbal Valerian.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks again Dr Neil, I can’t thank you enough for such valuable insights and motivation and I wish the ENT specialists could recommend or suggests as you help hundreds of thousands here.
I will start the breathing techniques right away and hopefully continue regularly.
I started regular exercise as well and after a workout I find that the noise in the ear and pulsation reduces to 2/10 for some time and then back to 6/10. Not sure the medical reason behind it.
I will also start using the herbal Valerian as well.
Thanks again and God Bless you and everyone in the world.
HI Dr Neil,
I have high pitch tinnitus in my right ear and some in the left ear now. Until recently I had to take Ibuprofen for some pain killer for two days just once a day my tinnitus shoot up like anything. I know you had warned about this medication in your earlier responses.
You had also mentioned Ginko for inner ear blood flow, do you know which brand and how much quantity to take? is there any other vitamin to be taken along with it? I was thinking of ordering it from Amazon.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Val:
To be effective you have to take Ginkgo in the right amount and it has to have the right formulation. According to the German “E” commission, the correct therapeutic dose is 480 mg/day. The only formulation I know of offhand that has both the correct dosage and the right concentrations–namely a minimum of 24% flavone glycosides, 6% terpene lactones and 2.6% bilobalide is Arches Tinnitus Formula.
Two minerals that your ears need are zinc and magnesium. Often people are low on magnesium. The most bioavailable form of magnesium is magnesium threonate. That is what I take.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil,
Really appreciate your response. I have ordered Arches Tinnitus Formula not sure if the bottle contain the exact quantity that you have mentioned above. However I am going to try both these and see if this may help ease some noise.
Also I hear these weird hissing noise when I press anywhere on my head or clinch my jaw more so on the right side of my head. Is this due to TMJ or hearing loss?
Much appreciate.
Val
Hi Val:
I think you have to take 2 tablets per day to get the correct dosage of Arches Tinnitus Formula. I think it’s made to take one morning and one evening to get the full daily dose.
When you clench your teeth or turn your head all the way left or right is a sign that your jaw and/or neck are out of proper alignment. It has nothing to do with hearing loss. It is just tinnitus putting in an appearance.
Cordially,
Neil
Thanks so much for your advice really helps to understand what is going on with this noise.
Are there any side effects of taking Ginkgo? never taken this before.
Hi Val:
It may be very mildly ototoxic according to some reports, but the main thing you want to watch for is acts as a blood-thinner, so you don’t want to take it if you are already on blood-thinners.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil,
Your quick response much appreciated.
No I am not on any blood thinners.
I was reading your article on “Atlas Adjustments Alleviate Meniere’s Disease” and how a car accident could alter your alignment and cause all these problems. After reading the article I found that except the Meniere’s disease part of dizziness and vomiting, I feel the rest of the symptoms of noises in head, ears ringing, fullness, crackling noise when swelling, etc which I now believe is the result of that multi car accident I was involved in.
Getting started with the Upper Cervical Spine check is the next options I believe. I will also start taking these supplements. Since everything is shut down due to COVID-19, it may take some time to get the appointment where I live.
Best Regards,
Val
HI Dr Neil,
I did some neck stretching exercises yesterday as recommended by my colleagues as my tinnitus had a sudden increase for past 4 days. I noticed a decrease in the pitch by 30 to 40% and maintained it so far by the Grace of Allah(swt).
Is this something to do with misalignment of neck, Jaw or the atlas.
Thanks,
Abdul
Hi Abdul:
It certainly can be, or tight muscles in your head and neck, but the underlying cause of that is typically misalignments in the bones that cause the muscles to tighten.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil,
I do feel that my right jaw is protruding out slightly where i feel the ear ringing the most. The noise reduced a bit for a few days but I feel high pitch when I am trying to sleep and right after I get up in the morning.
Also when I press on the right side the noise increases but not on the left side.
Regards,
Abdul
Hi Abdul:
Do you hear your tinnitus during the day, or only after you go to bed and when you get up?
I think your tinnitus is related to TMJ and maybe your neck.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doc,
I do hear the ringing during the day as well but I guess the other surrounding sounds makes it less noticeable. While sleeping since i get my focus fully on Tinnitus it makes it much harder to sleep.
Also when I run I also hear a chiming on top of my head on the right side.
Thank you.
Hi Abdul:
If you have trouble getting to sleep, play some soft background sounds such as pink noise, or environmental sounds–water sounds are relaxing as well as taking the edge off your tinnitus. So is fractal music.
Your chiming tinnitus is interesting. I wrote two articles about Nodding Chime Tinnitus that you can read at https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/nodding-chime-tinnitus/ and https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/nodding-chime-tinnitus-revisited/ .
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil:
Im 16 years old and i have had tinnitus for as long as i can remember but i didnt know what it was until just a year ago. I have also had intense tooth grinding since i was around 7 years old. The last few months my tinnitus has been getting worse. In February this year i finally got a night guard and since then my jaw issues and tinnitus has gotten worse. I also started feeling nauseous when wearing headphones and whenever i talk to someone on the phone it hurts and it feels like something is pushing on my eardrum. My ears now feel pressurised when i wake up, and when my parents talk to me i just cover my ears because it hurts so much, my ears are much more sensitive to noises early in the morning. My tinnitus also sounds alot quiter when i wake up and a few minutes later it goes back to normal. My tinnitus gets louder when i turn my neck left or right or when i bit my teeth together, it also goes louder when i yawn. My jaw issues have gotten worse since the nightguard, now i hear clicking sounds when i open it and it just feels off when i open it, like one side of my jaw opens before the other and same when i close it. A loud click sound and a vibration occurs whenever i bite my teeth together and move my jaw to the left. This has never happened until recently. My parents and my dentist says there is nothing wrong with my jaw but i can clearly see that my jaw is uneven by just looking in the mirror. Im now afraid of using my nightguard and i dont know what to do anymore. Can you please give some advice and maybe give me some explanations to why these things are happening.
Hi Edvin:
I think you definitely have issues with your jaw and almost certainly with your upper vertebrae in your neck.
I can’t see how your dentist can say there is nothing wrong with your jaw–yet make you a nightguard for tooth grinding–which alone is an indication that something is not aligned properly.
If I were in your shoes, I’d go at an upper cervical spine chiropractor and have him make sure everything is in proper alignment. You can find one of these special kinds of chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ and click on “Practitioners” to find one (hopefully) near you.
If you can’t find one, then going to a conventional chiropractor would be my second choice.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil,
Finally after a long wait I had an appointment with my ENT over the phone due to social distancing. The ENT specialist conclusion after the appointment is that my tinnitus is primarily due to severe case of stress disorder as it all started after so many stressful events. He recommended multiple therapies starting with CBT and then gradually getting Upper Chiro and getting checked for sleep apnea. He said whenever my mind goes into a loop of stress-tinnitus-stress it continues making the sound much worse at times. He said its a long and lengthy recovery process after multiple therapies. My tinnitus may go away but some noise may still remain.
He also thinks that my tinnitus is not related to any inner ear related issue. I have another appointment with him for the hearing test in couple of months and check middle ear / pressures.
Your thoughts and feedback is much appreciated.
Thanks
Val
Hi Val:
Personally, I’d start with the Upper Cervical as there is a very good chance your problems stem from there and were exacerbated by your stress. Stress tightens up your muscles in your neck and can “pull” on your vertebrae–and if they are already misaligned, make the misalignment worse, thus increasing your symptoms.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with CBT, but CBT isn’t going to fix an underlying physical problem. It is designed to get rid of your anxiety related to your tinnitus.
If you have any hearing loss, that could also cause or make your tinnitus worse.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil,
yes I am going to start with the UC treatments first as I also believe its related to my neck problems as I have a neck tightness and soreness all the time. My sleep is also disturbed adding to the already stressed life. I feel ear fullness and tightness on both side behind my ears.
Thanks for your help.
Regards
Val
Hi Dr Neil,
My tinnitus first started over a year ago after I woke up. During the time, I recently got noise cancelling headphones and thought that may be the cause of it. Around the same time, I also developed a clicking noise at the back of my head. My head clicked every step that I took. My tinnitus at the time didn’t really bother my sleep but I felt like it was pretty mild. I went to see multiple GPs and 2 different ENTs to see what was the cause of it but all weren’t able to find a cause. We tried cleaning ear wax, checking ear pressure, checking my hearing, checking outer and inner ear, but all seemed normal and fine.
My mum was seeing a chiropractor for her neck pain and she told me that the chiropractor may be able to help with my issue. I had multiple session with the chiropractor and each session either ended with my tinnitus staying the same or getting worst. I started developing new symptoms, where my tinnitus would intensify when i turned or moved my neck to the extremes. Shaking my head would also result in shaking the tinnitus. I would describe this like shaking a bell and hearing the ball inside shake. During my last session, the chiropractor lifted me up by putting her arms under my armpit. I may have been too heavy for her to do that, so my neck on the right side instantly reacted. A couple of minutes later, my neck on the right side felt extremely uncomfortable. A couple of hours later, it flared and swelled up pretty bad. My neck hurt for almost a week and I struggled to to use my right arm at one point. I used neck rub to prevent the swelling and soreness. I even got scans but the doctor said there was nothing wrong with my shoulder/neck and the pain and soreness seem to ease off 1 to 2 weeks later. To this date, my right shoulder will still get sore but that wouldn’t last more than a few hours and it happens once every few weeks.
I tried researching more about my condition, and found a post that mentioned that I should see an upper cervical chiropractor. It was suggested that my atlas/C1 was out of alignment and that’s why moving my neck to the extremes will cause my tinnitus to amplify. I found that upper cervical chiro charged a lot for their services and there was not many around me. I decided to go to one that did atlas orthogonal, where the chiro used an instrument that clicked and launched a rod to move my atlas. He started off with xrays to check if my atlas was out of place and it also confirmed that I had sclerosis in my neck. My first session with him had no effect, but my second session made my tinnitus explode. It went from a three to an eight over night. I asked him why his technique made my tinnitus worse. He told me that your tinnitus will get worse before it gets better, and 2 sessions will not do it. I continued going until the 5th session, but we stopped when I told him that my tinnitus instantly reacted to his instrument. Now, I have problems sleeping and also concentrating due to my tinnitus, which I have never had before. He also recommended me to see a NUCCA chiropractor as my tinnitus reacted pretty badly to his technique. In the end I spent several hundred dollars just to make my tinnitus even worse.
I haven’t considered going to the NUCCA Chiropractor yet as my experience with chiro has just been negative. Has anyone had a similar experience and have any recommendations for me?
Hi Philip:
I definitely WOULDN’T go to a NUCCA Chiropractor, because if the Atlas Orthogonal chiropractor’s accelerator caused your tinnitus to be worse, I’m sure the NUCCA guy’s accelerator will cause even more problems.
I went to a NUCCA guy for a couple of treatments. The treatments worked fine–no complaints there–but that accelerator was so noisy when it snapped on the vertebra. I thought it was loud enough to cause hearing loss (and I already have a severe loss). That’s how loud I perceived it. And the sound is conducted directly to your inner ear via bone conduction. I afraid that your tinnitus would really react to that.
The upper cervical chiropractor I’d recommend is a Blair chiropractor. (They’re even harder to find.) These guys just use their hands and arms so there is no sound involved that could exacerbate your tinnitus.
With your neck and shoulder problems, something sure is out of whack and you need to get it put back into proper alignment–but it needs to be done gently and quietly so as not to bother your tinnitus. Obviously, your tinnitus, at least in part, is a result of such misalignments. Combining Blair chiropractic treatments with a massage therapist might be a good way to go.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Neil,
Thank you so much for this informative and helpful information. It is the first information I have found that I can strongly relate to. I can relate to the head turning and jaw moving exacerbation as that is exactly what I experience, but I am finding my own problem with tinnitus very confusing right now. I do not have tinnitus constantly. It occurs only if I turn my head sharply left and extend my jaw. I experience a whining sound that varies in pitch and volume. As soon as I turn back and relax, away it goes. I do have an overbite and TMJ, and I suspected this may be an issue here, but what is confusing me are the other things I experience.
I have regular, intermittent bouts of vertigo when I turn over in bed and have had times that the vertigo has stopped me in my tracks when standing up. I tried the Epley manoeuvre to address this which did the trick, so my though was the crystals inside my ear shifting. On top of this, I experience a short, sharp drone in my left ear when I bend down to put down or pick up my cat’s food bowl, or just general bending down. It is very disturbing to me and puts me off any kind of movement. Again, I am thinking fluid in my middle ear/ETD. My mind works overtime here being a former nurse (both a blessing and a curse!) Bottom line is that all of these things put together have me so confused as to what is going on and what is causing my tinnitus. My left ear is the main culprit in this, but my right ear has bouts of popping throughout the day. This has all occurred since my life has become more sedentary during lockdown.
My posture is pretty abysmal too and I have a congenital lumbar abnormality which I don’t think could be involved, but thought it worth mentioning if it may somehow affect my neck alignment!
I would so, so appreciate your thoughts or any feedback please.
Kind regards,
Debbie.
Hi Debbie:
When you only get tinnitus when you turn your neck, flex your jaw or bend over, etc. then I’d say you almost certainly have a upper spinal misalignment. My suggestion is to go to an upper cervical chiropractor and get your vertebrae in proper alignment and give attention to getting your TMJ properly aligned at the same time. You might find that seeing a massage therapist in conjunction with the upper cervical chiropractor is a good combination to get your muscles all relaxed so they don’t keep pulling your spine out of alignment.
If the Epley maneuver took care of your vertigo, then great. But if not, it could also be related to your neck misalignment and the upper cervical chiropractor would probably fix it in the course of his treatments. (You might have some of both conditions at the same time.)
You need to work on your posture and in being more active–even if just moving around more in your home. And you are right–a lumbar misalignment can result in your neck becoming misaligned as your body tries to compensate for it. That’s why I’d start with an upper cervical spine chiropractor. You can find these guys by going to http://www.upcspine.com/ and clicking on “Practitioners” to find one close to where you live.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so, so much, Dr Neil. You have helped me immensely with your advice. I will certainly research chiropractors in my local area and definitely try to address my poor posture and activity level. Many thanks again.
Kind regards,
Debbie.
Hello Dr. Bauman-
I stumbled upon your site as researching tinnitus, so glad I found you. I’ve had it for roughly a little over 2 weeks.
It’s a high pitched cricket sound and seems it’s coming from both ears but it’s confusing as it sounds like it’s in the head. There’s some moments it’s not very loud. Yesterday is when I noticed if I moved my neck left to right, or press my hand on my forehead it gets louder, it gets loud when I haven’t slept well neither or feeling anxious.
Also I do know that my right ear canal and right upper inside nostril is more narrower than my left as I’ve been told that by doctors in the past, I do tend to have constant sinus drainage. Another aspect I need to add which in embarrassing, is I have the nasty habit of smoking cigarettes which I began when my husband passed away in 2013, grief set in, have been trying to stop.
“I’ve tried to pinpoint the trigger of this tinnitus”.
Over 2 weeks ago I stopped drinking caffeinated coffee, completely cold turkey, in which I consumed heavily for around 5 year’s. In addition I have arthritis in left shoulder and had a steroid injection towards the back upper part of shoulder last year, August of 2019. Than had another injection again at the same time I had stopped drinking coffee 2 weeks ago, a couple days after is when I noticed the ringing, had wondered if substance in the injection triggered it or a nerve that was hit during the injection. In addition I’ve been caring for my father for 2 year’s on hospice at home, so yes I’ve had a lot of anxiety and depression. So tired as well. My iron levels, Vitamin B12 was good but D was slightly low at 26 which I began a supplement 2 weeks ago, and another thought was maybe low D was a contributing factor or an ingredient in the Vitamin D
So was wondering if “possibly” there’s an connection. I do hold a lot of tension in my neck. I’m 52 year’s of age. I know there’s many that suffer with Tinnitus for many years and my heart goes out to them.
Would greatly appreciate any of your insight. I have an appt., to see a Audiologist but don’t know if that’s a good start.
Forgot to mention an important factor, that I’ve had bouts of constant off/feeling floating in my head for 2 year’s, had an MRI done which was ordered by a Neurologist, two small white matter lesions were found but nothing of concern. He performed various nuero tests and ANA test which were are normal.
Something I recall a doctor telling me 2 year’s ago, when asked me to walk a straight line was that my spine had a curve, can’t recall term used but she stated it was not uncommon.
I needed to add that so you have as much information to get a picture.
“I know my back story is quite a lot”
Thank you so kindly. Appreciate it very much Doctor.
Hi Kim:
Tinnitus can move around–seem to come from both ears, one ear or the other ear, or just from inside your head without reference to your ears. That’s just the way it is.
If your tinnitus gets louder when you move your head all the way left or right, or touch your face in certain places, you have a form of tinnitus called somatosensory (or somatic) tinnitus. Typically, this is a result of having a tight neck or jaw (TMD). And your anxiety certainly doesn’t help it–it just tightens you up more.
Since you know your neck is tight and your vertebrae are not properly aligned, I’d suggest your first step isn’t an audiologist, but an upper cervical spine chiropractor. You can find one at http://www.upcspine.com/ then click on practitioners and then your area and state or province.
You might also want to have massage therapy in conjunction with the chiropractic treatments in order to relax your muscles so the good the chiropractor does isn’t undone by your tight muscles pulling it out again.
And it sure wouldn’t hurt to learn effective ways to deal with your anxiety and depression, because these emotions affect your physical health. A good psychologist should be able to help you.
Cordially,
Neil
Have suffered migraine (basilar) with vertigo episodes and dizziness for 30 years, the migraine improved after menopause. ENT tests said vestibular migraine in past.
Always high pitched hissing which I got used to.
29th June, playing mouthorgan bought on bit migraine. Sleeping in recliner chair since April due to back pain (osteoporosis), had fractures in past. July 3rd and 4th
Hissing ear and stuffed nose right ear popping roaring and pulsating
4th July woke slightly deaf left ear pulsating had worn collar and woke head on chest in collar teeth numb from position, steroid spray 2 x puffs
6th July gentamicin drops and 7 hrs vertigo then migraine which has not left me for 24 days. It is on the left, up the left nose above eye
and head. Now taking antibiotics in case its sinus, busomide nasal spray and the left ear keeps pulsating droning and wind like sound muffled and half deaf, worsens when head bent down on computer
in past have been diagnosed with endolymphatic hydrops, vestibular migraine, rhinitis and eustachian ear disfunction, not sure which bit to treat! Cant go for treatment at moment because of lockdown. Please help
Best wishes
Christine
Hi Christine:
If I understand it correctly, vestibular migraines are a secondary condition, prompted by an underlying primary condition. Thus you want to treat the underlying cause to effectively treat vestibular migraines.
The underlying causes basically have to do with defects/dysfunctions in the vestibular (balance) side of your inner ears. Often they are one result of having a “third” window in your inner ear such as a superior canal dehiscence (hole).
In your case, you seem to have a bad neck. I don’t doubt that your neck is out of proper alignment and this can put pressure on the nerves in your brainstem that can cause all sorts of balance problems due to inner ear dysfunction.
Normally, I’d suggest you go to an upper cervical chiropractor and get things aligned–but with your osteoporosis and fractures, maybe that is not practical.
You say you used gentamicin drops on July 6th. What were these for. Gentamicin affects the balance part of the inner ear so that is one drug I’d stay away from unless your doctor is using it to kill the balance system in you inner ears in order to bring your vertigo under control.
When your tinnitus changes in response to the angle you hold your head, that tells me that you have a somatosensory kind of tinnitus–most likely due to your neck being out of proper alignment and putting pressure on certain nerves.
Endolymphatic hydrops is another symptom that can be due to your neck being out of proper balance. So are the vestibular migraines. And also so can be the Eustachian tube dysfunction.
As I see it, all your symptoms could be explained by your neck out of proper alignment. If it were me, I’d go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor that practices the Blair method and have him do as much as he can to get things into proper alignment.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Neil, I was given the gentamacin ear drops as I had gone half deaf in one ear. They had tried me on 2 x other sorts before that, over the two weeks leading up to the full blown vertigo attack and then the constant migraine. I also have tingling in the left temple so I am thinking this is an ongoing migraine, although its odd that it seemed to start with the ear problems such a long time before it. I only used the Gentamacin drops for a day. As soon as the vertigo started I stopped them. I will definitely get to an upper cervical spine chiropractor that practices the Blair method as soon as I am able to.
Thankyou for your reply.
Best wishes
Christine
Hello Dr Neil, just one more question,
yesterday, the ears had cleared quite a lot and the roaring tinnitus was down, then I woke this morning, ear popping continuously and half deaf again. Would it be a good idea to try antihistamines? The steroid nasal spray hasn’t worked, nor the antibiotics. Would you know why this constant popping is always when laid down (I sleep on my back)? Thankyou
Best wishes
Christine
Hi Christine:
I think the popping is related to how your vertebrae shift when you lay down and thus either come into better alignment, or go out of better alignment, thus relieving pressure on certain nerves or increasing pressure on these nerves. The result is better hearing and related function or worse hearing and related functions.
At best antihistamines are a band-aid approach and may or may not help as the real problem is vertebrae alignment not whether your Eustachian tube is blocked or not.
Cordially,
Neil
Thankyou for your reply. Is the Blair method the same name wherever it is used. I will be looking for an upper cervical spine chiropracter in the UK
who uses this method.
Thankyou
Best Wishes
Christne
Hi Christine:
Yes, I think they use the same names everywhere. I looked on the list for the UK and there are only three upper cervical chiropractors listed. Unfortunately, none are Blair guys. One is an Atlas Orthogonal guy and two are Knee-Chest guys. Here is the webpage — http://www.upcspine.com/prac3.asp?rid=3&r=Europe&sid=84&s=ENGLAND&cid=6&c=UNITED%20KINGDOM
I’m not exactly sure how these two practice chiropractic, but I “think” the knee-chest is more hands on than the Atlas Orthogonal. You’d have to investigate this for yourself.
Blair chiropractors seem to be limited to the USA, with the odd one in Canada, Australia and New Zealand according to the Blair website.
Cordially
Neil
Thankyou. Unfortunately I am in Oxfordshire, and could not travel as far as London because of my bad back. I do like the idea that one of them did xrays of the neck first, especially with my osteoporosis.
Maybe I will look for other upper cervical chiropractors that do gentle work, I will have to be very careful. I tried to lay right down last night to take the weight off my neck but woke with a full blown vertigo attack which lasted 9 hours and blocked ears (and the migraine head is still there!) so I need to do something.
Best Wishes
Christine
Hi Dr Neil,
I know you got the answer.
Is pulsation in the head got anything to do with inner ear or middle ear problem. If so, how it is related medically and can be treated if possible. I have high pitch tinnitus in the right ear including pulsation. Met an “ENT specialist” once and he had no clue about this condition.
After reading through all the questions and responses on your blog, in fact I can call myself an ENT Specialist except the question I asked.
Regards,
Rick
Hi Rick:
When you say “pulsation” are you talking about HEARING your pulse (in unison to your heartbeat)? Or just a general pulsing sensation. FEELING a pulsation could be anything, but probably not related to your ears. Specifically HEARING your heartbeat as the blood rushes through an artery near your inner ears is a somatic kind of tinnitus that doctors can sometimes treat successfully.
I don’t see high-pitched tinnitus as related to your heart-beat which is a low-frequency thumping sounds. But it is quite possible that you have two different conditions or two kinds of tinnitus at the same time.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Doc,
Yes the pulsation is in unison to the heartbeat. I do feel two types of sounds one the pulsation and another one is continuous hissing sound. I was discussing with a medical practitioner he said it could highly related to a pinched nerve or in the C1 and C2 which is sending wrong signals to the brain. I do also feel variation in the blood pressure / and sudden palpitations which is also related to pinched vegas nerve according to him.
Appreciate your thoughts?
Best Regards,
Rick
Hi Rick:
Since the pulsation is in unison with your heartbeat, a vascular surgeon may be able to find the cause of your problem if it is due to turbulent blood flow in arteries near your inner ears. But there are a number of other, more obscure causes of pulsatile tinnitus such as superior canal dehiscence syndrome that are not easy to fix. A good otologist may be able to help you if you have these kinds of pulsatile tinnitus.
The hissing sound is one of the common neurophysiological tinnitus sounds. This is a common kind of tinnitus. It could be caused by a pinched nerve, but much more likely, it is due to some high-frequency hearing loss from exposing your ears to louder sounds, or from taking any one of the hundreds of drugs that cause tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr Neil,
I suffer from Somatic type of Tinnitus and also Pulsation type which I believe is in unison with heartbeat.
However after a heavy workout in the gym I don’t feel the pulsation but a little of whooshing noise for at least 30 or 40 minutes, but then the whooshing slowly returns back. The pulsation is low to zero when lying down and increases when in motion or walking. Is this related to the misalignment of neck or something else? I have also noticed the pulsating increase when I feel anxiety due to Tinnitus.
Thanks, Rohan
Hi Rohan:
I’m speculating here, but I think when you do a lot of strenuous exercise your blood vessels expand so the blood flow was not as turbulent and thus you don’t hear pulsatile tinnitus.
When you are totally relaxed (laying down), your heartbeat is slower and your blood vessels are more relaxed so you don’t hear the pulsatile tinnitus. Much if at all. However, when you get up and start moving around your blood vessels contract your heartbeat goes up and thus you hear your pulsatile tinnitus.
Exactly the same applies when you get stressed or anxious– your blood vessels contract in your heartbeat goes out and therefore you hear it again.
I doubt that your pulsatile tinnitus from what you describe is related to your neck being misaligned.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Doctor Bauman,
I had ACDF of my C5-6 in 2015. Over the past year I have been getting frequent headaches and then developed pulsatile tinnitus a couple of months ago. Like so many others, the sound becomes louder if I turn my head to the right and then softer when I turn my head to the left. I also have a history of TMJ problems. I am lucky enough to live in the same city as Palmer Chiropractic College (Davenport) and I have requested an appointment with a cervical spine chiropractor. I am hoping they can fix me! Thank you!
Hi Dr. Bauman,
I had a baby in September 2019. Around March 2020 I started developing anxiety and post partum depression, I have not ever experienced anxiety and depression like that before, so it was all new to me. Soon after this I started getting pains from the base of my skull in the occipital region up and behind my eyes and then sometimes around the sides of my head up around above my ears. Soon after I started experiencing tinnitus. I didn’t have a doctor at the time and it took months in order for me to get into a doctor, when I finally got to see a doctor she sent me to an ear nose and throat doctor, in which they checked my hearing, throat and nose and told me I passed the hearing test and everything was good but had bad news about the tinnitus because he didn’t know why I’m having it. I drive my self insane trying to figure out myself why I’m experiencing it. My doctor also referred me to physical therapy because my neck bothers me and she said my neck is very tight. The physical therapist checked the range I can turn my head and also moving it back and forth. Turning my head to the left was 34cm, turning right was 35cm, forward was 38 and back was 18cm. I also experience pain down my arms and the physical therapist said it was from my median nerve, he had me lay down bend my wrists back and forth and I instantly got that pain down my arm and it was worse when I moved my ear towards my shoulder, I have this on both sides the physical therapist stated that it is weird I have it on both sides but the left side is worse. I don’t think there was anything I’ve done to hurt my neck other then I flipped my suv in 2015 but I didn’t experience any pain afterwards. I’ve noticed when I turn my head hard left and right the tinnitus gets louder, but it sounds louder on the left also when I open my mouth wide it gets louder too. I’ve also noticed my tinnitus is in rhythm with my heart beat. I’ve been doing exercises at home the physical therapist wants me to do for the median nerve and also to loosen and stretch my muscles for range. When I do these exercises even with the hand movement I can hear a difference in the ringing. Also, one of the exercises I do for my muscles is sitting straight up in a chair with one hand under my leg and the other hand pulling my head to the opposite direction the ringing gets louder with that as well and with both directions. My doctor hasn’t really tried to do much to figure out what’s going on. I really only hear the ringing in my left ear I will get bouts of it in my right sometimes. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on my situation? Please!
Hi Jennifer:
The tinnitus you have is called somatic tinnitus or somatosensory tinnitus. Basically, it is caused by non-auditory sensory nerves being hyperactive. These nerves send signals to your brain, and neurons there are busy multitasking and are messing up and sending the signals to the auditory parts of your brain where your brain interprets them as tinnitus.
what I think is happening is not sure vertebrae are out of proper alignment and pressing on various nerves resulting in this barrage of signals being sent to your brain. What I would do, if I was in your situation, is go to an upper cervical spine chiropractor and have him get everything into proper alignment.
The reason I suggest an upper cervical chiropractor is because you were in motor vehicle accident and almost certainly had some degree of whiplash which puts your C1 and C2 vertebrae out of proper alignment. This can result in all sorts of ear problems including pain, balance problems, tinnitus and so on.
I’m sure that other vertebrae are misaligned as well, and will need adjusting also. Chiropractic along with physiotherapy is an excellent way of getting things back into place and getting them to hold their proper positions. Physiotherapy by itself is not enough if your vertebrae are out of proper alignment.
You can find an upper cervical chiropractor by going to http://www.upcspine.com/ and clicking on the “practitioners” tab along the top to find one near you.
It is common to have your somatic tinnitus increase in volume when you turn your head all the way left or right, and open your mouth wide when your spine and your jaw are not in proper alignment, and your muscles in your head and neck and shoulders are tight.
Cordially,
Neil
I forgot to tell you the job I did have before I had my baby was very repetitive and I looked down a lot, I worked there for 4 years and I am planning on going back. Do you think this could’ve had an effect on my neck and do you have any suggestions on exercises I should do considering I am going back to this type of work? I also had quit smoking for almost a year and started smoking again a couple months before all this started, I didn’t know if this could have an effect on it.
Hi Jennifer:
I’d tell your chiropractor about your job and having to look down a lot, and ask him what exercises you should be doing in order to keep your vertebrae in proper alignment.
Cordially,
Neil
I just want to tell you how much I appreciate your opinion because it’s the only answer I’ve gotten in these 7 or 8 months this has been going on!! Thank you 😊 It is greatly appreciated!!!
Hello 🙂 I’m so wanting to hear your opinion on what to do. Its bad covid situation in my country and I am pregnant, so dont want to go to doctors much. I begin to have pulsative tinnitis just in my left ear, when I was around 17weeks pregnant. Now I am 22weeks. I was by ear specialist, but she just looked at my ear and said she cant see anything wrong. I feel my pulse essepcially when lying down, or making some physical work what makes my pulse higher. I also notice that some days its worse, and i have also some mild pain in ear and throught when swollow (just in left). Also, when I turn my head to right, my sound in left ear get worse, but its begin to be more like wind. If I press artery just under the ear, it gets better. What diagnostic is possible and nessecary to me? I am most affraid it could be some arteries abnormality, but now I am pregnant and all CT and MRI is not good for me. Also- is it ok to giving birth by natural way, when I dont know what causes it? Or I am just over concern and its usually not so bad?
Hi Rita:
Since you can stop the pulsatile tinnitus by pressing the artery below your ear, that tells you that the problem is turbulent blood-flow in that artery for whatever reason. Your ear specialist should have been able to hear that if she bothered to listen. Of course she wouldn’t see anything wrong with your ear.
Since you are worried (I don’t think you need to be), you should see a vascular surgeon and have him evaluate the blood flow through that artery.
I’m not a medical doctor so don’t know the ramifications of this, but I wonder if it is just due to your pregnancy and will go away after your baby is born. A vascular specialist should be able to put your mind at ease.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much! I will get my arteries to angiosurgeon 😉
Hi Dr. Bauman, I had recently talked to you, well I had a visit with my family doctor today and I was explaining to her what you had explained to me about the somatic tinnitus and myself flipping my vehicle in 2015 and how whiplash can put your C1 and C2 vertebrae out of alignment. My doctor proceeds to tell me she’s never heard of somatic tinnitus and don’t know anything about your neck being out of alignment and causing tinnitus. she’s worried about the widening of an artery and an aneurysm!! So she is having me get a brain scan to check for it. If this is the cause of it would I have any other symptoms?
Hi Jennifer:
Since you doctor is totally ignorant of what I’ve been telling you and what you really have, she is trying to get you to think like she does. I’m almost certain (99.9%) that a brain scan won’t show up anything wrong in relation to your tinnitus. You’ll still have it and wasted time and money on useless scans. If I were you, I’d head for an upper cervical spine chiropractor and have him make sure your C1 and C2 are in proper alignment. It won’t damage your vascular system and has a good chance of fixing your problem.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr Bauman. So I started hearing this weird sound (like hearing inside of a sea shell) on my right ear about 3 months ago. I don’t hear it all day. Only when it’s very quiet (for example at night) but even then it’s not always there. I found that if I yawn, stretch my body, move my ear or put any pressure on it with my fingers it gets louder. Also sometimes I’ll wake up at night and hear it quite loud, especially if my neck is kind of bending on that side. Sometimes I feel like I can also hear my heartbeat from that ear but it’s only for a few seconds when my neck is kind of bending on that side & then it disappears completely. Very very rarely I’ll hear the other ear making low noises and if I press my finger on my left ear I hear a different more high pitched sound).
Other symptoms I have is a general feeling of fullness in my ears that comes and goes and I’ve had since last summer. Crackling sounds when I move my neck around and my ears popping open from time to time. I also have insomnia (the type that I wake up several times at night) that started when my ear started bothering me at night. I get more often mild headaches that feel like pressure/tension, usually on the right part on my head in various places since this started. I also suffer from depression and anxiety for about 4 years now and I put on some weight during quarantine.
I saw a ENT doctor from the first days I noticed the sound (mainly because it was annoying me and creating trouble with my sleep), got tests done in his office about my hearing and my tumpani muscle and he said everything looks normal. He didn’t seem worried at all and told me I don’t need any further testing and that my problem is not really a “problem”. He thinks it’s probably related to hearing loss that is unnoticeable (but I’m only 25 years old and my health is okay in general) or that I could clench my haw and teeth at night (which I don’t think I do or is related since I can hear the sound even when I’m awake and I don’t put pressure on them).
I’ve came in contact with that doctor 1-2 more times since then about my symptoms and he’s always reassuring that it’s nothing. It doesn’t feel like nothing though. I still don’t know exactly what I have and it’s still annoying. I’d like your advice please.
Hi Evi:
From what you describe, I’d say your tinnitus is the result of your neck being out of proper alignment. This is true when you are do things–moving your head or pressing on places on your head that make your tinnitus change/go away/get louder.
What I’d do is go to a good chiropractor and get your head, neck, jaw, shoulders all properly aligned, then your tinnitus should disappear. Your doctor didn’t suggest this because most medical doctors don’t accept chiropractic as a valid treatment–but it is.
Even better than a conventional chiropractor is going to an upper cervical spine chiropractor. They make more precise adjustments that can really help. You can find one of these kind of chiropractors at http://www.upcspine.com/ and click on “Practitioners” to find one hopefully near you.
I’ll bet this will help with your headaches too.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Evi:
From what you have said, I suspect your neck is out of proper alignment, thus pinching certain nerves, among them your trigeminal nerve and the result is the symptoms you have.
If I was in your shoes, I’d head for treatment from a special kind of chiropractor that specializes in the upper cervical spine (UCS). These people are able to work wonders for certain ailments and they are very gentle–not the bone cracker kind. They focus mostly on your top two vertebra (C1 (Atlas) & C2 (Axis). If this joint is “off” then you could have some of the symptoms you are experiencing such as the ear problems and headaches.
You can find a chiropractor specializing in UCS by going to the following URL and entering your location. You can also read about the things these special chiropractors can do for you at this same website. Here is the URL.
http://www.upcspine.com/
Choose the “Practitioners” link along the top to find the one closest to you.
That would be my first step. After your vertebrae are in proper alignment and are holding their correct positions, then I’d evaluate what symptoms you might have left, but I’ll bet most will be gone.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil
My tinnitus started around 2 months ago. Just woke up one morning and noticed the high frequency ‘old tv’ whine sound in my head. I too also notice the volume increases significantly when I turn my head hard left and right or extend the bottom jaw. I really hear any internal sounds in my head now. When I move my jaw around or yawn I hear a creepy crunching sound in my head and always feel the need to clear my ears. I’ve become hyper sensitive to high pitched sounds like fire alarms, police sirens and loud bangs and crashes since the tinnitus started.
For a month before this, I had noticed temporal loss of hearing and a whine as it returned in one ear or the other for 5-6 seconds maybe once every day or so. Finally and maybe the most worrying, I have some issues with a pressure feeling in my head when getting up from sitting or lying down. Takes around 5-6 seconds after getting up. It’s not so much a lightheadedness or dizziness associated with vertigo or labarythisits, more like the pressure feeling in your head you notice when altitude changes during a flight.
My GP referred me to ENT for an urgent consultancy, but due to Covid causing backlogs with the NHS in the UK, this consultancy has been delayed for at least 22 weeks!
Outside of the system, I’ve been working with a really good osteopath who has some speciality in cervical work for migrane etc. and I feel that has helped some. As a natually anxious person, I’m finding it difficult on occassion to deal with this noise. Thankfully, with the help of meditation and mindfulness work I’ve starting to sit with the noise rather than fighting it, getting upset, angry or praying it would ‘just go away’.
I guess my question is, do you think my condition is typlical of what we are mostly discussing here, or does the pressure thing in my head I get when rising need further medical investigation by considering a privately paid consulatation with an ENT?
Thankyou,
Darren.
Hi Darren:
I think you have several issues. One of them is your sensitivity to higher-pitched sounds. I take it that you perceive these sounds as louder than normal and are sharper too. That is called loudness hyperacusis. Typically, this is caused by exposing your ears to sudden, loud sounds or sustained loud sounds. Tinnitus can arise from the same exposure to sounds.
Since your tinnitus changes with body movements, obviously you have some degree of somatosensory tinnitus. It may be that your neck/jaw are out of proper alignment. Your osteopath should be able to help you in this regard.
This pressure feeling you have–is it just like you feel your ears need to pop, or is it more of a heaviness pressure feeling–like you head is now too heavy when you stand up. If the latter, that could be because you have low blood pressure and it takes a few seconds after standing up for your body to increase your blood pressure upon rising.
The pressure feeling is probably not related to the other symptoms, but there is still a possibility it could be related to misalignment of your neck vertebrae. Your osteopath should be able to tell you if you are properly aligned or not.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi. Few years back tinnitus started in my left ear ,because I didn’t pay attention I can’t tell how long ago has started. Over the years more simptoms started to develop like ,dizziness and then violent vertigo attacks. I had an MRI scan and ruled out the tumor. Some ent dr said is Meniere disease other’s said is not. I am taking oral medications for vertigo also in 2019 I had a grommet inserted in my left ear. Now dizziness is almost daily and my life has been affected greatly by this and the vertigo. Stress is the main trigger and I think everything started after my wisdom tooth extraction. Last week I saw for the first time a chiropractor and I hope I will get some relief soon. I am only 33 years .
Hi Georgiana:
What happened way back that might have caused your tinnitus in the first place? Any ideas?
Were you ever in a motor vehicle accident, or had head trauma?
What does your audiogram look like? Meniere’s disease typically starts with a hearing loss in the low frequencies, in contrast to other hearing losses that typically begin in the high frequencies.
Stress is a knows trigger of Meniere’s attacks, so the more you can learn how to reduce and properly deal with your stress will all be to the good.
It’s possible that your dentist yanking out your wisdom tooth bent your neck in a certain way that pushed your C1 and C2 out of proper alignment. If that is what happened, I could see a connection to your wisdom tooth extraction. A good upper cervical spine chiropractor should be able to align your C1 and C2 properly and hopefully, if that was the cause, your symptoms will go away–dizziness, vertigo mostly and maybe your tinnitus too.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Dr. Bauman,
I’ve been dealing with Tinnitus since March 2020. I work a desk job. I realized I have bad posture and also sleep on stomach. I do clinch my teeth from time to time during the day probably from stress/anxiety but I don’t know if I do it during sleep. I’ve been spending more time looking down on my phone since I’m working from home due from COVID. I had my ears checked out by an ENT and I was told my hearing is perfect. I was also told that it was due from stress. I’m suspecting I might have TMJ as my jaw clicks but oddly I have no jaw pain unless I apply some pressure. It just feels tenderness near the tmj area. I noticed my tinnitus makes different sounds when I yawn and move my neck side to side. I did have ear pressure for many months but after during stretches it luckily went away but tinnitus is still present. I only feel some pressure when I drink alcohol which I don’t do often. I thought that was interesting. I’m 26 years old. Any thoughts on what could be causing tinnitus?
Thank you,
Chris
Hi Christopher:
I wouldn’t be surprised if your tinnitus is caused by two things–stress and poor posture resulting in your cervical vertebrae and jaw being misaligned. This is called somatosensory tinnitus.
Learning to relax and getting your stress under control should go a long ways towards fixing things. That, and seeing a good chiropractor–preferably an upper cervical spine chiropractor. Then doing exercises to keep your spine aligned properly in the future.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Bauman,
It’s encouraging to see that I am not alone with this type of tinnitus that appears to be related more to muscular/jaw issues. Just a few months back, I noticed a high-pitched tone in my right ear when I turned my head to the right. It gets louder when I press on my temporalis muscle only on the right side, or when I jut my jaw forward. The tinnitus is often pulsatile, and never goes away, and along with the high pitch, there may be “crickets” or other sounds. I have seen an ENT and had two separate hearing tests (age-related, and most pronounced on the left side, whereas the tinnitus is on the right only). My brain MRI was normal to rule out CPA mass. I do have a long history of bruxism and wear a night guard, and my dentist suggested I get Botox injected in my masseter (I did) to help reduce the grinding. I think this is helping to reduce the soreness in my jaw. I am also trying trigger point release on my SCM and jaw muscles with a chiro. I have also noticed a bit of improvement doing cervical retraction, especially while driving (against the headrest). I guess the frustrating thing is that there is no one specialist to manage this problem. It seems to fall outside the scope of ENTs and other MDs, so I am left trying out various treatments with different practitioners (massage, acupuncture, chiro). I wonder if there are others out here who experience the same increase in loudness when pressing on the area right behind their ear? I suppose this is similar and related to the jutting out of the jaw — impacting the TMJ area.
Hi Neil:
It seems you definitely have somatosensory tinnitus. You are on the right track using chiropractors, massage therapy and dentists to treat your various underlying problems. Once the underlying problems are fixed, your tinnitus should go away–or at least shouldn’t get louder with various head movements.
Your problems are not “medical” problems as such, thus doctors and ENTs don’t have the expertise to diagnose and treat them.
I’ve heard of others that can cause louder tinnitus by pressing around/behind their ears, so you are not alone in this.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Neil,
As correctly mentioned by you i have made peace with my Tinnitus trouble which if i recollect started way back in 1987. Though i do become aware when the pitch level goes up in both ears especially with jaw movements, like so many have called out on this post. After reading your response i have decided to give visit to local Chiropractor known for UpC. Lets see. Thanks
Hello Dr Neil,
I’m suspecting my tinnitus is from my SCM muscle. I have ringing in the left ear. I can make louder it when I tilt my head hard to the left. A weird symptom that I don’t understand is when I touch my ear I hear a vibration noise. It almost me sounds like my muscle is causing it. I got a mouth guard a month ago as I clench my teeth in my sleep. I work desk job and I know I have bad posture. I also spend many hours looking down on my phone while laying down. I noticed I had a slight forward head posture when I walk. I’m also been a stomach sleeper all my life which I read is not good for your neck. The odd part is I don’t have neck pain unless I wake up from an odd sleeping position. I’m working on correcting this issue by working on my posture and stretching. I’ve noticed the intensity is not as bad anymore when there is background noise but I can hear well in a silent room.I’m considering seeing a chiropractor to get it fully corrected with the hopes of eliminating tinnitus. Do you think I’m dealing with somatic tinnitus from neck issues?
Thanks,
Chris
Hi Chris:
I can’t say that all your tinnitus is due to neck issues, but I certainly think at least some is due to it.
Some people, when they touch various parts of their face and ears can generate a tinnitus signal like you can when you touch your ear. This is probably due to your trigeminal nerve becoming hyperactive from touch sensors.
You don’t have to have neck pain in order for your neck to be “out”. It depends on how pinched a nerve is as to whether you will have sharp pain or not.
Seeing a chiropractor is not a bad idea. Sometimes a good massage therapist can also help.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr Niel,
Can TMD cause the trigeminal nerve become hyperactive? I was diagnosed with TMJ. My left jaw grates when I open wide. From my understanding your TMJ can become inflamed from bad posture. Can the nerve go back to normal with posture correction and massage?
Thank you,
Chris
Hi Chris:
The two nerves that have a lot to do with somatosensory tinnitus are the trigeminal nerve and the facial nerve. The mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve innervates your jaw. Reducing inflammation of your face and jaw should calm down the trigeminal nerve and if your tinnitus is related to this, it should also calm down or disappear. Massage therapy, chiropractic and proper posture should all have a positive effect.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello,
I appreciate the valuable information. I’ll be continuing to work on my posture. I plan on seeing a Chiropractor and massage therapy in the hopes of eliminating tinnitus.
Thanks again!
Hello,
That’s really interesting and good to know. How do you calm the trigeminal nerve from being hyperactive? Can releasing trigger points in the neck help the touch sensors?
Thanks for the response.
Hi Chris:
Releasing trigger points is always a good thing to do. As your muscles relax and inflammation goes away, that should help your tinnitus in the long run.
Often it takes a lot of work to find all the points that cause the tinnitus so your tinnitus should reduce, but maybe not go away.
Cordially,
Neil
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, my tinunitis started in Jan 2022. That was a rough month over all. My anxiety was high and I was recovering from mild covid. Then out of know where I get this ringing in my ear. At first it was in both ears for about two days. It felt raw, really loud to the point I had to take off work. I was sensitive to all sound. I started reading articles on what was wrong and tried to calm myself down. The other symptoms I had was a headache and extreme back of neck pain. I went to the doctor she said that they are noticing people recovering from covid are suffering from tinnitus. She said it should go away in a week. She referred me to an ENT. I haven’t had time to make an appt. You are right that if you don’t pay attention to it it gets habitual. When I am working or in a loud space. Or if my heater or a fan is on I can barely notice it. When I lay down at night I can hear it….especially on the left side. But last night I coughed and laid down and it went away for a few minutes. What do you think is wrong? I’ve always had an occasional ring in my ear since I was young, but it fades away. This is 24/7 when I put my hands over my ear I try to listen to see if I can hear it.
Hi Gloria:
If you have to put your hands over your ears and try to listen for your tinnitus, obviously it isn’t very loud any more. But straining to hear your tinnitus is exactly the wrong thing to do. This tells your brain it must be important and your brain will turn up its internal volume so you can hear it better–and this is NOT what you want to happen. Rather, just be glad that there are times you don’t hear your tinnitus or that it is faintly in the background.
How is your sensitivity to sound now? Back to normal or near normal?
Covid often causes your blood to clot. Depending where this happens can give rise to all sorts of pain where blood flow is interrupted. It’s possible that your headaches, pain in the neck and ear problems could all be related to micro-clots.
Did you lose any hearing during these episodes?
Cordially,
Neil
Hi Neil,
I have T for about two months now. Want to share my case and get your opinion.
It all started at a soccer stadium. A firecracker exploded near me, and my left ear felt “full” and there was a strange noise coming from it. I thought it was going to pass, as the sound was really like what we see on war movies.
The day after that I woke up and was still hearing to this strange noise. In this same day I went to an ENT and did an audiogram. The result showed that I had lost hearing in my left ear on 1.5khz to 4khz frequencies. That’s when I met the tinnitus world. I started taking corticosteroid med immediately and two weeks later I redid the exams. Results showed that everything was normal again. No hearing loss at all.
Unfortunately, my T is not gone since the firecracker day. So, I started to try to figure out what was wrong with me.
Turns out I have two Cervical Herniated Disc and TMJ (I was already aware of that). I’m now doing some physiotherapy sessions and starting a TMJ treatment with a specialist. I have also noticed that the sound of my T increases a lot when I do the following things: move head to the right side, press my left cheek, open mouth wide and move my jaw forward.
What is strange for me is trying to understand why these problems (TMJ and Cervical Disc) would cause T only after the firecracker event.
Anyway, thank you if you read this and can help me some way. It is driving me crazy.
Kinds,
Hi Theles:
As I see it, the firecracker event caused you hearing loss with the resulting tinnitus accompanying your hearing loss. When your hearing returned to “normal”, that doesn’t mean all your hearing came back. “Normal” means any hearing loss down to 25 dB. “Perfect” would be 0 dB. So even that amount of hearing loss could keep your tinnitus going. Besides, you could have a lot of hearing loss in the high frequencies above 8,000 Hz where they typically don’t test and that could also cause tinnitus. Tinnitus from loud sounds is called neurophysiologic tinnitus.o
The tinnitus from your neck being “out” and your TMJ is related to “pinched” nerves or hyperactivated nerves because something isn’t physically right. This is called somatosensory tinnitus. When you mover, etc. you make the somatosensory tinnitus worse so you hear your tinnitus louder. Typically it is piggybacked on top of your neurophysiological tinnitus so you don’t realize you have two different kinds of tinnitus at the same time.
Now, to answer you question as to why the firecracker event seems to have activated they somatosensory tinnitus. Sudden loud sounds cause you to flinch/jerk, and this jerking could either put your vertebrae further out of proper alignment and thus “pinch” the nerves in your neck and face, or hyperactivate these nerves resulting in the somatosensory tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Bauman, my tinnitus both pulsates with my heart beat & changes loudness when I move my head up or down. It is quieter when my head is down. Should I seek help from a Chiropractor or seek other solutions as well? Thank you for your time.
Hi Stacey:
It almost sounds like you have two conditions. I think I’d go to an upper cervical chiropractor first and see what he can do. Then if you still have the pulsatile tinnitus, you might want to see a vascular surgeon and see if he can pinpoint the source of your pulsatile tinnitus and treat it.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Bauman,
My tinnitus goes away every time I move my head around and comes back as soon as I stop moving. Also the tinnitus goes away if I block the ear canal with my tragus while wiggling it(vibration movements), and comes back when I stop wiggling it.
Could this be a “somatic” type tinnitus ? The tinnitus itself is not really loud and doesn’t bother me 99% of the time. I matched my tinnitus around 2.5k-3k hertz
Thank you!
Hi Louis-Jacob:
You seem to have a “reverse” kind of somato-sensory tinnitus. Normally, you get tinnitus when you move your head, not when you stop moving it. I’ve never heard of this before, but obviously, it is possible.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr Neil,
I have a sudden increase in high pitch in Tinnitus literally feeling the in the centre on top of m head. This all started after I started taking Norvase BP medication I think. I am thinking of stopping the medication to see if there is a difference. My family doc said stopping BP medication will not a difference.
I can’t focus at my studies and work.
When I press the top of head or the side it makes a hissing sound in my head and changes tone. Thanks.
Hi Jafer:
I’ve heard similar stories from numbers of people who began taking Amlodipine (Norvasc). The good news is that when you stop taking this drug, you have a good chance your symptoms will go away, or at least be much less. I’d ask your doctor for a different BP medication if you really need one.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for your response Dr Neil. I am going to contact my family doc to change the BP medication as this is really not working for me. Plus this is causing me anxiety and which in turn making it worse. Thanks, J