TMJD and Tinnitus

Tinnitus! A sound in the ears that is not caused by an external source. It can be a high pitched ring, whooshing, or lower pitched buzz. Some survey's suggest 10-25% of adults experience this issue making it kind of common. Likely we all have heard a brief ringing in our ears that goes away moments later but for some it can become a very persistent noise. What it has lasted for at least 3 months it is considered chronic.

Generally speaking, while annoying, it is not usually disruptive to one's day-to-day. For some it can make going to sleep or concentrating in quiet places difficult as it can be distracting. Most people who have tinnitus also have some degree of hearing loss.

Causes of tinnitus are unclear but noise exposure, advancing age, medications, earwax build up or infections, or head or neck injuries may be some. Less commonly it is a side effect of an underlying pathology, and for some people it is associated with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disfunction.

The jaw joint pathologies, or behaviours like grinding teeth, clenching, or chewing, can aggravate the tissues of the jaw. IF they swell a lot, or get very tense, they can pull on unrelated surrounding tissues in the neck and head including parts of the inner ear. This may lead to feelings of stuffiness in the ears, or the various sounds of tinnitus.

Massage therapy for the TMJ can help alleviate tinnitus in some cases, decreasing the decreasing how often the sound is heard, or the intensity/volume of the sound. Need relief? Hop on over the the booking page and get yourself set up for care!