A few weeks back I started getting a high pitch tone/ring in my right ear. Nothing particular happened that I can recall but I do work in construction. Anyway, I noticed I can silence the ring for a moment if my jaw is all the way open so it appears that stretching that muscle group silences it and comes right back when I close it again.
Chewing gum did nothing. Been taking Niacin tablets and ear ringing medicine I found at Walgreens none of which seems to do anything at all. I can basically hear it through most any sound so doesn’t matter if I turn a fan on or turn the radio up, I can still hear that high pitch tone…I would guess it’s around 15-20 kHz
Background sounds of course can take my attention off of it but even if pretty loud I can still hear it if I pay attention so the only real relief I get is if I open my jaw all the way.
Have a doc check for ear wax buildup first (do NOT go digging around in there with q-tips). If you work around loud noise like I did, your ears produce more wax to protect themselves (a doctor told me this). If it’s tinnitus, then welcome to the large legions of people who have it. It can be debilitating if loud enough. I remember reading about some sort of white noise hearing device that masks the sounds, but I don’t know how effective they are.
Yeah, head to the doctor asap. I also have tinnitus, and as far as I know, there’s nothing much to do about it. Background noise can distract me from it, but that’s about it
I have tinnitus along with hearing loss, diagnosed by an audiologist 2 years ago as part of my VA disability claim. Audiologist said it won’t go away, and could get worse with age. She also said the OTC meds are a waste of money; I never even bothered to try them. There’s nothing prescription, either.
I’ve got constant ringing in both ears, and occasionally I get a tone in one ear that’s so “loud” it’s physically painful. I have found that having a fan on in the bedroom helps, but sometimes sleep is an impossibility.
I’ve had tinnitus for years. Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease, so it can be caused by many things. IANAD, but if I had to guess based on nothing but your post, I’d say the fact that you work in construction makes it likely you’ve been exposed to loud noises, which can damage the cilia in the inner ear. If that’s the case, welcome to the tinnitus club. It won’t get better, but you may learn to ignore it. White noise devices help some people; I haven’t found them very helpful for me. If, for example, the sound of a running shower helps you to tolerate the noise, you may want to try a white noise machine.
And finally, if you haven’t been doing so, WEAR EAR PROTECTION at work. This is basically the one and only thing you can do to prevent the problem from getting worse.
I have had it for 20 years.
What you are describing is a a situation in which the ear canal is doing something - opening your jaw would do nothing for tinnitis - but if may stretch the ear canal - an ENT MD (otolarg… something).
Get thee unto a doc forthwith…
I have tinnitus, which I always want to misspell as tintinitus (no idea why, ringing metal noise I guess) - anyhoo - IME it does not go away, but mine is caused by a specific condition. Your situation sounds different.
Yes, wear ear protection if you are not. The best you can find. Post here or PM me if you need recommendations. I have different sorts that I wear depending on whether I need to understand spoken conversation, but still need protection, or whether I need to just block everything out. You can get good ear plugs that are cheap in the drug store or on Amazon.
Go see a doctor and see if they can help. The ringing can also be a symptom of other conditions (like mine is), so go find out what’s up.
My tinnitus showed up a few years ago, but it bothers me less now than it used to. So if it’s true that it never gets better, then I’ve mostly learned to ignore it.
Anyway, I never go anywhere without a set of 28dB earplugs on me nowadays.
Sadly, most of the common types of tinnitus tend to persist. Especially cases caused by noise exposure. A lot of folks end up spending a lot of time and money on evaluation and fancy devices, with pretty much minimal benefit.
Meditation and psychological exercises can help a small number of folks. The constant sound of water running at a very low volume can be a good white noise blocker of tinnitus.
If it gets better with jaw stretching, hopefully it is something minor like a blocked Eustachian tube. There are many causes of ear ringing and there is a good summary of them at aafp.org in a 2004 primer for GPs.
Similar experience here. My hearing loss is right at the same frequency I tend to hear with my tinnitus. My audiologist has a theory that it’s similar to phantom pain after an amputation - your mind may be trying to make up for what’s missing.
I probably only notice it every few days at this point. I’m in the habit of never being in a very quiet place - there’s always a TV or radio on at home, unless I’m sleeping. For a while I slept with white noise, but I’ve found I don’t need it.
I would say the same thing. It’s not something I notice at all unless I pay attention to it, but from as long as I remember, I can hear something that I would describe as a high pitched sound similar to what you would hear on an old CRT TV set when it was on, but the volume was off (assuming you could hear into that 15k+ Hz zone.) I’ve always kind of thought of it as my brain being “on” sound, and just assumed everyone heard it. It doesn’t quite feel the same as an external sound, though. Somehow, it feels like it’s coming from within my ear or brain or whatever.
What about the fact that it goes away when I open my jaw wide?
I’m already on meds for that, never had the ringing before I was diagnosed rather I used to get migraine headaches.
I’m pretty sure it’s from years at my job and yes I do wear hearing protection for jackhammers and such but heck even being in a diesel truck going on the highway at 65mph for a 2 hour trip each day with the windows cracked probably can cause it too.
The part everyone mentions about masking it, I find it difficult to do because it’s so high pitched that most noises are well below that tone, so I can still hear it even with a fan on…etc.
I heard of people trying biofeedback for tinnitus , I am not sure if it helps or not.
I am hard of hearing and had tinnitus for years , I have learned to tune it out . It will get worst at times and mine has never gone away . I think it gotten worst when I lost more hearing . I can’t hear for shit with my hearing aid off but I can hear my tinnitus ! :smack: I agree you should have your ears checked out if hadn’t recently.
Just checking here - did you say it showed up when you were diagnosed with migraines (or if that’s not what you’re saying, are you saying at all that you have migraines)? I am asking because I have chronic migraines and one of my most annoying symptoms is tinnitus. Your tinnitus may be associated with migraines.
Also, I think someone on the thread mention pink noise as a masking option. I tried that and it didn’t work but brown noise was awesome, don’t know why. I ran that last night and it was really nice. The frequencies matched or something and I didn’t feel like I had a mosquito trapped in my ear, which was a very nice change.
Do you have good health insurance? You may need to see more than one doctor to figure this out.
Since it stops when you open your jaw, it could be TMJ. I just got a newsletter from my dentist about TMJ. Apparently it can cause tinnitus, migraines, and dizziness.
It could also be a physical problem with your ear, or even allergies causing ear congestion.
So the bad news is it might take some work to find the answer. The good news is, you might find the right treatment and be “cured.” Most of us with tinnitus won’t ever be “cured.” I hope you are the exception!
