This is so odd I have to share and find out if anyone else has ever experienced something similar:
When I “scratch” the left side of the roof of my mouth with my tongue, I feel a tickle on the OUTSIDE of my face, just above the lip. It feels like my face is being tickled with a feather. It is very localized to the front left quadrant of the hard palate.
This just started happening a week ago and I think it’s bizarre. It’s like scratching your leg and feeling as though someone is scratching it, but on the other side of the leg.
One other weird left-side-of-my-face thing that has been happening is very loud tinnitis in my left ear that sounds exactly like a cicada crawled in there and started going at it for about a half-second. This has happened three times, but not in the last three or four days.
Guesses as to the cause? Do I have a brain tumor? Anyone else experienced anything similar? Or is it …ominous music… just me?
Well, the nerves around there do some odd things, and sometimes overlap/crosstalk in strange ways–consider photic sneeze reflex, for instance. If it’s a new thing, though, there might be an identifiable cause.
Complete shot in the dark: have you had a head cold lately? Or a fever that might be associated with an ear infection? The noise you describe sounds rather similar to ones I’ve heard when a previously stopped-up ear partially cleared, sort of a ripping noise, rather than a pop. Swelling associated with an infection might also be putting pressure on a nerve bundle somewhere, which could conceivably cause unusual sensations.
Could be TMJ related. I have TMJ syndrome due to compression of the trigeminal nerve where it passes through the TM joint. Among other fun symptoms, I can get tinnitis and strange sensations in my face and neck.
I rarely ever notice it, except during dental cleanings. When the dentist cleans the back molars on the right side, I feel it on the back of my tongue. Like - the plaque-scraping tool is scraping my tongue. When the dentist cleans around my top two front teeth on the left, I feel it on the front of my lip, directly in front of those 2 teeth. It is definitely freaky.
Back when I had my surgery in 99 to move my lower jaw forward, the surgeon said the large nerve that runs along the left jaw might be traumatized by the surgery. I have a tiny bit of permament numbness on my left lower lip. I always figured the “cross-nerve-chaos” was also a result of the surgery.
I have similar things happening. If I scratch, say, a place on my side, I can feel a tickling on the outside of my leg, on the same side. I always figured it’s some kind of “referred sensation”, the way we get “referred pain”.
My husband is unable to Q-tip the insides of his ears, because he’ll get tremendous tickling in his throat and then an overwhelming cough reflex. Not just a couple of coughs, either - he’ll be bent over double coughing to the point of almost retching.
I occasionally get the same thing; it suddenly appears as a loud continuous tone and gradually fades away over a few seconds. I have no idea what causes it (nor have ever found anything about it), but it only happens every once in a while, no more than several times a month (and usually less); I have had it since I was kid, as long as I can remember and it doesn’t bother me so I have never done anything about it (maybe it is some nerve cells misfiring for some reason). Don’t think it is ear-specific though, or related to any triggers (happens at any time).
A while back, on a different board, a doctor said that the ear thing is pretty normal. The only time to worry is when it happens in both ears at the same time, in which case get yourself to an ER ASAP.
It’s an inflammation of the nerve ganglion and symptoms can include tinnitus.
My mum had it last year and it started as strange itching sensations with odd triggers, a bit like the OP describes. The tinnitus for her was the next symptom, then came the pain and dizzyness.
By the time it was full blown, it was very unpleasant indeed. She was lucky to have a 99% full recovery.
How awful for your mom, maggenpye! I’m glad to hear she almost fully recovered (and sorry that she has some lingering effects!) I hope this is nothing like that … and I do feel encouraged that there is information that this is common. I’m not really frightened by it; it’s more strange than anything.
She’s the one in our family to always pick up the really *odd *things.
Not yer bog standard meningitis for her, oh no, she had to have the *listerial *version which needlessly complicated the treatment. Not shingles like any normal person, shingles in the brain!
She also tends to make spectacular recoveries, against all expectations and then wonders why the rest of us make such a fuss.
Love her to bits, but she ain’t easy.
If you get pain, get yourself to the doctor quickly - one thing the doctors kept saying was that the longer you let nerve damage go without treatment, the more likely the effects will be permanent.
