Tinitus means ringing in the ears and many patients with TMJ problems experience chronic tinitus. If you hit someone's arm, all the muscles in the area where you hit tighten, not just the muscle you hit. The jaw joint is in front of the ear and when there is tightening of the muscles around the jaw joint, the small muscles inside the middle ear can also tighten. This often causes tinitus.

          Patients with TMJ problems often have a jaw joint that is badly aligned and pushes backwards towards the ears. Unfortunately, the back of a human jaw joint has a lot of very sensitive tissue that hurts when it is compressed. A patient's body often tries to correct this problem by pulling the jaw joint forward and this takes muscle power. Unfortunately, muscles were not designed to hold bones in one place for much time. As a result, an overworked muscle goes into spasm, begins to hurt, gets inflamed and next begins to shorten and get hard. Every other muscle in the area is usually effected.

          It is not uncommon for TMJ patients to enjoy relief from their tinitus after one to six weeks of TMJ therapy. This is because the cause of the tinitus with TMJ patients is the compression of the back of the joint. A dental appliance prevents a patient from biting all the way and so protects the tissues in the back of the joint. The muscles can then relax and including the muscles inside the middle ear that can cause tinitus.

                                                   TMJ dysfunction                                    diabetes                                      hypothyroidism
                                                   injuries to the head and neck                      allergy                                        excessive ear wax                
                                                   anaemia                                                    ear infections                                 ear inflammations
                                                   high blood pressure                                   circulation problems                      tumors            
                                                   ear trauma from loud noises                       Meniere's disease                         otitis media               
                                                   stiffening of the middle ear bones (otosclerosis)
                                                   side effects of medications (aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, and antidepressants)

          It is very interesting that many of the causes of tinitus are also very commonly related to TMD problems.

          There are many different causes of tinitus which demands that a multidisciplinary treatment approach be taken. The first step for tinitus sufferers is to have a thorough medical and audiological evaluation to determine if the cause of the tinitus comes from a treatable medical condition. The medical evaluation is best performed by an physician skilled in internal medicine. ( Internist ). The patient with tinitus should also be evaluated by another physician who specializes in ear, nose, and throat disorders ( Otolaryngologist or ENT ). Many ENTs have audiology staff who can evaluate hearing. If all medical causes of tinitus are ruled out, a dentist skilled in treating TMJ Dysfunction must also become involved.

          Tinitus suffers should avoid all loud sounds. Loud sounds can make the tinitus worse and can lead to additional hearing loss. Consider wearing earplugs or earmuffs to protect your ears. In some people certain foods, caffeine, alcohol and/or aspirin can aggravate the tinnitus. Keeping a diet diary can sometimes help identify theses irritants.

         Dr. Mark Allan Padolsky has extensive training in TMJ dysfunction and has lectured on TMJ at several dental schools and professional organizations. If you have tinitus and would like to speak with Dr. Padolsky, consider scheduling a consultation by calling 404-874-7428.