Tinnitus / teeth grinding

[dlg78]

Does anyone else suffer from Tinnitus at all?

I have had this for several years now, in conjunction with severe teeth grinding which has worn away the tooth enamel - I'm 33 but have wear rates of a pensioner.

Think this is down to anxiety and grinding in my sleep, but I read it can also cause the tinnitus too?

Apparently a lot of tinnitus sufferers also talk of depression, anxiety and irritability, not sure if there are things that can be done for Tinnitus at all?

Dave

[caring angel]

Hi Dave, I'm also new to this forum, welcome.
I suffer from Tinitus and I've had it for years.  I think i've had it that long that I don't seem to notice it so much now.There are a There are some simple things you can try yourself that may help with your tinnitus. These include:

keeping your stress levels down, (I know easy to say & do).
take regular exercise
make time to relax and try special techniques such as meditation
keep a low level of background noise, such as a fan, radio or TV
join a local support groupfew self help techniques that may help you with your tinitus.

There are no medicines which have been shown to effectively treat tinnitus itself, Dave. However, your GP may be able to prescribe you medicines to treat an underlying cause, if there is one.
It has been found that Depression or anxiety can make tinnitus more of a problem and treatment of these conditions may help bring some relief. People with some long-term, painful conditions sometimes get relief by taking low doses of antidepressants such as amitriptyline. This may also help sometimes if you have tinnitus.
As for the jaw clenching Dave, when you clench your jaw is is called bruxism, and headaches may be a side-effect of some popular anti-depressants, such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and other drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). There is a drug called Buspar which is used to relieve anxiety and research says Buspar appears to target a specific area of the brain that might be influenced by SSRIs to cause the jaw clenching. They say that Buspar may act like a little bit of dopamine, meaning it may cause the jaw muscles to (become less) tense."
Hope this helps  :)

[Zaf]

I do both too, I rarely notice the tinnitus these days and the teeth grinding or clenching teeth is only when I'm very stressed fortunately.

[cornish]

ive ground my teeth for a while now, mainly in my sleep but ive found that during the day, when i can i suck lollypops, that also seem to relax me and reduce my anxiety levels and im physically unable to drive unless i have one in my mouth 

what's tinnitus ??  googled it but im a bit confused, is it like a high pitch squeal sort of thing ??

[Zaf]

it can be a variety of sounds I think, mine are mostly a sort of high pitched noise that I cant really describe and the sound like a big bell ringing

oh, sometimes it can sound like small waves breaking on a beach

mostly they are one at a time but sometimes I get the high pitched noise at the same time as one of the others

[cornish]

ive had high pitch noises that seem painful if that makes sense, ive just put it down to me hearing things like i normally do.
will have to speak to someone about the possibility of this.

[Got]

my father has it and its worrying.

He has special hearing aids supplied by the NHS for the purpose of reducing the noise.

[Zaf]

yes, one of the sounds I hear verges on painful,  fortunately its rare though and all the sounds often disappear if I am listening to music or the TV but if its quiet I hear them in the background a lot of the time

Your dad must have it pretty severely Stevie?

[Got]

Well, the stressful event I mentioned yesterday was my dad crying in the car. He is suffering that much, it made me very anxious, so I popped the beta blocker. Its awful to see, someone like that, it must be horrible.

[dlg78]

Thanks for the replies, I have to pick up a mouth guard from the dentists on Friday, should help me reduce the pain and effects of teeth grinding.

The tinnitus is indeed a constant high pitched squeal which you tend to block out after a while, its when things are quiet that you really hear it more.

[Zaf]

Well, the stressful event I mentioned yesterday was my dad crying in the car. He is suffering that much, it made me very anxious, so I popped the beta blocker. Its awful to see, someone like that, it must be horrible.

That really is very sad Stevie, I guess thete is little more the NHS can do?

[Got]

No nothing really. I am really worried, he is loosing weight.

I am going to ask my mum to keep a close eye on him whilst im abroad, he gets any worse I think medication is the way forward

[Zaf]

I dont know much about the condition but if its that bad for your dad hopefully your mum can make sure he goes to his GP and sorts something out

[Got]

Its never easy to get my dad to do anything, stuck in his stubborn ways 

My mother doesnt give him much sympathy, not sure why she is like this with him...I don't think she quite realises how harsh she is being, but she doesnt seem to realise how serious a problem it is. It drives people to suicide.

[Zaf]

It must be horrible if its severe,  I can imagine it causing suicides at its worst