Tinnitus is a condition that causes you to hear sounds like ringing, buzzing or clicking that are not externally present. One potential cause of tinnitus may be temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
What Are TMJ Disorders?
TMJ disorders cause pain in your jaw joint or the muscles that control jaw movement. They can result from injury to the jaw, teeth grinding or clenching, stress, arthritis in the jaw or a misaligned bite.
What Is the Link Between TMJ Disorders and Tinnitus?
A 2018 review of five prior studies found that tinnitus rates were higher in patients with TMJ disorders.1 TMJ disorders affect the jaw and surrounding muscles, nerves and ligaments near the ear.
Some patients can reduce tinnitus severity by moving their mouths, jaws, faces or necks. This is known as somatosensory tinnitus.
How To Manage These Conditions
If you are experiencing tinnitus and TMJ, our providers at Beneficial Hearing Aid Center will help you find relief. Treating your TMJ disorder may relieve your tinnitus symptoms if they are solely caused by TMJ.
Lifestyle changes like stress reduction, eating softer foods and avoiding chewing gum and nail biting may help with TMJ disorders. Other cases may require you to visit a specialist for medication, physical therapy, dental treatment or surgery.
At Beneficial Hearing Aid Center, our team can help you manage your tinnitus through options like relaxation techniques and sound therapy. We will partner with you to create a personalized management plan that ensures tinnitus doesn’t interfere with your daily life.
1 Mottaghi, A., Menéndez‐Díaz, I., Cobo, J. L., González‐Serrano, J., & Cobo, T. (2018). Is there a higher prevalence of tinnitus in patients with temporomandibular disorders? A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 46(1), 76–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/joor.12706