I am wondering if folks with styloidgenic jugular compression have experienced tinnitus ( non pulsating) and whether it was cured or improved with removal of one or both styloids. Thank you. Henry.
Henry,
I have bilateral ES but only had jugular compression noted through ultrasound on the left. I also experienced non pulsatile tinnitus in both ears for many years. After my left styloidectomy in August the tinnitus on the left is gone, though the right side still comes and goes.
Hooray !!! That is encouraging. I have been very down about the tinnitus, among all the other symptoms. I have been afraid that would be the one that wouldnât go awayâand mine is severe. You have given me hope. I know there are no guarantees, but I am very grateful to read of your experience. Who was your surgeon ?
Thank you. Henry.
Mineâs improved, but not gone completely, although I was lucky & it wasnât too severe anyway!
My surgeon is Dr Omilie in Minneapolis MN
Thank you. Unfortunately mine is pretty bad.
Hi, Iâm sorry that you suffer from tinnitus so badly. I can not answer your question yet because Iâm still having severe jugular compression on the left side and a little bit on the right. But Iâm curious about the following:
My symptoms get worse when I do mental work or concentration tasks. Especially the tinnitus (non pulsatile) and the neck discomfort. When things get very bad, I get muscle spasms on my head, down my back and legs to my feet, which only slowly subside over the course of days.
Can you also observe this dynamic in yourselves or are the IJVS symptoms actually only changing a little?
Best regards
Has anyone had their tinnitus get worse after surgery ? I am suffering from bilateral jugular compression. Worried pressure changes caused the tinnitus and that it may not respond to surgery or get worse.
Dude: I havenât been able to link it to mental work or concentration but my symptoms do fluctuate. I do get terrible headaches, neck and upper back pain. Some days it is better. I have found that If I stay with my head in flexion, with chin up, it helps. My tinnitus also fluctuates. Some days it is very bad and some days better. I think keeping chin up helps that too. I hope this helps. Henry.
1 Like
@Henry â the same happens with me, in ânormalâ position my head feels like a balloon being overinflated, but if I extend it like a goose, the blood circulation gets better (sometimes I can even hear it in the form of tinnitus like a beeping Morse code), and I sometimes get temporary relief. Certainly, I look awkward at those moments.
1 Like
Actually, head up puts the neck in neutral or slightly into extension. Flexion would be chin toward chest. Just donât want anyone to get confused.
1 Like
Oops. Yes that is right. Am better in extension with chin up. Worse in flexion with chin down. Thank you for the correction Isaiah. Henry
1 Like
May I ask: Did your tinnitus improve right after styloidectomy or did it take some time? I had surgery mid august, but tinnitus hasnât really improved since then. I hope it will get better over time. Thank you.
@MsMarie - Tinnitus is one symptom that sometimes doesnât go away. It can reduce in intensity & can become more intermittent but sometimes it doesnât completely resolve. Is yours pulsatile (pulsing with your heartbeat) or a general buzzing/humming sound?
If itâs pulsatile, here are links for a couple of research papers in our research paper section that might offer an explanation for some cases:
1 Like
Thank you. Itâs non pulsatile, itâs a high frequency static noise.
2 Likes
@MsMarie This is a post from the Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms Iâm hoping you will find helpful. Our brains are predictive processors that draw heavily on the past to interpret the present. Sometimes we need to learn how to update the operating system (so to speak) with new information. Learning how to recategorize the sound as ânot dangerousâ or how to feel safe in the presence of the sound can be all it takes for our nervous systems to recalibrate and stop elevating the noise to conscious awareness. Anyway, here is the post:
Tinnitus: An Alarm Inside of You
Guest Blog By Dr. Marcia Dewey
Tinnitus is the sensation of a sound inside of you. Although the majority of those who experience tinnitus are actually not bothered by it, there is a meaningful number of people who suffer not in silence. Tinnitus is driven by neuroplasticityâthe brainâs natural ability to create, adapt, and change its neural pathways. Most of the time, it is a sound created by these neural pathways in the brain, not the body. These changes can be in response to actual structural damage, such as an ear infection, injury or trauma to the ear, exposure to loud sounds, or ear diseases such as Meniereâs disease or an acoustic neuroma. Tinnitus can also start with more benign changes to the ear, such as gradual hearing loss due to aging, genetic factors, or prolonged noise exposure. Of course, like many other neuroplastic conditions, tinnitus can start in the absence of any structural damage at all. In these cases, psychosocial stresses influence neuroplastic changes in the hearing areas of the brain, which are perceived as the tinnitus sound.
What is important to understand is that even in cases of structural changes in the ears or gradual hearing loss, because the tinnitus sound is generated by neuroplasticity in the brain, not the ear, this sound perception can change. Just like pain, tinnitus can be a danger alarm that is turned on in the brain. Tinnitus is the earâs equivalent of pain. And just like pain initiated by the brain with structural damage in the body, the danger signal often goes off once healing occurs. Even with structural changes in the ear that remain, the brain can learn to turn this alarm off once safety is established. This is where education about the benign nature of tinnitus can help to rewire the neural pathways that associate tinnitus with danger.
Here is one of the most powerful pieces of evidence I can offer you that tinnitus is neural pathways in the brain that can change: if you have a structural ear issue, it is either going to gradually heal in time or remain stable with slow, predictable changes. If your tinnitus is worsening over time or varies, meaning it does not follow the pattern of your structural issues, this variability is a major clue. Neuroplastic changes can be directly linked to psychosocial stress. In these cases, the tinnitus changes are occurring in the brain, not the body, due to stress, emotional strain, and factors unrelated to the ear. While structural issues remain constant, these stress-driven neuroplastic changes can fluctuate, spike, calm, and surge depending on what the brain perceives as dangerous in the moment.
Finally, even if you are hearing mechanical processes in your body such as muscles contracting, blood flowing, or your eustachian tube opening, if this is distressing, you can still treat this as a neuroplastic symptom. The sound itself is not harmful. What matters is the meaning your brain has attached to it. If you can shift the learned neural pathways that associate these sounds with threat, the tinnitus can be recognized as a neutral sensation and fall out of your awareness.
Regardless of whether there are structural changes in the ear or even mechanical processes in the body being heard, the neurology around this can change. This is where a shift from fear to curiosity becomes incredibly powerful. Instead of asking, âWhy is this happening?â or âWhat if it gets worse?â, you can begin asking, âWhat might my brain be reacting to right now?â or âWhat emotion or moment did this spike coincide with?â When you approach tinnitus this way, the danger alarm loses its urgency. The sound becomes less of an alarm and more of a signal, a message from your nervous system that something emotional may need attention.
Tinnitus is not a life sentence or a sign that your ears are failing. It is an alarm that can be turned down once the brain no longer believes it needs to protect you. When you stop treating the sound as dangerous and start listening to what it represents, the brain no longer needs to keep the alarm switched on. And when the alarm is no longer necessary, it naturally quiets.
Dr. Marcia Dewey is an audiologist specializing in treating tinnitus and sound sensitivities as neuroplastic symptoms. She works at the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI. You can follow her on YouTube @Dr.MarciaDewey.
3 Likes
Thank you for that info @Chrickychricky , really interesting!
@MsMarie my tinnitus was pulsatile & caused by vascular ES, & it did go pretty quickly after surgery, so probably different to yours.
2 Likes
Iâm glad itâs not pulsatile, @MsMarie. I sympathize with your situation as I also have persistent tinnitus left from an inner ear surgery in 2019. Nothing to be done surgically to repair the problem but the neuroplasticity info @Chrickychricky posted may be a path to reduce what I constantly hear.
2 Likes