What causes tinnitus with breathing issues and anxiety?

Question

Hi doctor,

About two years ago, I was playing a video game while wearing a headset with fairly loud burst sounds from time to time, and I noticed a small hissing sound was present in my ears or head when I was getting off my PC. I have always used headsets for long hours before this occurred. Ever since then this tinnitus has moved from one ear to another, and then centralized in my head. Anyhow, now whenever I put on and listen to a headset for a short period even on low volume, my ears hurt. The sides of my head around the ear and the tinnitus spikes up usually. I have tried several popular and expensive headsets with same results. Other symptoms I have are I have difficulty breathing through my nose, I feel emotionally numb, anxiety, my jaw locks sometimes when I bite on hard food and sometimes it does itself during sleep. The bones around my ear hurt. I do not know if any of the symptoms are related. But I have not been to a doctor for various reasons.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Exposure to loud sounds creates pressure over your nerve of hearing and can evoke tinnitus. Hence, I advise you to use minimal sound during games. The pain in and around your ears is due to excessive usage of headset around your ears. For your nasal obstruction, you should get a diagnostic nasal endoscopy done to rule out the cause and proceed for further investigations. Locking of your jaw can be due to the TM joint which locks more in the morning and creates pain when infected leading to pain while biting hard foods. Hence, a muscle relaxant is advised.