[Guest]

I think tinnitus (ear ringing) can be a key in dp.
I have the feeling a constant ringing ear is assumed by the brain as an alarm and it causes high anxiety and a sort of flight response ..as DP!
DP infact happens also in sever anxiety as a defense of the brain to stress

also..
I think is interesting that the same drugs used as therapy for tinnitus work also as therapy for dp (i.e. drugs for epilexy)

One more thing: I think TMJ problems and malocclusion (I don't know how to say it in english, with the term MALOCLUSION I mean the up and down teeth not matching well) has a lot to do with both the symptms of dp and the tinnitus.
All the symptoms of the Costen sindrome (due to malocclusion) are very similar to DP.
Malocclusion causes dizzines, vertigos, tinnitus, confusion, sight problems, neck pain, percepetual distortion and various neurological problems ...this has a lot in common with DP

I think the chain could be somehow malocclusion>neurological problems/alarm reaction>DP

we should check haw many people here actually have malocclusion (tmj)problems ...I have the feeling a lot here do

You can make a test. put a finger in your ear and open and close your jaw, if something click and moves in a weird way you do have a tmj (=malocclusion) problem ...and if you do DP can be a symtom of it.

I read a lot about tmj stuff and the good news is that if you fix it by working on your teeth you should feel much better

 

[Guest]

Does anyone else find that if they clamp their teeth togther they can 'hear' the tinnitus more?

I used to think it was the muscles working I could hear, when I was a kid

 

[terri*]

No, but I find if I make a shhhhh sound I can't hear the constant, everdamnlasting ringing in my ears. :evil:

SHHHHHHHHHHH....

I hate tinnitus!

 

[Milan]

Mr Mole the answer is yes. Doing anything involving heavy lifting makes the ringing louder. When tired and stressed the ringing gets really loud and it feels like I've got cotton wool in my ear. Spent too much time in front of the PA stacks as a teenager when we use to jam. That reminded me - the first concert I ever went to was Deep Purple when I was 15. We stood next to the PA stack and the sound pressure was astonishing. Never heard any band since play that loud. The bass drum was forcing air from my lungs each time the drummer would kick it. Got home that night went to the toilet and flushed it, saw the water moving but couldn't hear a thing. My ears rang for three days after that. Must have done some damage to the ears that night.

 

[g-funk]

I have tmj, as a result of grinding my teeth in my sleep since I was a kid, and then taking SSRI's which make you clench your teeth even more. I had a plate to wear at night (that I never did, so I still have a dodgy jaw).

I could see how this relates to tinnutus. However, just my opinion, (and I think you've brought up some good points, some I've wondered myself) that in our case, anxiety is first in the chain, causing tension jaw problems.

Tmj is really common and I wouldn't be surprised if lots of people here have it too. It's also a symptom of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME). Dissociation is also a symptom of these diseases. However there are many symptoms of stress that look like a specific disease (fatigue, psychosomatic pain) but are not necessarily so. A large number of symptoms will be given a name, but in reality there are so many combinations of symptoms, psychological and physical, that it's no wonder there are grey areas, illnesses that overlap.

This is an interesting article on dissociation and its possible links to chronic illnesses such as the above. Trauma can have massive effect on your physical well-being. I spent ages believing it to be the other way round, that if I could be diagnosed with 'X' or 'Y' (physical illness) then I could be given some drugs and be on my merry way. It is entirely possible that dp can be secondary, ie caused by illness, but in the majority of cases I've seen/read, it is the other way round.

http://www.trauma-pages.com/scaer-2001.htm

ps 'Trauma' need not be sexual abuse etc but is a subjective experience, one that changes the way you view the world, and the way in which you perceive yourself able to cope.

I'm not contesting what you are saying, by the way, just thought I'd give my penny's worth of info that I've learnt on the subject! Hope it is of help.
G

 

[Guest]

this is my opinion:
I read a lot about it and I'm thinking more and more the wrong position of the TEETH causes neck tension, fatigue, ear ringing(tinnitus), tmj disfuncion, iper activation of cerebral activitiy and difficulty to sleep (also because your jaw mucle are never relaxed) , also the neck tension due to the teeth wrong matching provokes bad flowing of blood trough the cervical area and stressing of the nerves; THEN we have anxiety even if we don't realize it, because the body perceives all of this sensation (expecially tinnitus) as an alarm, and DP is just a response to the high anxiety - a flight response.

so -may be I'm crazy- but I don't think is a coincidence that we all have teeth , neck and jaw problems here and I have the feeling that balancing our teeths problems can actually make a significant difference in reducing our fisiological "alarm state" and then the DP response

take a look here
http://www.appim.it

 

[Darek]

(I copy this from the tinnitus and dp forum)

Tinnitus and DP

For me, now I know there is a connection.

I have smoked marihuana two times in my life. Shortly after the first time, my problems with tinnitus began. That was some eight years ago and I haven?t seen much of a connection.

The second time, I have smoked marihuana a month ago - and since then, my problems with DP began.

Update - ssri?s made tinnitus worse. but also - i?m clenching my teeth after that now (zoloft).