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Comment by amelius | Hacker News Reader

The link might be through sleep bruxism. The ear is very close to the jaw and I suppose that jaw tension might have an effect in the ear. TMD sufferers also frequently complain about tinnitus.

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Generally stress often manifests in tight jaw muscles. And the jaw is close to the nerves that cause one form of tinnitus. And the jaw muscles are also connected to the muscles in neck and shoulders. And these muscles are often strained with people that spend their days hunched over computer screens.

So, jaw relaxation, posture, sports does it for me.

That sounds plausible, yet I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere! Mind expanding on what worked for you?

Simple exercises like pulling the jaw down and to the fromt or chewing in a circular motion (“like a camel”). Chewimg gum. Chewing on something hard, like carrots. Giving the jaw something to do. Massaging the point where the jawbone meets the skull. Rotating the shoulders front and back. Taking walks. Imagining that the head is a melon that needs to be balanced on the shoulders without falling over. Making sure one has enough times without appointments and duties. Being in nature. Spending time with animals.

This is very interesting to me. I have bruxism (extra bone growth on the top of my jaw by my back teeth) as well as mild tinnitus, and I have firm pillows I sleep on. I will do some research on TMJ/bruxism-specific or just softer pillows. I'm sure it'll be a very long-term fix and not see immediate results, but the link between TMJ/bruxism and tinnitus is an interesting area, and might be my own cause. Thank you for the comment!

I had vague problems in that area and changed pillows - I had a harder latex sort of pillow that was moulded, moved to a cheapo supermarket pillow and seems to have gone away.

I will just note I went to physical therapy for shoulder pain for a few months until I realized I just needed a less-firm pillow.

Meta lesson: just try things!

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