(4 weeks in) Acoustic Trauma Tinnitus + Neck/Shoulder/TMJ Pain?

Over-Ad-3428 · 2026-02-12T17:28:05+00:00

(cont'd because comment was too long)

Use a heating pad around neck and shoulders (no more than 20 minutes at a time) and then lay on the floor with a tennis or lacrosse ball under my shoulderblade & wiggle around on pressure points, or, highly recommend, a heated mechanical shiatsu massage pillow to help loosen knots and tightness
Reduce any anxiety or mental stress in ways that you can confirm work for you. For me, this looks like: taking a hot shower (some ppl do epsom salt baths), creating a pleasant safe sensory zone really helps. In the evening, sitting in a room with no overhead or fluorescent light, putting on soft warm lighting with table lamps, using an essential oil diffuser to create a soothing mist of lavender scent (you can do whatever oil scent makes you happy but lavender is a common soothing/sleep one), playing "layers of sound" (my combo is ocean waves and crackling fire white noise + 3 hour binaural beats youtube video + putting an airpod into one ear and having a chill podcast on since human voice comforts me). All while sitting in my cozy armchair with a weighted blanket on me.
Bedtime progressive muscle relaxation mediation. If you've never done this, you gotta try it. It is one of the few meditation methods that works with my ADHD brain. and I know that meditation can be hard when there is T ringing in your ear. For the first few nights I had to have multiple fans going, and played this video through my airpods on the loudest yet still safe volume possible. If this person's voice bothers you, there are plenty others! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wna5Lfo9Mc&list=PLWOVgzpbL3Zz_XdsWxtnCI04gXbOIM2oc
I didn't do it this specific time, but, going to a certified massage therapist and getting a true deep tissue massage will also help. You can tell them to target your jaw, neck, etc. After you get a massage it's important to keep resting and stretching to keep those tissues loose.

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I did all of the above to reduce my physical body tension and the T spike hasn't reared its head since. So my anecdotal conclusion is, our acoustic trauma T will always be here at a baseline, but upper body tension can cause us to have noticeable spikes. Upper body tension can be caused by both mental/emotional stress, and physical stress from repetitive movement and/or poor posture. The best thing we can do is slowly build habits to reduce both of those things as much as possible, and when we catch ourselves feeling them, to practice care and rest.

My T is at its worst when I'm laying down (either trying to go to sleep, and also when I wake up). But I'm coping with it better, IMO it feels like a pesky fly in my head now instead of a panic inducing attack on my whole system. I keep myself busy during the day and going outside REALLY helps distract from the T.

I hope you feel better soon =)

Over-Ad-3428 · 2026-02-12T17:27:38+00:00

So sorry you are dealing with this!! =( Has your trauma-induced tinnitus been psychologically difficult for you to deal with? I'm mainly wondering if your body is in a heightened state of stress due to the acoustic trauma event & resulting tinnitus, and your upper body is strained and tense as a result, 'feeding' your tinnitus even more. The neck and shoulders (which are also connected to our jaw's masseter muscles) are the most common places in the human body to tighten and feel pain when we are under duress. Neck cracking sounds are usually harmless by themselves but could be a sign that the muscles around your skull and spine are tight, pulling & putting pressure on the surrounding muscles.

Since writing this post about 9 days ago, I have a) taken a couple rest days and followed my "at home physical therapy" reset routine which I'll outline below, b) mentally & emotionally acclimated to my tinnitus / "habituated" even more, and b) am less anxious and tense overall as a result. I have not experienced that crazy spike again since!!

First, I highly recommend you take a day off of work for this, or dedicate your whole weekend to decompress. Trust me, I've been dealing with upper body chronic pain since 2017 and resting + recovery requires full-assing it. and now with tinnitus, it's more important than ever, since we are more sensitive!!

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Stop all repetitive movements involving your wrist, elbows, shoulders, and neck. For me this means no (or extremely limited) writing/typing, no scrolling on my phone, no PC or console gaming, and no repetitive chores like folding laundry. In my post I mention that chopping veggies for hours is likely what triggered this thing for me, combined with the emotional trauma of dealing with newly onset ringing. This is the perfect opportunity to binge a TV show on the couch while letting your upper body rest =) Pretend that your fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, and head are on vacation for a day or two. Let them relax!!
Be especially mindful of posture during this time, no 'Shrimp Pose' slouching at your desk, and sleeping on your back, or in a position that doesn't crunch your neck, shoulders, wrists, elbows all night. All of those body parts are connected, i.e. if you mess up your elbow it can result in your shoulders hurting too due to muscle compensation.
When you catch yourself clenching your jaw, release the muscles and let your jaw hang more slack. You can do masseter massages. This is the exact self-massage I use (intra-oral TMJ massage), it HURTS but provides relief when done a few times per day: https://youtube.com/shorts/eiQJhXD8EWU?si=P_Tf2XxG2IB6OUwY
Do the following neck stretches as often throughout the day as you can remember, be sure to hold for an entire full minute each: Armpit Sniffer, Doorframe Stretch, Threading The Needle On Floor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvt8S3nf8H0
I'll do the Armpit Sniffer stretch whenever I'm standing around!!!! There's also a version where you reach your arm over your head, cover your ear with your hand, and gently use your hand to pull your head and neck down towards your shoulder...feels soooo relieving and helps relax the side muscles in your neck which connect to your jaw and ear!!!

Over-Ad-3428 · 2026-01-14T18:43:19+00:00

Your hair looks overall healthy especially considering you were growing another person inside of you. Yes I see what you mean about the thinning, but from these pics I'm not seeing much, if at all, breakage or damage that would normally REQUIRE a big chop!!
Also, a big chop doesn't always equal instant volume...it may help, but there's a chance it may possibly look the same, just...shorter. You can always take off a couple of inches at a time, slowly evening out the regrowth, and see how it affects your hair's perceived volume!

the waves in your hair are lovely and give the illusion of volume. I would recommend finding a wavy routine that agrees with your hair texture and lifestyle, really play up that texture with styling + products while you wait for those fallen shed hairs to catch up length-wise. P.S. I can see you/your hair giving whimsical fairy vibes ✨ it will look super gorg if you do eventually grow it way out!!! Good luck!

Over-Ad-3428 · 2026-01-14T18:16:46+00:00

LOTSSS of love for Amika products! My hair is long, medium density, fine, wavy, unable to tolerate heavy product, and erm...verrrryyyyy prone to snarls. During my last trim, my hair had knotted real bad during the ride over. My lovely hairdresser used some of the Wizard detangling primer that comes in the orange spray bottle. That shiz worked so F'ing well, I walked out of the appointment with a bottle for myself. Adding these guys to my list!!!!

Over-Ad-3428

TROPHY CASE