For Amber Ford, the worst part of the menopause wasn’t the hot flushes or the brain fog – medication helped calm those symptoms. But what it couldn’t touch was the relentless ringing in her ears – tinnitus.
For six months, the mother of three lived with a constant buzzing, alongside neck pain, jaw tension and headaches.
As a holistic health specialist, the now 53-year-old from Suffolk tried everything to ease the symptoms – from destressing techniques to massage therapy – but nothing worked. ‘It was driving me nuts,’ she says. ‘It’s like a permanent presence, constantly there and throbbing.’
Then, during a routine trip to her dentist, everything changed. Amber’s dentist realised she was suffering from a poorly aligned jaw that was putting strain on the muscles and joints around her face.
Using specialist mapping technology, her teeth and bite were precisely analysed before she went through a near three-hour procedure involving tiny adjustments to the surfaces of her teeth to reduce the pressure. The results, she says, were almost immediate.
‘Straight after the first treatment, the whooshing sound – like a washing machine – had gone,’ says Amber. ‘There’s still a faint sound now, but it’s more like a heartbeat and it doesn’t really bother me.’
Amber is one of around seven million people in the UK living with tinnitus – the little-understood condition that causes ringing, buzzing, hissing or roaring sounds in one or both ears.
The noises are not caused by any external source. Many people experience tinnitus temporarily, often because of ear infections, earwax build-up or Meniere’s disease – a chronic inner-ear disorder that can also trigger vertigo.
Holistic health specialist Amber Ford, 53 – one of around seven million people in the UK living with tinnitus
The condition causes ringing, buzzing, hissing or roaring sounds in the ears, and has an impact on daily life for around 1.5million Britons
But for about 1.5 million people, such as Amber, the condition has a significant impact on daily life.
Persistent tinnitus is often linked to age-related hearing loss or noise damage caused by machinery, headphones or loud music.
Current treatments focus on helping patients manage the symptoms. Talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and mindfulness can help sufferers cope with the distress caused by tinnitus, while sound-masking devices use white noise or background sounds to make the ringing less noticeable.
But now some dentists believe they may have found a way to dramatically reduce the debilitating noise for a significant number of sufferers. Research increasingly suggests there is a strong link between tinnitus and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) – conditions affecting the jaw joint and surrounding muscles. TMD can cause pain that radiates to the ears, temples and across the face – often triggering tension headaches, sleepless nights and tinnitus. Around seven million people in the UK are thought to be affected.
A review this year of previous studies found 42 per cent of people with TMD also experienced tinnitus, compared with about 10 per cent of the general population.
Experts believe the connection exists as the jaw and ear share key nerve pathways. When the jaw is irritated or overworked, it may send faulty signals to the brain’s hearing centres, which are then interpreted as ringing or buzzing.
The treatment Amber underwent aims to relieve that tension.
Known as Disclusion Time Reduction, or DTR, the treatment is designed to reduce excessive pressure and tension in the jaw.
Digital bite-mapping technology involves the patient biting down on a thin electronic sensor. It records which teeth are hitting first as the jaw moves, where the pressure is greatest and how long the teeth press together.
Dentists believe they may have found a way to dramatically reduce the debilitating noise of tinnitus for a significant number of sufferers
Dentists can then make tiny adjustments to the biting surfaces of teeth by smoothing away microscopic amounts of enamel to help the jaw close more evenly and reduce strain on overworked muscles and joints.
Previously, dentists relied on thin strips of coloured paper placed between the teeth to identify pressure points – a far less precise method that experts say often missed subtle imbalances.
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‘It has been revolutionary to be able to treat patients with this technology,’ says Dr Michelle Wyngaard, from The DTR Dentist Network. ‘It has a much higher success rate than previous treatments. I treated a man who had tinnitus in both ears and, by the time he reached his car after the appointment he said the sound had reduced by 90 per cent.’
The treatment can cost between £1,500 and £4,000 depending on the amount of work required.
But charities say that it is unlikely to help everyone with tinnitus.
Pat Morrison, of Tinnitus UK, said: ‘DTR isn’t widely recognised as a treatment. However, research does show an overlap between TMD and tinnitus.
‘Occlusal [biting surface] adjustments are not suitable for everyone and are usually only considered after more conservative management options have been explored.’
But for Amber Ford it has been a huge success. ‘I have two more treatments to go and the hope is that it will disappear completely,’ she says. ‘But even the improvement so far has been amazing.’
