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Tinnitus
Tinnitus is often the brain filling in missing sound signals. We examine hearing, the jaw and neck, inflammation, and the auditory brain to calm the ringing.
What you may be noticing
A ringing, hissing, or buzzing that no one else hears. It grows loudest in silence and at night. It may shift with jaw clenching, neck position, or stress, and it makes concentration and sleep harder.
Why it is rarely one thing
Tinnitus is rarely a problem in the ear alone. It is a brain processing pattern. Most often, the auditory brain is turning up its own gain to compensate for reduced or distorted input, much like a microphone that squeals when it is turned up too high. The circuit involved is wide: the vestibulocochlear nerve, the brainstem, the auditory cortex, the balance system, and input from the jaw and upper neck.
The noise is generated centrally. Which means the brain can change it.
Distress is a second, separate layer. Two people can hear the same volume of ringing, and one barely notices it while the other cannot sleep. The difference often lives in the limbic system and the autonomic nervous system, which decide whether a sound is a threat. When those circuits calm, the ringing can fade into the background even before its volume changes.
Patterns we look for
- Hearing loss, even subtle high-frequency loss, which reduces input and triggers central gain.
- Somatic tinnitus: the jaw, TMJ, and upper neck feed into the dorsal cochlear nucleus and can change the sound.
- Limbic and attention networks that make the sound feel urgent.
- Autonomic state. Ringing often grows louder when the stress system leads.
- Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in the auditory pathway.
- Ear and sinus terrain, including Eustachian tube pressure and mold exposure.
- Blood sugar, thyroid, and blood pressure, which affect inner ear circulation.
- Ototoxic exposures, including certain medications and solvents.
- Nutrient status, including B12, zinc, and magnesium.
- Vestibular involvement, when dizziness accompanies the ringing.
How I evaluate it
A comprehensive functional neurological exam includes cranial nerve testing, vestibular and eye movement assessment, and examination of the jaw and upper neck to see whether movement changes the sound.
An audiology evaluation is essential. Functional labs may include a thyroid panel, fasting insulin, B12, inflammatory markers, and lipids. Tinnitus in one ear only, pulsing in time with your heartbeat, or with sudden hearing loss needs prompt medical and imaging evaluation; sudden hearing loss is an emergency.
How we address it
- Calm the autonomic and limbic response first with slow breathing, a long exhale, and low humming, so the sound loses its urgency.
- Address hearing input with your audiologist, including sound enrichment.
- Release jaw and neck contributions with gentle upper neck glides and targeted care.
- Retrain the auditory brain with a multisensory protocol I designed: you match the pitch you hear with a frequency app, play that tone softly, and perform short eye movement, convergence, and sensory drills during it, in repeated circuits. This pairing is a working hypothesis grounded in neuroplasticity, and it rewards daily consistency for about three weeks before we reassess.
- Reduce inflammation, stabilize blood sugar, support inner ear circulation, and address ear and sinus terrain.
When the brain receives better input, it can turn the volume down.
Book your Comprehensive Functional Medicine Eval/Neurological Exam today to discover what the contributing root causes are that are underlying your health concerns.