The word ‘somatic’ is derived from
the Greek word ‘somat’ which means the body. Somatic Tinnitus
thus concerns the tinnitus symptoms which alter with
body movements and is considered to be the most common
form of tinnitus that affects people. And given that the
disease is now evident in a large chunk of the
population, it can be said that somatic tinnitus also
affects many people. Even though tinnitus has come under
the limelight only very recently as a major symptomatic
disease causing millions of American to suffer from its
varied forms and types, making doctors and researchers
scratching their heads and trying to figure out an
enduring cure or relief; somatic tinnitus, on
the other hand can be tackled by controlling those same
body movements. For instance, a patient uptight with
bells ringing consistently while standing in an upright
position, feels the noise diminishing as he/she
reclines.
Somatic Tinnitus Symptoms
There are 3 principal criteria for
somatic tinnitus including tinnitus that is associated
with Meniere’s disease and this is being described
below.
- Patients
that can modify their tinnitus resonance by making
movements in their jaws, neck and even the
eyes.
- Patients that can modify their
tinnitus resonance in terms of sound level and pitch
by way of pressing their mandible,
cheek, temple, neck and the tragus (a small
part of the external ear that assists the brain in
sensing sound coming from behind) with a
fingertip.
- Patients
displaying muscular tension in the neck muscles and
the jaw.
It may be
of interest to note that these movements tend to augment
tension signals from the toughened muscles in the
innervation area of the sensory trigeminal nerve related
to the acoustic pathways. They are also least related to
stress or anxiety factors that create tinnitus in most
patients. Even physical examination reveals severe
muscular tension in these cases.
Since
somatic tinnitus is mostly controlled by body movements,
investigations related to its symptoms are body oriented
too. For instance, the mobility and the maneuverability
of the jaw and neck as well as its deficiency is
checked, measured and noted. Assessment of the dental
occlusion is performed by keeping the neck in an upright
position. Since the jaw and the upper cervical spine
represent an integrated motor system that may not
tolerate deviations, any forward head/neck posture may
be treated as a recompense for a disorder in the dental
occlusion.
Somatic
Tinnitus Cure Plans
The intended treatment
plan envisages on reducing the
tension of the muscle in the jaws and the neck. Patients
who had earlier believed that their tinnitus problem was
mostly linked to stress and strain now understand that
the real problem lies elsewhere. With grinding of the
teeth, their symptoms seem to become lesser in volume
and pitch. The fact is, keeping the neck in the most
favorable position, the dental occlusion can be attuned
to the grinding. Brightly shining facets kept in the
mouth immediately turns dull with a mild maneuver of
grinding teeth. When they reappear gleaming at the next
visit to the clinic, these are considered as results of
the masticatory muscle hyperactivity during REM
sleep.
Patients thereafter are especially
trained
to sense the novel
stabile occlusion in various postures like standing,
sitting, lying down, etc. to assess which posture suits
them the best. Patients are also referred to
physiotherapists to learn how to cope with tension in
the neck and best the relaxing postures that provide
relief to their tinnitus problems. Some are trained to
do stretching exercises for their suboccipital muscles
as well as performing atlanto-occipital joint linked to
the restricted side. Breathing with diaphragm sometimes
form part the training procedure.
Somatic
Tinnitus Holistic Treatment
The above mentioned treatments can
however if anything, provide just some temporary relief
at best. And the fact of the matter is, the real issue
that causes the problems remains within the body. In
fact this approach of conventional practitioners wherein
just the symptoms of tinnitus is treated never works
because as soon as the effect of the treatment starts to
wane, the symptoms begin to appear again. This is why
many people complain that their tinnitus problems never
go away. What they should do is turn to holistic
remedies. Treating the body as a whole, holistic
remedies first finds out the root causes of tinnitus and
its triggers and only then suggests remedies that can
include herbs, exercise, lifestyle and diet changes and
even acupuncture. The fact is, holistic remedies always
give better results in the treatment of somatic
tinnitus
.
