Holistic health specialist Amber Ford shares her experience of living with tinnitus for six months, before discovering a revolutionary treatment that involved a dentist's examination and adjustments to her teeth. Dentists believe there is a strong link between tinnitus and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD), conditions affecting the jaw joint and surrounding muscles. By using digital bite-mapping technology, dentists can identify pressure points and make tiny adjustments to the biting surfaces of teeth to reduce strain on overworked muscles and joints. This treatment, known as Disclusion Time Reduction (DTR), has shown promising results in reducing tinnitus symptoms.
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.
IT’S A FACT The first recorded reference to tinnitus was in Ancient Egypt, around 1550BC, when it was known as ‘bewitched ear’. 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 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. 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 cen
Tinnitus Holistic Health Specialist Dentist Temporomandibular Joint Disorders Disclusion Time Reduction Digital Bite-Mapping Technology Adjustments To Teeth Tinnitus Treatment Tinnitus Symptoms Holistic Health Specialist Amber Ford Holistic Health Specialist Amber Ford's Experi Tinnitus And TMD Link Tinnitus Treatment Success Rate Tinnitus Treatment Success Story
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘She’s Looking Towards a Global Communist Revolution’: GOP Rep. Gill Urges AOC to Seek PresidencySource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »
JEVS is taking over Northeast Treatment Centers' mental health and addiction treatment unitsNortheast Treatment Centers will retain its child welfare, juvenile justice, violence prevention, parenting, and foster care programs.
Read more »
UCF graduates clobber commencement speaker with boos after she says AI is the 'next Industrial Revolution'UCF graduation speaker Gloria Caulfield was booed offstage after making comments about artificial intelligence at an arts and humanities ceremony.
Read more »
Neanderthal ‘dentists’ treated cavities 59,000 years agoIn addition to Popular Science, her bylines include Smithsonian Magazine, Gizmodo, Discover Magazine, BBC Travel, Live Science, Interesting Engineering, Atlas Obscura, and more.
Read more »