Anyone jaw clench out of anxiety and ended up with issues from it?

[Jotia]

I have always been a jaw clencher during my sleep and the dentist has mentioned it looks like I grind. I never got offered a mouth guard or anything and feel I wouldn’t be able to sleep with it in. Also have a huge fear of dentists so haven’t had my teeth check since 2019.

Anyway I’m noticing now I’m clenching pretty much all day too and have to try stop myself from doing it. I’m starting to get tooth ache and face pain. My jaw also clicks and makes a grinding sound and I now get tingling in front of my right ear as well as tinnitus in both that’s been there over a decade.

I have read about tmj, and I’m wondering if I have caused my self that to be honest and if that’s is also the cause of my vertigo. I’m considering purchasing a mouth card off Amazon to help. Has anyone had similar? Have you found anything that helps?

[Sparkling_Fairy]

Yep! I jaw clench all day long. A mouth guard helped for a year, but I started getting really bad headaches from it because I started biting on it really hard.

I have bad tinnitus from my jaw clenching. My GP recommended putting Voltarol gel on my jaw for a few weeks. And that’s helped immensely with my tinnitus!

[Jotia]

Yep! I jaw clench all day long. A mouth guard helped for a year, but I started getting really bad headaches from it because I started biting on it really hard.

I have bad tinnitus from my jaw clenching. My GP recommended putting Voltarol gel on my jaw for a few weeks. And that’s helped immensely with my tinnitus!


Oh I never thought of using something like Voltarol. I have some next to my bed some ok gunna try that later. How long until you saw and improvement while using it? I feel like I have had tinnitus as long as I can remember and it’s so bad in my right ear.

[Sparkling_Fairy]

After about 5 days I saw improvement with my tinnitus during the day.
I never thought about using it either until my GP suggested it. My jaw is just not a place I thought about using it on!

[Jotia]

Been applying it morning and evening for a few days now and I honestly didn’t notice my tinnitus as much last night, definitely wasn’t bothering me as much anyway.

I came across something today that said the test for tmj is checking for tenderness on the joints in front your ear. I tried pressing there and I got some pretty bad pain so I’m think I might get it checked out. Do you go to a doctor or dentist about this first?

[Sparkling_Fairy]

That's great! 3 weeks for me and I haven't had my tinnitus for a few days, so it really does seem to work.
Though I'm sure with how tense I keep my jaw, I'll have to apply Voltarol every couple of months for a few weeks.

I talked to my dentist about it a few months ago, but even though my jaw joints are tight (that's also where I apply the Voltarol) he told me I don't have TMJ.
So my GP is the one who ended up telling me about the Voltarol.
If you do actually have TMJ though, I believe treatment for that comes from your dentist.

[Jotia]

Managed to get my hands on an over the counter mouth guard today. Cost me £30, followed the directions and it doesn’t fit, I think my teeth are just too wonky for it. Also I’m just chewing the hell out of it already. Looks like I’m off to the dentist at some point.