A PhD completed. Positive effects for multidisciplinary orofacial treatment on tinnitus complaints

Abstract

Tinnitus can be influenced by somatosensory input from the temporomandibular area and is then called somatic tinnitus. However, not much research has been conducted on whether orofacial treatment can decrease tinnitus severity in patients with somatic tinnitus. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was 1) to evaluate the effect of orofacial treatment on tinnitus complaints, 2) to investigate potential prognostic indicators for a positive treatment outcome after orofacial therapy, and 3) to explore to what extent a decrease in temporomandibular disorder contributes to a reduction in tinnitus severity. In this thesis, it was found that orofacial therapy can reduce tinnitus severity in 61% of the patients with temporomandibular-related somatic tinnitus. Specifically, young female patients with a shorter duration of their tinnitus have the best prognosis. The analysis showed that 35% of the decrease of the tinnitus severity can be explained by the reduction in temporomandibular disorder.