I’ve suffered from tinnitus for 10+ years now and the noises themselves have never been too much of a nuisance, but in recent months I’ve started to experience significant pain, soreness, itching, tingling, and throbbing in my ears, along with headaches, jaw pain and vertigo. I’ve also been a severe teeth-grinder and wear a protective mouthguard at night. Should I be worried? And should I even bother wasting money to see a ENT if they’re basically just going to give me a hearing test and tell me to learn to live with it?
The pain, tingling, pruritis and throbbing you’ve been experiencing may be a component of the teeth grinding or it may be a separate issue involving the ears only. It will take professional help to sort this out. You can start with your dentist and if this is outside his/her scope of practice then a visit to an ENT would be appropriate. No responsible ENT will order audiology (this is not a hearing loss issue) then tell you to learn to live with pain, throbbing, etc. There is more that can de done to determine the cause of your problems.