Expert: Harriet B Jacobster, Au.D. - 8/15/2008

Question
Hi

have this slight right facial tightness / weakness  from the cheek, lip and under the eye.

it was numb for a few weeks about 2 months back probably after waking up with a stiff neck. My posture isnt good in that i tend to spend a lot of time doing work and surfing the net on the bed with a laptop and lying down, in a prone position. This forces me to raise my neck at an awkard angle. stopped doing that and the numbness went away. last week or so, i started lying down on the bed to surf the net and i have this right facial numbness return after 2 - 3 days of surfing net. 33 y/o male

I just noticed that i have a Very high pitched, yet very distant, Crickets" but not the throbbing kind of critter you hear at dusk, more along the constant unbroken shrill of the late night variety. It is most obvious during the quiet of the night but is hardly noticeable during when i do not focus on it or in the day when busy. it seems there only when i try to focus on it especially in a quiet room.I am thinking if it could be psychological as i noticed it today after some reading some health articles. It could be that theres always the sound there but i didnt realise or that the ringing is something that developed recently or got louder.the sound is there on my right ear sometimes very obvious and sometimes its not there especially when im busy or distracted. I hear it best when i put a finger into my ear to block all the external sounds.

i am under quite a bit of stress as i am probably relocating in a month to another country, i got anxiety and panic problems too. I seem to have noticed the ringing after I came across some "an" topics. Being easily anxious, i do no wish to see a specialist for every problem not being very well off. I have read somewhere that all these could be due to stress or bad posture.
Also the partial facial numbness has been around for about a week or so after its gone for a week or so. The ringing sound for about three days or so. I have since stopped my bad neck posture but the weakness is still there. The ringing is especially obvious when its quiet. Went to a gp few days back yesterday and she thinks it was circulation. Found no problems ear wax. She said she can send for a neck xray if i want. my face weakness seem to come and go. what do you think is the problem here? thanks

Answer
Hi Wayne,
You have a lot going on here...tinnitus, facial numbness, and neck problems.  It is very possible that all of these are related.  With neck problems, it is possible that some nerves are being compressed which could lead to the facial numbness and the tinnitus. HOWEVER - and this is a big however - the facial numbness and tinnitus may NOT be related to the neck problems and may be due to something altogether different, such as an acoustic neuroma. These two symptoms alone warrant a visit to a specialist, preferably an otoneurologist who specializes in pathologies of the auditory nerve.
Hope this helps.
Harriet B. Jacobster, AuD
Board Certified in Audiology