WHY THE PALATAL MUSCLES ARE TWITCHING ?

Various causes of tinnitus had been  mentioned  in my previous post and one type of tinnitus was objective , which means others can hear the sound. One of the causes of objective tinnitus is due to repetitive contraction of the muscles  of middle ear and palate ( roof of the mouth). This causes involuntary palatal  movement

also known as palatal tremor or palatal MYOCLONUS and is heard as a click sound.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES ? 

Two types of palatal myoclonus are there. SYMPTOMATIC  which  is associated with lesions in the brain (brain stem) like stroke and second type is the most common one ESSENTIAL   which is idiopathic (with out any cause) 

WHAT ARE THE FEATURES  ? 

Strong muscle spasms of the soft palate along with clicking sound which is manifested as tinnitus. Palatal myoclonus may be associated with myoclonus in other muscles, like that of face,  tongue, (pharynx ) and larynx( sound box). Contraction of the muscles of the soft palate can cause eustachian tube pressure variations resulting in tympanic membrane vibration. 

WHAT CAN BE DONE? 

Symptomatic  myoclonus has to be investigated for any pathology in the brain stem and treated accordingly. Idiopathic myoclonus are without  any causes. So patient needs reassurance, counselling, medicines given for muscle relaxation. Tinnitus treated by tinnitus retraining therapy. 

This post was for a patient with  the above mentioned condition.  Even though this condition is rare, it can be worrisome to the affected patients.