The struggle of tinnitus

I've had it since Fall of 2009. I had a nasty concussion. It's been ringing every since. And the sjogrens kicked in Spring 2010 which, somehow, made it worse. ARGH.

originally posted by: FlyersFan
I've had it since Fall of 2009. I had a nasty concussion. It's been ringing every since. And the sjogrens kicked in Spring 2010 which, somehow, made it worse. ARGH.

You and I share something in common then my friend. As I stated in my OP, mine started a week after a concussion I had playing Football back when I was 17 (I am 37 now)

But oddly, mine shifts from ear to ear every few years.

So if it goes away from an ear and then goes to another, one has to wonder if there is a 100% cure for it. Because if it doesn't just stay in a single ear the whole time and leaves, then it cannot be as simple as having an ear malfunction can it?

Ive often wondered if it has more to do with our brain and not our ears.....

And by the way, Ive also heard that hypertension (high blood pressure) causes tinnitus too.

originally posted by: Bloodydagger
a reply to: texasgirl



Hi there! Its nice to see a fellow Texan here

And yeah, I can only imagine being hearing impaired and having tinnitus. I feel for you. I am terribly sorry you're going through that.



Can you hear music through headphones? If so, I suggest getting a CD with pleasant sounds on it. Like a water fall. Or a bubbling brook. Perhaps a certain animal type sound that is pleasing for you personally. Just any "pleasing" noise and play it while you go to sleep. I bet you'd sleep better.



.....or just simply play music

I go crazy without any background noise when its bed time. I cannot sleep when its pitch quiet.

I am deaf without my hearing aids so headphones don't really work for me. It's frustrating. But I've dealt with tinnitus for so long I have learned to tune it out most of the time.

Thank you for the kind words.

originally posted by: pheonix358

originally posted by: texasgirl

I am hearing impaired so tinnitus is a constant 24/7 problem for me. I hear ringing, pulsing, high-pitched pinging, roaring, and sometimes talking.



Occasionally I'll wake up in the middle of the night thinking my radio is on because I'm hearing music, but when I put my hearing aids in there is no sound at all coming from the radio/alarm. Those incidents spook me.

Try having your fillings checked. It has happened (but it is rare) that a filling can act to receive radio signals much like a crystal set does.



P

I've heard of that. Pretty interesting theory. But I am deathly afraid of dentists and probably won't go back unless I have a life or death toothache, LOL.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

I have had it for going on 14 years. Its at the point now where I don't notice it unless I focus in on it. Your brain will learn to shut it out after awhile..BUT now that I am focusing in on it..Its still TOTALLY there. Too many damn rock concerts and shooting guns in my youth..I wold go back and carry foam plugs with me if I could..lol Such is life.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

I've suffered from it for the last decade or so , night clubs , gigs and 20 years as a rock drummer damned me to eternal white noise / ringing in my ears , it's my own fault so I can't really complain.

I guess I've pretty much got used to it now and only really notice it if I'm in silence or I think about it , my doctors response when I raised the subject was " I have ringing in my ears too " .... yeah cheers doc !

It's just one of the little gifts life gives you as you get older , better to hear something than nothing.

I am also addicted to the fan for sleeping, cant go anywhere without it. Sometimes the ringing is worse if I have been playing loud music or driving with the top down. Like you said , background noise, that's what helps me out.

Interesting thread, BD!
Several punk rock shows and playing in numerous bands has done this to me as well (totally too cool for ear-plugs . . . oh jeez).

My Dr. prescribed me with a CNS stimulant some time ago, and that evening I had a severe case of tinnitus - and this happened every time I took that medication. I remember reading (I think it was William Burroughs) that when one is place in a sound-proofed room in total silence, there will be two distinct tones noticed- the low tone is the sound of blood moving through your veins and arteries, and the high-pitched tone is your nervous system. Weird, huh? I did this experiment when I was in Detroit at an automobile factory's sound room (or whatever it's called), and lo & behold - it became so intense that I freaked out and had to leave!

I've noticed the pitch of the tone is variable, and will endeavor someday to isolate the exact notes of the ringing. I have my suspicions that all sorts of mental or brain activity corresponds to the variations of the particular pitch (as my experience with CNS stimulants seems to show), and have no doubt that somebody in history has conducted experiments about this. I've often wondered if the CNS could be stimulated or depressed by introducing variations of this tone to the auditory system by headphones or something. Really curious where research here could go. Way beyond binaural beats - but affecting variance in the pitch of the ringing itself and mapping out any corresponding brain or physical activity.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

Saw the thread title and had to come in and sound off. (Pardon the pun.) After 3 weeks of being sick extreme high temps as a 13 year old, (Rheumatic Fever?) I ended up with this problem. I am 53 now, well on April 9th I will be.

Sounds like millions of crickets, frogs, and cicada going on all the time since then! Plus a constant hissing. A few different notes, pitches, levels of that. It did drive me to the point of near suicide, years ago. More than once actually I had those thoughts. Any little sounds increases the noises already in My head. It is neverending. But someday when I am gone, I also hope the noise is too. Just My luck, I'd still have that going on, eh? LOL!!!
Thanx for the thread to let me have somewhere to talk about this!
I feel for You and each and everyone here who posted, and for those only lurking who suffer from this condition. You would think by now, there would be a cure?! I mean really!! I did see a couple things here that I am going to try to make this more bearable...... Later, Syx.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

Sorry for delay..time warp over the other side of The Pond!

It's behind the ear.....preferably in a downward stroking movement......make sure you wash your hands thoroughly with soapy water afterwards!!!


Jane

I have it as well and I have noticed that it gets especially loud after ... 4:20.
Normally the high pitched whine I hear is ignorable, but at times when I'm "foggy" it reaches a howling crescendo.

originally posted by: abe froman
I have it as well and I have noticed that it gets especially loud after ... 4:20.

Normally the high pitched whine I hear is ignorable, but at times when I'm "foggy" it reaches a howling crescendo.

Yes, it's much worse when I don't sleep well and am groggy the next day. I drink a lot of water to stay hydrated and it's a little better afterward.

Dagger, I developed tinnitus while I was on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard. I spent many hours working in enginerooms on board various cutters. The noise level there was always above 120 decibels. We all wore ear protection but that only brought the noise level down to around 80 decibels.

I had to deal with tinnitus for about 10-12 yrs after I retired. Then one day I did not notice the ring anymore. It had been it both ears all those years. Now I am 64 yrs old and only get the ring once in awhile. For me I found out my environment has to be complete silent.

The only noise in my apartment is the computer fan running in the background. I turn on TV only for a few hours everyday usually between 4-10 PM. I do not listen to any kind of music, anything that creates a loud noise. This lack of noise helps keep the ringing out of my head.

If I focus on it, it will drive me crazy, so I fall asleep with the radio on. It helps to stay distracted. Ignore it. Its hardest when I try to sleep, because it is sooooooo loud. Radio distracts me from it.

I have 4 kids, so I have practice tuning out annoying noises. Its a skill that has come in handy several times. lol

a reply to: Bloodydagger

I've had it for as long as I can remember. The sound I hear changes over time. Sometimes it's a high-pitched whine, or it can sound like crickets outside, and I've heard the muffled conversations and radio in the next room, when in fact there was none. Stress and lack of sleep seem to be what worsens it the most.

I recently was prescribed methylfolate. The first night after taking it, I had this insanely loud crackle - fizz sound in my head. It went away after a couple of days, back to the regular high pitched whining. Boy, was that maddening.




Just want to mention, my dad did sandblasting and painting as a side business until I was about 9 or 10 years old, so I think being around that is the cause of my tinnitus. My dad is 78 now, and his hearing is fairly poor.

Depending on what is causing it determines what you can do about it. If it is an ear thing, it is possibly permanent. But from what you are saying about the switching, it sounds like it is in the brain. So is mine.

Certain foods can dampen the signal, it appears to me to be part of my TLE. It came within a short time. I had a whiplash and scarring of my left temporal lobe from an accident. I control mine with cabbage and a little foods containing niacin and it doesn't do bad. Soup made with some cabbage and a few drops of tabasco sauce works well. If it is in the brain it is a sort of mild epilepsy where signals don't travel around properly. It can also come from any damaged nerve in the body backfeeding energy into the brain. Maybe trying a chiropractor will help, when my neck gets sore, it gets worse.

Sugar makes my noise a lot worse, try cutting down to see if it works. I can eat a little bit but not a lot. It will take trial and error on your part to identify the triggers. Caffeine does not bother mine at all, but if there is sugar in with it than it gets real bad. One to two teaspoons of sugar in my coffee does not make it worse though. A coke will.

It's enough to make you go nutz. As a former machinist I've spent many an hour next to 30-40-50 hp electrical engines screaming bloody murder.... Now I pay for it in both ears, all the time. I haven't found anything that helps at all, but good luck.a reply to: Bloodydagger

Yep. Had it since the Army, where I got it because I never wore ear protection while doing things that caused loud noise.

So now my right ear plays me a little symphony of about six to eight dissonant high-pitched violin notes 24 hours a day.

The ENT says I could reduce this by using hearing aids and balancing out the right sided hearing loss, basically the ear would quit trying to hear in those bands so hard. I've given it some thought - I have issues making out speech in noisy environments now if you don't face me so I can use your lip movements to help. No problems off the shop floor or outside the hangar, though, so I hate to start.

OTOH, the new ones are amazing - you can use them to play music over a BT link, or use them as your phone earphone, and the one I'm mulling over "focuses" on whoever's talking and suppresses the background hum.

I have also found that if my B12 and B6 is not high, it gets worse. Or if I'm really tired.

I have a perfect F# constantly ringing in my ears. I tune my guitar to it.
Too much loud music and gun fire with no ear protection.
I also get the phantom music and murmuring voices every now and then.

Numerous years of hockey and football when i was younger, then being aboard a US Naval vessel for a few years with those lovely diesel turbines, Listening to music too loud has caused me to have a mild form of it. Just like OP i constantly have to have some kind of noise around me otherwise it gets loud and obnoxious. (Love my winter time fan too, Airflow and noise = win)