Tinnitus - Ringing in the ears

[eofelis]

Does anyone here have issues with tinnitus - ringing in the ears?

My SO has had problems with it for several years. It came on suddenly. He has been to a few ENTs, had his hearing checked, etc. He does have some hearing damage in the ear that rings the most. He has tried chiropractic treatment but that has not helped. He says that sometimes the noise goes away completely, other times it's very shrill. It has affected his sleep when it's very loud.

[nonsmoker3]

Surlypacer -
My DH has tinnitus. His stems from 20 years in the military as an infantry soldier playing with things that explode. It will be dormant for long periods of time, then something will trigger it and he will suffer for days on end. We actually had to give away our cockatiels (we had 3 boys) because their "songs" aggravated the condition horribly.

The Military Dr's have sympathy for the condition but have yet to provide any treatment. DH does have significant hearing loss in one ear, and as that progresses the tinnitus actually seems to lessen.

So, I guess the good news is when he goes totally deaf the tinnitus will be cured and I can get my cockatiels back.......

[LBTC]

Surlypacer - consider acupuncture from a therapist trained in traditional chinese medicine. I was surprised to learn from mine that the particular quality of the ringing (hissing, more bell-like, etc) can let them know which meridian is out of balance, and they can use the needles to adjust that. You've already ruled out ear problems, time to try something new!

btw, both Wahine and Pike are trained in the manner and may be able to give you more tips about what to look for in a therapist, and how successful you might expect treatment to be.

Sending butterflies to help, and hugs,
~T~

[shootingstar]

My partner has had it for past 20 years... for him it's not hearing loss.

Tinnitus for him occurs at the same time when he gets a headache due to sudden changes in barometric pressure....ie. oncoming/occurring storm, rain, etc.

True he cannot sleep hardly at all when it occurs. He finds he needs distraction from me... .

Supposedly the famous Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh had tinnitus...it drove him mad that he cut off part of his ear..

[HillSlugger]

I have tinnitus and hearing loss in my left ear as a result of Meniere's syndrome. Unfortunately for me it is permanent and only likely to get worse with time. It's quite annoying but I guess I'v3e learned to deal with it. I'll be getting a hearing aid in January.

[PscyclePath]

Does anyone here have issues with tinnitus - ringing in the ears?

My SO has had problems with it for several years. It came on suddenly. He has been to a few ENTs, had his hearing checked, etc. He does have some hearing damage in the ear that rings the most. He has tried chiropractic treatment but that has not helped. He says that sometimes the noise goes away completely, other times it's very shrill. It has affected his sleep when it's very loud.

Surly:

I have it, in both ears. Usually it's a constant high-pitched whine, though sometimes it sounds sort of like cicadas in summertime. It's a constant sound, though, whenever I'm awake enough to listen to it ;-)

Mine came from military service, where I spent about 13 years in cannon and heavy missile field artillery. I have about a 30 to 40% high frequency loss on the left and right respectively. My actual threshhold of hearing is still pretty good, but there are certain pitches that I simply can't hear any more. I was over at Chainwheel, one of the local bike stores about a month ago looking for a bike bell, and played with several of them before I found one that I could hear. The girl who was waiting on me was very patient, if not a little puzzled why I kept hitting the key on one model... "It's not working..." Said she, with both hands over here ears, "Oh yeah, it works just fine!" I wound up taking her word for it, and though I can't hear much more than a "thump thump," the other folks on the bike trail seem to react to it most of the time

I have a hard time with some female voices, if they're soft or range into the higher pitches. And in a crowd or noisy room, I'm pretty much lost... I have to focus on one source of sound in order to understand much of anything.

It's a little aggravating at times, but then I've seen folks who have to wear hearing aids, or are completely deaf, and I'm content to count my blessings.

Hearing loss sneaks up on you, and you don't really realize what you've lost until it's too late. Mine came from obvious things like cannon fire and more likely, tank and other big diesel engines, but loud music, etc. can get you just as stealthily.

Tom

[KnottedYet]

I have it, it's constant.

In fact, I was complaining to my doc that sometimes my ears go "dead" for a few minutes but I can hear just fine... and then I realized that the "dead" feeling was those very rare occaisions where the tinnitus STOPS.

Mine's not annoying or obstructive enough yet that I've sought help with it.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I assume everyone knows that tinnitus *can* at times be caused by taking too much aspirin over too long a time? It's one of the symptoms of too much aspirin in the system. Just in case anyone with this problem is taking lots of aspirin- they should know about that.

[Crankin]

I have it in one ear, since September, associated with the Fibromyalga. It's intermittent; I'll have it for one day and it's gone for two. Mine isn't ringing,it's more like cicadas. I do have a slight hearing loss in that ear, but it's nothing I notice. It also is associated with a headache at times. I have been checked by the ENT, had an AER test to rule out acoustic neuroma (a bad thing) so tomorrow I call the acupuncturist!

[three]

I have it, in both ears. I've had it since I was a little kid. I got diagnosed with it when I was about 8 - when the ENT doc told me I had 'the ears of an old man'. Good times.

It's an annoying thing, but western medicine can't do anything for it. Unless you have hearing loss that warrants a hearing aid, they pretty much just tell you to deal with it. And soon enough, you get used to high-pitched ringing.

Other than just acquiescing to the pestering ailment, I would encourage alternative treatment methods. I haven't tried any. But, eastern medicine has been around for a couple thousand years longer than western - they're bound to have insight that goes beyond 'get used to it'.

Good luck.

[shootingstar]

One of sisters (46 yrs. old) recently told me she recently had bouts of tinnitus. It's being monitored by ear, nose & throat specialist. Before it was balance problems for 8 months solid. Now that problem has been replaced with tinnitus.

My partner has had tinnitus often combined with headaches/pressure in his head for at least last 30 years of his life. He is 64.

Because he has had this combined problem for so long in life, often he doesn't tell me if he is suffering at that moment. His tinnitus & headaches occur particularily with barometic/air pressure changes. His body usually can sense an oncoming storm or just change in air pressure/weather, by such symptoms.

He takes nothing for any of this. If it's bad, he just power naps. Or tries. Or he asks me to distract....from the tinnitus.

He does find cycling actually helpful often ...it distracts him from the ringing noise and head pressure.

He also has a sleep disorder where he will fall asleep if his body is still for a few hrs., he will fall asleep. ie. watching movie, play or driving a car beyond 1-2 hrs. His sleep disorder, tinnitus, etc. have all been examined /tested by specialists at teaching hospitals.



Now you know why we don't own a car and why he must cycle.For his own sanity, safety and health.