Tinnitus

[BOBOT]

Has anyone dealing with this condition found any relief?

 

[ducky911]

I got it.

Been taking Lipo-flavonoid plus for about 3 weeks now...they say it takes a month....I do not expect it to work...but if it does I let you know

 

[John Galt III]

Don't know how bad yours is. I've had tinnitus for about 20 years. It's the high pitched tone type. I don't notice it most of the time. Not planning on taking any meds for it.

 

[donheff]

Yeah, I ignore it. Almost never bothers me until I read some reference to it like this post and then, wham, I am surrounded by ringing.

 

[Midpack]

I think I've had it for many years, but never diagnosed. It's constant so it seems normal to me...

 

[imoldernu]

Depending on what study you believe, people over age 65 have a 10% to 20% chance of having tinnitus symptoms...(women a little more than men). It is usually accepted as a simple fact of life, with no recognized accepted single cure.
Usually a come and go.
Some epileptic drugs are prescribed, and there are contiuous reports of breakthroughs, but so far no "one size fits all".
Blood pressure (high and low) can exacerbate the symptoms.
DW has occasional bouts, and once in a while I hear some hissing, but ascribe it to the voices that try to help me through life.

Tinnitus: Causes - MayoClinic.com

 

[mickeyd]

I have had it since 1967 (Ft. Benning , GA). No cure, I have been told. Learn to live with it, I have been told.

It's been a part of me for many years. I call my friend Buzz.

 

[martyb]

After working on, around & under running military jet aircraft for a bunch of years, I have it pretty bad. I think it's getting worse.

 

[Amethyst]

As a teen, I was bothered by hyper-acute hearing. Sometimes I had to leave a store because the fluorescent ceiling light starters made a high-frequency hum that tormented me, but which adults could not hear.

A few (quite a few, actually) rock concerts and doses of ibuprofen later, and I had a 20% high-frequency hearing loss and permanent tinnitus. The audiologists say it's your brain trying to fill in the sounds you can no longer physically hear. Learning to ignore the ringing and hissing is the only solution.

There may be other reasons for tinnitus which can be treated medically. Ask your doctor....

Amethyst

 

[NoiseBoy]

I've had tinnitus for about 18 years. I'm fairly certain that mine was caused by exposure to high sound pressure levels from working with bands for years. Interestingly, at the time the ringing in my ears began (and never stopped), I wasn't active in that field anymore. Like the earlier posters, I just live with mine.


Since then, I've been fitted for custom ear plugs by Westone. I wear them anytime I attend a concert where I am not mixing. I even wear them when I am mixing if the mix position doesn't allow me to get far enough away from the P.A. In the 18 years since my tinnitus first began I don't believe that it has gotten any worse. I do worry about that happening though. I read about people who can't live with theirs and I wonder just how bad they have it.


I've read that, if your tinnitus is noise induced, then none of the herbal type remedies will work. I asked an ENT 3 years ago if there was anything new and he said no, but to let him know if I heard of anything! My gut says it will take something along the lines of stem cell technology to "cure" tinnitus.

 

[Al in Ohio]

Mine started less than a year ago and I got very distressed about it at first. I took daily doses of zinc and ginkgo biloba. My doc advised only a daily men's vitamin with mineral supplement.

After months of that I'm not sure if they helped much or not. I will say that what helps the most is that your brain does adapt to it and learns to tune it out somewhat until someone posts or mentions tinnitus and you remember that ringing is still there! Seriously.

I have noticed that certain things make it worse with me. Those are namely:

Too much caffeine or coffee
I think too much sodium
Stress. ( another reason to FIRE sooner!)

 

[Animorph]

As a teen, I was bothered by hyper-acute hearing. Sometimes I had to leave a store because the fluorescent ceiling light starters made a high-frequency hum that tormented me, but which adults could not hear.

Yeah, I remember that! There were a few stores I couldn't stay in very long before the ultrasonics drove me out. I figured it was an alarm system at the time. Normally fluorescent lights were OK.

My tinnitus (very high frequency tones in both ears) started up after my prostate biopsy. It was a listed side effect of the antibiotic they had me use, so that might have been it. Lots of angry internet posters, some with young children who now had tinnitus after taking it. Levaquin or something like that, not one of the common ones.

Had my ears checked about 5 years ago and was fine out to 8 kHz, as far as they went. But I need a lot of context to understand speech with a lot of background noise.

 

[oldtrig]

I was a crew chief on a B52 while in the Air Force. I have suffered from tinnitus since. That was 44 years ago. Anyone who ever worked near this Buffs know what I talking about. oldtrig

 

[Walt34]

I have some, but it doesn't bother me and like others I'm only aware of it when I read about it. The audiologist said exposure to gunfire even with hearing protection is the likely cause since I have a narrow "notch" of hearing loss in that range.

For the last ~25 years or so I've made sure to wear earplugs when even mowing the lawn or using any power equipment that makes a lot of noise so the loss hasn't gotten any worse.

 

[JoeWras]

I have some, but it doesn't bother me and like others I'm only aware of it when I read about it. The audiologist said exposure to gunfire even with hearing protection is the likely cause since I have a narrow "notch" of hearing loss in that range.

For the last ~25 years or so I've made sure to wear earplugs when even mowing the lawn or using any power equipment that makes a lot of noise so the loss hasn't gotten any worse.

Agree.

My doc says "ignore it", and for the most part that's worked, but only because it is mild right now.

In the meantime, I'm crazy about ear protection and wear it constantly. My dad has profound hearing loss. He was in the construction industry in the 50's through 80's when loud equipment without ear protection was the norm. I have nowhere near his exposure, but any I get I try to limit. Before the hearing loss got bad, he always complained about ringing in the ears.

I know that doesn't help the OP, except for the "try to ignore it" part.

 

[martyb]

I was a crew chief on a B52 while in the Air Force. I have suffered from tinnitus since. That was 44 years ago. Anyone who ever worked near this Buffs know what I talking about. oldtrig

I did spend some time on B-52's and agree they're noisy. Try almost 15 years as a weapons troop on F-4's, followed by 5 years on F-16's (the worst in my opinion) and then several years on A-10's. In all, 22 years on the flightline & EOR. Got a little better after I moved into the armament shop.

 

[REWahoo]

I did spend some time on B-52's and agree they're noisy. Try almost 15 years as a weapons troop on F-4's, followed by 5 years on F-16's (the worst in my opinion) and then several years on A-10's. In all, 22 years on the flightline & EOR. Got a little better after I moved into the armament shop.

After all that I'm surprised you can hear well enough to read this.

 

[Rambler]

I've had it for just under 7 years, the very high pitched type. It is always with me, but there is a marked difference in the volume, spending on what I've been doing the previous few days. For example, if I fly commercial over an hour or so, the next three to four days will be torture. Same with a long day doing tractor work on our two acres. Same if I've had a couple of high stress days back to back. Same if I have trouble sleeping. When I do a hard run, a long run or interval training (i.e., stress) it is there. Easy runs, not so much, and is even think they help to an extent. Lay off the stress, stay away from noise for 3-4 days, and sleep well, and I hear it in the background but it isn't like someone screaming in my ear like it is on the bad days. When I have a bad day, just having a conversation is problematic, and I get tired quickly.

When I was first diagnosed, doc gave me prednisone and B-12. Told me it might go away. Also gave me Ambien so I could sleep (it had been so bad that I hadn't slept for the better part of a week). Took the prednisone that night and woke up to a quiet world the next morning, with only a little whisper of it in the background. A couple days later, I flew again and it was back.

All in all, I have fewer bad days since I FIREd, because of less stress and less flying. But this will be a lifelong issue, I think.

 

[martyp]

I've had it for about 10 yrs and ignore it. I got it from loud music and motorcycle riding. Early on I got some quality ear plugs and that seems to have kept it from getting worse.

 

[Willers]

I've had it for as long as I can remember due to way too much loud music as a kid. I've always tried to ignore it, but it has gotten much worse in the last year or so. It seems that most are using the same "deal with it" approach as I.

The comment above about stress was interesting. My last year or so has been off the charts so maybe that is what caused the increase. I guess we'll see.

 

[Rpharmer]

I've had it for over ten years. It was listed as a possible side effect of chemotherapy (cisplatin, I believe) that I received. Oncologist also said "you'll just have to get used to it over time." On a busy day, I don't notice it much at all. On a quiet morning, like now, writing about it, it's loud!

My brother-in-law claims that anti-anxiety meds, such as lorazepam (Ativan) or clonazepam (Klonopin) help his tinnitus. They could help you perceive the ringing sensation differently, and be less bothered by it perhaps, since they are also known as "tranquilizers." But, as most people know, benzo's are problematic in terms of dependence, tolerance, impaired driving, risk of falling, drug diversion, and on and on. Plus, this would be an off-label use, as far as I know. On the other hand, if the tinnitus is so bothersome that it has aggravated an existing, diagnosable anxiety disorder of some sort, then a prudent trial of a benzodiazepine would be reasonable. "Two birds with one stone," so to speak. The warnings still exist, of course.

 

[Lsbcal]

I'm luckily never had this health issue but remember seeing a presentation on PBS about the latest findings on this. Here is a link: Neuroscience may offer hope to millions robbed of silence by tinnitus | PBS NewsHour | Nov. 6, 2013 | PBS

Also I found this upcoming event: Twitter Chat: Submit your tinnitus questions | PBS NewsHour

 

[jebmke]

I've had it since 2008. Had surgery on my cervical spine. I blame that - need something to blame.

 

[mickeyd]

After working on, around & under running military jet aircraft for a bunch of years, I have it pretty bad. I think it's getting worse.

Get your VA claim in early as there are about 700,000 in line ahead of you.

 

[Livefree]

I get it on and off due to TMJ syndrome I have. I do some isometric exercises for my jaw and it goes away after a while.