Tinnitus help

[PatrickA5]

As I type, I have a "crickets" sound in full stereo. I used to say it sounded more like PacMan video game. I've gotten used to it over the last 30 years or so. I use a fan at night and the ringing doesn't bother me while I sleep. I wouldn't be able to sleep if it was totally quiet. It's a lot louder when I catch a cold and my ears clog up.

 

[toddm]

I developed tinnitus about a year and a half ago. I was referred to an ENT. He did some CT scans, and said there was nothing abnormal, and nothing he could do. I was later referred to a neurologist. He did an MRI of the brain, and a sleep deprived EEG. The tests showed brain wave activity in an area that typically causes tinnitus.

He prescribed amitriptyline and changed my daily dose of aspirin to Plavix (aspirin can apparently cause tinnitus). Since then, over the past year, my tinnitus has been greatly improved. I still have some tinnitus every 3 or 4 days, but nothing like before. Most days, it is not an issue at all.

 

[RunningBum]

He prescribed amitriptyline and changed my daily dose of aspirin to Plavix (aspirin can apparently cause tinnitus). Since then, over the past year, my tinnitus has been greatly improved. I still have some tinnitus every 3 or 4 days, but nothing like before. Most days, it is not an issue at all.

Interesting. I'm on amitriptyline for other reasons, and it hasn't helped the tinnitus at all. I've also stopped the daily low-dose aspirin. But maybe one or both could work for others like it has for you.

I try to randomly think about whether I hear the ringing or not, to see how often it might be there. This thread was a good trigger for that. Every time I saw this thread pop up with updates, I thought about it, and every time I could hear the ringing. It's not quite as loud as yesterday. It does seem to happen a lot more than it doesn't, but it's also not something I usually even notice anymore unless there is a reminder. I keep forgetting to mention this in my yearly medical exams. I probably won't do anything until I need to think about hearing aids for other reasons.

 

[Sue J]

I've also had this for a long time. Mine is high pitched and constant. I've pretty much learned to ignore it. It's still quite noticeable in quiet times (or when someone mentions it

Unfortunately, my tinnitus is the same tone as some of my kitchen appliances. If I'm in another room I do not hear the Instant Pot beeping.

At night it's very apparent. Instead of being annoyed by it I've decided that it's a reminder that I'm still alive.

I haven't heard of a connection to aspirin. I take the 81mg low dose aspirin. That would be easy to try an experiment to see if it has a connection.

 

[toddm]

My neurologist said there are two types of tinnitus - tonal and pulsative. Tonal tinnitus is where you hear a constant high pitched sound. Pulsative tinnitus has a pulse, corresponding to your heart beat. There are different causes and treatments for both types. I had both types. The amitriptyline was to treat the tonal tinnitus. There are apparently other medications that can treat tonal tinnitus if that didn't work. He also prescribed a low dose of Propranolol, which is a blood pressure medication. I told him I was already on several blood pressure meds, but he said this one softens the "peak" of the pulse, and helps with pulsative tinnitus. It's worked for me.

I was on a low-dose aspirin as well, due to a heart attack 12 years ago. After switching to Plavix, my cardiologist agreed that aspirin can cause tinnitus in some cases.

I'm not saying that these medications will work for everyone, but I was glad that there were options, and it wasn't something I just had to live with.

 

[KCGeezer]

I didn’t realize there were potential treatments like this. I’ve had tinnitus (low volume cicadas) come and go for years and am just used to it. Maybe I’ll bring it up next time I see the doc.

 

[PatrickA5]

My neurologist said there are two types of tinnitus - tonal and pulsative. Tonal tinnitus is where you hear a constant high pitched sound. Pulsative tinnitus has a pulse, corresponding to your heart beat.

I have both types at the same time. The Pulsative tinnitus is much more pronounced when my ears are clogged up during a cold. The ringing type is constant. At least I know that my heart hasn't stopped beating..

 

[mabuhay]

I have a mild ringing tone from shooting sports decades ago, and also from using power tools without hearing protection. Then I triggered a bad episode about 15 years ago when I forgot to put my earplugs after a lunch stop on the motorcycle one day. The wind noise even with a full face helmet did it, and the next day my ears were really ringing. I thought I wouldn't be able to take it but a ENT said it might improve, and it did. Took 6 months to quiet back down and I was extremely protective of my ears during that time - earplugs on planes, avoidance of all loud sounds, etc.

Since then I have found that salty meals or too much caffeine will amp it up a notch or two, other than that it is tolerable. I'm always after the young workers with power tools to protect their hearing, and even give them the disposable foam ones if necessary..

 

[DrRoy]

Mine is tonal then. I had a hearing test and apparently the frequency is 8000 hz. I am aware of it at times and not at others. I do not take any prescriptions, and stopped the low dose aspirin several years ago, so it's not that.

 

[SJhawkins]

Have had it for a good number of years, the phone never stops ringing. As others have said not much you can do about it and it's most noticeable at bed time, I just run a fan at night and that helps. A rain/thunderstorm loop works well to.

Have a few beers while out with friends it's worse, from my understanding it has something to do with changing in blood flow.

Think the hardest part to accept is that we have no cure with all of advancements in today's medicine, granted we have worst things that need more attention.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Here are just a few studies showing improvement in tinnitus from nutritional therapy -

"Vitamin D deficiency is common among tinnitus patients. The result of vitamin D supplementation is promising in cases of idiopathic tinnitus. We recommend doing vitamin D assay in patients with idiopathic tinnitus and hence giving vitamin D supplementation in case of deficiency.", https://ejentas.journals.ekb.eg/article_129478_a53d43d394a16e356d5fa11ddd73ce13.pdf

"Of the total patients of tinnitus, 17 were Vitamin B12 deficient that is 42.5% showed deficiency when the normal levels were considered to be 250 pg/ml. Results: Twenty-six patients were enrolled; 19 completed the study. The extent of handicap, as measured by THI/TSS, for subjects with slight or greater impairment was significantly decreased (P=.03). Patients who ranked slight or greater on the THI/TSS before intervention showed a significant decrease in the severity of their tinnitus at post-testing (P=.008).", https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4918681/

"Conclusion: The results suggest that magnesium may have a beneficial effect on perception of tinnitus-related handicap when scored with the THI. ", https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22249877/

 

[ivinsfan]

PSA if any of you suffering had past military service that involved noise exposure check in with the VA...you might quality for a service connected disability...tinnitus is a qualified disorder..

 

[Nords]

PSA if any of you suffering had past military service that involved noise exposure check in with the VA...you might quality for a service connected disability...tinnitus is a qualified disorder..

"Might" is the key word in that sentence, and its context has recently grown much stronger.

Tinnitus has long been regarded as a self-reported condition. There's no independent diagnosis with symptoms that can be detected by an audiologist (or their gear) in addition to the patient. Instead it's a series of interview questions. In 2016 I received a 10% disability rating (part of my 30% overall rating).

A year ago the VA changed the Schedule for Rating Disabilities:
https://news.va.gov/100285/va-propo...y-auditory-and-mental-disorders-body-systems/
"For tinnitus, the proposed changes would recognize that symptom within the Veteran’s broader ailment and provide service-connected compensation for tinnitus through the disease to which it is attributed."

This means that tinnitus without a specific service-related incident (documented in a medical record at the time) or without an accompanying related diagnosis (like a traumatic brain injury, or significant hearing loss (meeting the separate VASRD criteria), or vertigo, or migraines, or certain cancers, or other primary diagnoses... could be more unlikely to be approved for that 10% rating.

If you're in uniform and tinnitus starts up, document it in your medical record and tie it to a specific service-related incident. Even if you think it might affect your MOS or your specialty pay (for example, submarine sonar techs), at least start asking the question of a trusted military medical doctor ("Can this incident cause tinnitus someday?") or consult with a Veteran Service Officer (VSOs are free) or pay for your own audiology exam by a civilian outside of the military.

If tinnitus starts up along with other symptoms, or if it suddenly elevates, then note those other possible life-threatening diagnoses above and see a doctor. One of the reasons that my tinnitus flares up is ear infections, and another reason is generally clogged sinuses with respiratory infections.

 

[Jenna]

Taurine seems to be a solution for ear ringing https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997922/

 

[ivinsfan]

Nice updated post Nords..my Vietnam Vet DH does have some hearing connected loss. His MOS is connected to hearing loss. He was approved about 10 years ago. Sounds as though this has changed. Thanks for the new info

 

[retire to nature]

when i took high dose NSAID for TMJ, i had some tinnitus. Even though I was a nursing student, but I didnt know tinnitus was NSAID side effect that time or didnt connect two. And last year, I got injured and took high dose of NSAID again, and my ear was really swollen, so ear can be connected with liver function too.

 

[homestead]

Taurine seems to be a solution for ear ringing https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997922/

Didn't help me. Guess I'm not a rat.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Since there are many known causes for tinnitus, the only way to know what might help an individual is to test. I was low in vitamin D and B12, plus some other things but not magnesium or taurine.

 

[GenXguy]

There are many types of tinnitus sounds, it's not all ringing. I have a few different tinnitus sounds, and it's not always the same through the day or day to day, and sometimes a tone will come in and out every 10 seconds or so over and over, and I might hear a hissing sound some days, plus I have a low frequency sound tinnitus that sounds more like a light saber (it's not a single continuous tone, and it's in one ear, and it has no connection to pulse). I thought that was a real sound for a while because I used to think tinnitus was just the high pitched ringing.

And if someone says they have tinnitus, the chances are they are among the majority of the 40 million people that have a mild case. I used to be one of those over 10 years ago. But it has gotten worse over time, and beginning a year ago, it got a few times louder, and I hear it over about everything. I do have moderate hearing loss as well. My tinnitus laughs at white noise machines and fan. I can hear it easily walking outside in the city. I can't really mask it in a practical sense. The shower does a decent job. For the people that only hear it at night or can mask it with a fan, you're lucky, that was me years ago. That doesn't work anymore. So, take care of your hearing so it doesn't get worse.

Most any thing you can take is not going to help the tinnitus itself. And in fact, many times when someone says they think something helped them, someone else reports back that it spiked their tinnitus. There are people on the tinnitus forum taking more than a dozens supplements trying to get relief. Some have gotten some relief from benzos, but that is only temporary, and it's best to avoid those.

Depression is a common symptom of disruptive tinnitus, which is why Amitriptyline and other antidepressants are prescribed. That can make the tinnitus seem subjectively less invasive. But some antidepressants such as SSRI's can actually cause tinnitus or make it worse, so that's a catch 22.

There have been some people that used to post to the tinnitus forum that have committed suicide because of having a bad cases of tinnitus. Others have become addicted or dependent on benzos or antidepressants, which can be pure hell to wean yourself off up.

Others have hyperacusis in addition to tinnitus, and they become sensitive to every sound. Some really isolate themselves from other people. It's terrible. I don't have that, although I certainly avoid loud sounds now.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Most any thing you can take is not going to help the tinnitus itself. And in fact, many times when someone says they think something helped them, someone else reports back that it spiked their tinnitus. There are people on the tinnitus forum taking more than a dozens supplements trying to get relief. Some have gotten some relief from benzos, but that is only temporary, and it's best to avoid those.

I'm curious what you think of the research studies I posted. It seems like many people have been helped with supplements. The problem with the studies is most give supplements to groups of people without testing first. Many functional medicine doctors now say, "test, don't guess." Like if you give a group of people B12, only the ones deficient are likely to be helped.

 

[GenXguy]

I'm curious what you think of the research studies I posted. It seems like many people have been helped with supplements. The problem with the studies is most give supplements to groups of people without testing first. Many functional medicine doctors now say, "test, don't guess." Like if you give a group of people B12, only the ones deficient are likely to be helped.

I have seen so many studies like that, I may have seen those before. All of those are among the many things people on the tinnitus forum are taking or have taken. And I won't discount that some people are helped by one thing or another. One interesting thing, though, is that I saw one study that 40% of a placebo group reported an improvement in their tinnitus.

I've even seen people report having positive effects with CBD, yet others would say it spiked theirs. While there's a chance that something might help, I think it's more likely that they will be failures except for the placebo effect. Something like a benzo is more likely to have an effect, but that's temporary, and they can be addictive and very difficult to ever get off of, just like antidepressants.

I have not found caffeine to have an effect on mine. I drink a few cups of regular coffee every work morning and skip the weekends. One thing that does make a difference is that it's definitely louder after taking an hour bike ride (which I wear ear plugs because wind noise is very loud). And it takes a long time to calm back down. It also seems to get worse later in the night after sleeping for hours.

I've learned to just accept that nothing can be done about the tinnitus itself and am just trying to deal with the insomnia it causes, which is the big problem for me. White noise, environmental sounds, music, Calm app sleep stories, dozens of other things I've read in my many hours of research with minimal to no help. I intermittently use Ambien tablets cut into pieces (~1.5mg) which I take sublingual if I wake up and can't get back to sleep. I had previously tried 5mg at bedtime as originally prescribed, which was ineffective after a few hours. So this as-needed sublingual method actually made the medication useful. I'm still not getting enough sleep, though.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I tried acupuncture last year. The acupuncturist said some people see results and some do not.
I did not.
He did suggest taking some natural supplements but I’m really hesitant to take anything.
I should take vitamins D and B12 anyway so maybe I will try that again.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I get my B12 and vitamin D tested through Ultalabs for $13 and $29. I've also done more extensive gut and nutrition testing through home tests with Directlabs. The more extensive tests cost $1K but for me was worth it because I had a lot of biomarkers out of range.

 

[DrRoy]

Tinnitus has long been regarded as a self-reported condition. There's no independent diagnosis with symptoms that can be detected by an audiologist (or their gear) in addition to the patient. Instead it's a series of interview questions.

Mine definitely showed up in a hearing test as a deficiency in the ability to hear tones at 8000 hertz.

 

[Time2]

Mine definitely showed up in a hearing test as a deficiency in the ability to hear tones at 8000 hertz.

Lucky you, I'm down 50 or 60db at just over 4Khz. Noisy rooms are difficult and squeaky kids. Go away kid you bother me! In my best WC Fields voice.