Tinnitus is driving me crazy

[Snapdragon]

I asked my GP about the high-pitched buzzing in my ears, and he pooh-pooh'd it. I think I'm going to have to make an appointment with an ENT doctor before I go insane. The tinnitus began before I started shooting, so it's not noise-related.

Anybody else have this problem? Is there anything that can be done? It sounds like my ears are full of cicadas on helium.

 

[Manatee]

I've had it since I was in the service back in 69. All specialists I've talked to say: No known cure. VA considers it as part of their disability reviews. As you can imagine, a lot of vets were exposed to weapons fire without hearing protection.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

2009 I had an infection of the inner ear, right side.

It took steriod shots to my ear to kill and reverse the infection and stop the ringing. Go to an otolaryngolist right now, do not pass go.

I went in time and reversed the hearing loss and stopped the ringing. Do not wait.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I have it. Some nights it's real bothersome and louder than usual, but I am used to it most other times. Not a whole lot I can do about it really

 

[Cemetery-man]

I've had it for many years. So long that I am so used to it I don't really pay any attention any more. Hearing is gone in one ear as a result but the ringing continues in both, sometime mild, sometimes severe. I have tried every trick in the book and finally just gave up and figured I was going to have to live with it. A friend of mine has it also and she let it bother her so much that she ended up in an institution for a time where they were able to get it calmed a bit but it never really goes away.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I have read hearing aides can help. How old are you?

Hearing aids for the treatment of tinni - PubMed Mobile

 

[gregkl]

I have really good hearing but also have the ringing. I sleep with a noise maker to drown it out. Most of the time during the day I don't hear it unless I think about it. Like now reading this thread.

As far as I know, there is no cure for it.

 

[Snapdragon]

I have read hearing aides can help. How old are you?

Hearing aids for the treatment of tinni - PubMed Mobile

51. I'll see what the doc says. Thanks, everyone.

 

[Snapdragon]

It doesn't seem to be as bad at night (thank God, I have enough trouble sleeping). I notice it most at times like now, when I'm not at work and the house is quiet.

 

[Sgtusmc]

Sorry, no cure but to get used to it. I lost partial hearing in my right ear from a grenade blast (Gulf War) and both ears have non-stop high pitch "ringing" from gun fire and loud stage music. It only bothers me now when I remember there's a constant ringing going on. Sometimes, it's like I suddenly go deaf in one ear and everything goes silent, then it fades back in.

From what I understand, the tiny hairs inside your ear correspond to different frequencies. Depending upon where the damage took place, select few areas of those hairs vibrate like a tuning fork in loop patterns which causes the ringing. So it's like a feedback loop.

 

[JetGirl]

Anybody else have this problem?

I definitely do.
Lots of untreated ear infections as a kid...I've had it (exponentially worse) since my late teens/early twenties.
I have to sleep with a sound machine for cover noise...or it gets worse and worse the quieter the house is.

 

[saleen4971]

i have had it since my senior year in high school. drives me INSANE - i always need some sort of noise.

 

[marv]

Long ago I resigned myself to the fact that the cause of tinnitus is unknown and the cure is nonexistent. I will go to sleep tonite listening to the cicadas and katydids although it is below zero outside. If my ears ever stop ringing I'll worry because I'll think I'm dead.

 

[MadMan66]

I have had it since I can remember. I had both ear drums burst (one ear twice, I'm told) as an infant, due to severe ear infections. I never notice it until someone mentions it. In fact, growing up, I thought it was normal and everyone's ears rang like mine. It kind of bugs me that I won't ever experience complete silence, now that I know that what I think is silence really isn't silence . I feel cheated!

 

[CathyInBlue]

2009 I had an infection of the inner ear, right side.

It took steriod shots to my ear to kill and reverse the infection and stop the ringing. Go to an otolaryngolist right now, do not pass go.

I went in time and reversed the hearing loss and stopped the ringing. Do not wait.

Wait… is steroids to the ear a general treatment for tinnitis, or just what was ailing you?

I have tinnitis is both ears (worse in left), but also in left, I have hyperacusis. That's when the hairs (as has been mentioned above) for certain frequencies will over-react to sounds in certain amplitude ranges. It's one of those goldilocks problems. If the offending sound is quiet enough, I hear it fine (modulo the tinnitis). If it's really loud, I also hear it fine. If it's in the middle, it causes a sound like a tin can full of pea gravel being rolled down an incline and I essentially go deaf to that sound and most others for the duration. I have a set of high quality circumaural headphones (Beyer Dynamic DT 770 Pro) that I can use to tailor my listening to my auditory needs.

The tinnitis is just like everyone else's. Sometimes louder (like when my environment is quieter). Sometimes quieter. Sometimes I liken it to a continuous cricket chirp mixed with an air leak. Sometimes, it's like a far away klaxon. Sometimes it's like that NWS alert tone. If anyone has a cure for either or both of these conditions, you can have my first born.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

It doesn't seem to be as bad at night (thank God, I have enough trouble sleeping). I notice it most at times like now, when I'm not at work and the house is quiet.

I have the same thing, but actually don't mind it. It's always summertime (cicadas and crickets) in my head.

 

[Dead Duck]

So, How was the concert?

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

I also have tinnitis is both ears. 14 years as a jet engine mechanic. 10 more years of working deployments on the flight-line. Even with hearing protection, I ended up with major hearing loss and tinnitus. Got my first pair of hearing aids at 52. It only annoys me when there is background noise and someone is trying to talk to me. Voices sound muffled and soft. The tones and ringing has only gotten louder over the years.

 

[Lectric102002]

I used to fly a lot - both as a pilot and a passenger. As I got older, the tinnitus got worse. I've pretty much gotten used to it.

Don't waste your money on OTC medications that claim to "quiet" the ringing. They don't work.

 

[Redtbird]

Have had it for years. Got a 10% disability rating from the VA for it. Usually it is a high-pitched hissing sound, and other times it sounds like I am in a large aviary and hundreds of birds are chirping. I was asked which ear was it in, and told them "It's just THERE! Everywhere! All the time!" The noise in my head gets louder & Louder & LOUDER if I am in a quiet room and there's no TV or radio noise. But if I am busy I usually don't notice it.

I have a white noise generator (I call it my 'shusher') so I can get to sleep at night. It helps mask the sound. I have heard of some OTC meds, and some Rx meds that are supposed to help it, but I already take a dozen of pills daily, and don't want any more. I guess one just learns to live with it. And like someone said earlier, I used to think it was normal and everybody had a ringing in their ears.