Tinnitus

john4surf

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May 28, 2005
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I'm surprised how many old people can't hear for sh!t.

It's just another system in the body breaking down over time.
Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for me, I went to the medics in SEA when I started realizing my hearing was not working like it had prior to service. It was noted in my medical records. We didn’t have ear protectors or ear plugs as far as I can recall. 12 months of noise from doing B-52 bomb damage assessments and my right ear from squeezing my M14 put my hearing in FUBAR by the time I reached my 50s or 60s. A buddy (former Navy pilot) told me about the great hearing aids the VA was giving (at no fee) vets with hearing problems. First time I had anything to do with the VA since I was discharged in 1972. Hearing aids are great for us old f@rts although I need closed captions with the tv if the show is foreign/English or English dubbed. “…many old people” just didn’t know or understand the potential damage when we were young and thought we were bullet proof.
 

Sauce

Legend (inyourownmind)
Oct 6, 2021
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My tinnitus showed up around the same time I got covid. I got it and an ear infection at the same time and blew my ear drum. Then blew the other the following year. It comes and goes.

My ear guy said reports of tinnitus have skyrocketed since concerts have gotten so intense, and sees a lot of dubsteppers.

I am now a covid Vax conspiracy guy and never got ear infections until I got the vaccine. Now i get one a year at least, and have to alcohol flush everytime I swim or surf. Weird heart stuff too. Idk
 
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Autoprax

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Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for me, I went to the medics in SEA when I started realizing my hearing was not working like it had prior to service. It was noted in my medical records. We didn’t have ear protectors or ear plugs as far as I can recall. 12 months of noise from doing B-52 bomb damage assessments and my right ear from squeezing my M14 put my hearing in FUBAR by the time I reached my 50s or 60s. A buddy (former Navy pilot) told me about the great hearing aids the VA was giving (at no fee) vets with hearing problems. First time I had anything to do with the VA since I was discharged in 1972. Hearing aids are great for us old f@rts although I need closed captions with the tv if the show is foreign/English or English dubbed. “…many old people” just didn’t know or understand the potential damage when we were young and thought we were bullet proof.
There was a doctor who explained that not being able to hear disconnects you from social engagement so it hastens the aging process.That why it's super important to wear the hearing aids when you are older and losing your hearing.

But what a pain in the ass!

I do closed captioned too on the TV.

Ha!

#2 erbb Boomer out!

sry @manbearpig :loser:
 
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Autoprax

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What? Speak up! Mostly my wife and kids like to talk to me from the farthest part of the house or yard, when the leaf blower is running...
In old age, I learned to talk to people making eye contact and they can see my mouth move.

In class when the kids want to ask me a question from the back of the room, I say, "Let me put on my glasses so I can hear you."
 

JeffRSpicoli

Nep status
Aug 9, 2019
652
815
93
Ahhh, tinnitus the so called auditory hallucination...really an inside out projection of sound. Like a sonar beacon.

No cure, radiation induced in my right ear, due to cancer treatment.

Somewhat promising developments with shock induced technology.

For common tinnitus sufferer try reducing sodium intake.

Rare, and unlikely. but look into Ménière's disease.

And since we are on the topic of hearing read about Sudden Deafness SSHL, which I got with the tinnitus.

And any update on her condition?
 
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Mike_Jones

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Mar 5, 2009
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Rare, and unlikely. but look into Ménière's disease.

Ménière's disease is associated with tinnitus, and both are associated with IIH (idiopathic intracranial hypertension). In other words, too much pressure in the head can cause tinnitus. One treatment employed is to insert a shunt to drain off cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) from the brain. Search the internet for "Ménière's disease IIH shunt".

This treatment is NOT a common treatment for run-of-the-mill tinnitus, but it does point out the association between tinnitus and excess fluid pressure in the brain.
.
 

JeffRSpicoli

Nep status
Aug 9, 2019
652
815
93
Ménière's disease is associated with tinnitus, and both are associated with IIH (idiopathic intracranial hypertension). In other words, too much pressure in the head can cause tinnitus. One treatment employed is to insert a shunt to drain off cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) from the brain. Search the internet for "Ménière's disease IIH shunt".

This treatment is NOT a common treatment for run-of-the-mill tinnitus, but it does point out the association between tinnitus and excess fluid pressure in the brain.
.
Looked into it, thanks, thankfully not my cause. Good to know though
 

shoaltoad

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Jan 3, 2024
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I have had it for years and legit thought it was normal to have intense buzzing/ringing in your head when the room is quiet. Went to audiologist for other issues and mentioned it he was like brah you have tinnitus. And im only 25 :poke:

One off: your wife may look into hearing aids, not as a hearing enhancer but to play Bluetooth noise through that may calm/distract from the tinnitus. I wear mine all day when im not home and play wave noise. You can blast it to tune stuff out or turn it down and turn up the hearing function if you want to have a convo. If u get big domes (I know) which are the rubber bit at the end they are actually quite comfortable
 

One-Off

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I have had it for years and legit thought it was normal to have intense buzzing/ringing in your head when the room is quiet. Went to audiologist for other issues and mentioned it he was like brah you have tinnitus. And im only 25 :poke:

One off: your wife may look into hearing aids, not as a hearing enhancer but to play Bluetooth noise through that may calm/distract from the tinnitus. I wear mine all day when im not home and play wave noise. You can blast it to tune stuff out or turn it down and turn up the hearing function if you want to have a convo. If u get big domes (I know) which are the rubber bit at the end they are actually quite comfortable


After my wife started complaining about it I really started noticing mine. Never really paid it attention before. I thought it was normal. Mine is triggered by silence. I call it the roaring silence. Mine is really high frequency like 20,000hz. Hers is really low frequency. I realized it is not normal because my daughter said she hears nothing.

She's gotten a bit better. The next step in her treatment was a CAT(?) scan. She saw the tube and was told she'd be in there for 30 minutes(?) and she freaked out and said "No." She's claustraphobic. They told her they could give her tranquilizer but she demurred. When it was at its worse she said it was a buzzing at the back of her head, like near the base of her neck. I didn't think it was an ear problem at that point and tried to encourage her to have the CAT scan. She would start talking about suicide, saying she couldn't live like this. She took time off from her work and focused most of her energy on diet. For some reason she thought certain foods triggered it- tomatoes, chocolate, spicy food. She always resorts to diet when confronted with a helath issue (whereas I always resort to exercise).

Loud noise bugs her. She tried noise cancelling headphones but didn't like them. I tried them too and they were weird. When you first turned on the noise cancelling function there was a sensation of suction. But it worked (for me). She still wears headphones in the car and in noisy areas. Luckily, since nowadays all the kids wear Beats headphones no one notices. I suggested the heavy duty ones that you buy at Home Depot but she said they were to heavy.

She's going to an (new) ear specialist today, to get a release to return to work. I have a feeling the tinnitus is related to stress and might worsen when she returns to work.
 
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shoaltoad

OTF status
Jan 3, 2024
161
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After my wife started complaining about it I really started noticing mine. Never really paid it attention before. I thought it was normal. Mine is triggered by silence. I call it the roaring silence. Mine is really high frequency like 20,000hz. Hers is really low frequency. I realized it is not normal because my daughter said she hears nothing.

She's gotten a bit better. The next step in her treatment was a CAT(?) scan. She saw the tube and was told she'd be in there for 30 minutes(?) and she freaked out and said "No." She's claustraphobic. They told her they could give her tranquilizer but she demurred. When it was at its worse she said it was a buzzing at the back of her head, like near the base of her neck. I didn't think it was an ear problem at that point and tried to encourage her to have the CAT scan. She would start talking about suicide, saying she couldn't live like this. She took time off from her work and focused most of her energy on diet. For some reason she thought certain foods triggered it- tomatoes, chocolate, spicy food. She always resorts to diet when confronted with a helath issue (whereas I always resort to exercise).

Loud noise bugs her. She tried noise cancelling headphones but didn't like them. I tried them too and they were weird. When you first turned on the noise cancelling function there was a sensation of suction. But it worked (for me). She still wears headphones in the car and in noisy areas. Luckily, since nowadays all the kids wear Beats headphones no one notices. I suggested the heavy duty ones that you buy at Home Depot but she said they were to heavy.

She's going to an (new) ear specialist today, to get a release to return to work. I have a feeling the tinnitus is related to stress and might worsen when she returns to work.
I have issues with loud noises too, she might have hyperacusis like I do. Bose quiet comfort are far and away the best noise cancelling headphones I have tried fwiw, well worth the money. An audiologist can test her LDL levels to see if she is hypersensitive. Flents quiet please are the best foam plugs I have tried if that is an option you are exploring as well.

Intense exercise is also a common coping mechanism for those with sensory issues, though it is only a brief respite. You are forced to focus on the activity you are doing rather than the noise.

Best of luck this stuff is no fun to deal with, can legit ruin your life (ask me how I know :crazy2:)
 
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One-Off

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I have issues with loud noises too, she might have hyperacusis like I do. Bose quiet comfort are far and away the best noise cancelling headphones I have tried fwiw, well worth the money. An audiologist can test her LDL levels to see if she is hypersensitive. Flents quiet please are the best foam plugs I have tried if that is an option you are exploring as well.

Intense exercise is also a common coping mechanism for those with sensory issues, though it is only a brief respite. You are forced to focus on the activity you are doing rather than the noise.

Best of luck this stuff is no fun to deal with, can legit ruin your life (ask me how I know :crazy2:)
Thanks. We just got back from ear doc. She said my wife had inflammation in her nose and prescribed Flonase. Scheduled another hearing test. She said she has to determine if it is one ear (my wife said mostly left but sometimes both) to determine if it is an ear pathology or neurological.
 

shoaltoad

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Jan 3, 2024
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Thanks. We just got back from ear doc. She said my wife had inflammation in her nose and prescribed Flonase. Scheduled another hearing test. She said she has to determine if it is one ear (my wife said mostly left but sometimes both) to determine if it is an ear pathology or neurological.
oy vey.
 

oneworlded

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We've been going through this too.

Your wife needs to be tested by an audiologist and an ENT. I suspect that she has hearing loss, and needs hearing aids .....Jabra, Philips or Rexton. Hearing aids reduce tinnitus. It would not surprise me to find out that her balance is suffering too.

My theory is that our brains inject biasing frequencies into hearing nerves to make them start moving .....alternating currents. That's how tape recorders work. Our brains place arbitrary hearing perception thresholds just above the biasing volume. When our attempts to hear sounds are forced down into the biasing current then the biasing frequency fills our hearing. Hearing aids help because they coerce our brains to raise our perception threshold to a level well above the biasing current.
THIS - exactly right.

I have it from too much loud music. High pitched wheeeeee. Lost my high frequency hearing-- especially in my left ear because when I went to shows in college, I mostly for some reason was always up front stage left. My brain's trying to make up for those lost frequencies. I got hearing aids and they definitely helped. That said, I can deal with the tinnitus when I don't have em in too.

Psychologically, the thing about Tinnitus that's stressing yer gal out is the fact that it sets off fight or flight 'alarm bell's' in your mind. When you can quiet those and accept the tinnitus, it ceases to have much affect on you. I hear mine right now as I'm typing - but it's just there - no biggie. How I made it fade into the background for me. Get a white noise generator or a long, loop recording of forest sounds with frogs and crickets, a waterfall, or a rainstorm - something soothing. You can download that stuff from iTunes and just put it on loop. When she goes to sleep, have her wear earphones or if you can handle the sounds, just play 'em over the speaker. The "white noise" should be just loud enough that she can also barely hear the tinnitus as well. If it completely drowns it out, this won't work. So have her adjust the volume so the white noise is loud enough to partially 'mask' the tinnitus sound. Because the white noise is non threatening and background noise, your brain will start to also turn the tinnitus into background noise. Right away, it makes it so you can sleep, but also - over a few weeks (for me) or more, it makes the tinnitus just another background sound. Nonthreatening and easily ignored.
 

shoaltoad

OTF status
Jan 3, 2024
161
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THIS - exactly right.

I have it from too much loud music. High pitched wheeeeee. Lost my high frequency hearing-- especially in my left ear because when I went to shows in college, I mostly for some reason was always up front stage left. My brain's trying to make up for those lost frequencies. I got hearing aids and they definitely helped. That said, I can deal with the tinnitus when I don't have em in too.

Psychologically, the thing about Tinnitus that's stressing yer gal out is the fact that it sets off fight or flight 'alarm bell's' in your mind. When you can quiet those and accept the tinnitus, it ceases to have much affect on you. I hear mine right now as I'm typing - but it's just there - no biggie. How I made it fade into the background for me. Get a white noise generator or a long, loop recording of forest sounds with frogs and crickets, a waterfall, or a rainstorm - something soothing. You can download that stuff from iTunes and just put it on loop. When she goes to sleep, have her wear earphones or if you can handle the sounds, just play 'em over the speaker. The "white noise" should be just loud enough that she can also barely hear the tinnitus as well. If it completely drowns it out, this won't work. So have her adjust the volume so the white noise is loud enough to partially 'mask' the tinnitus sound. Because the white noise is non threatening and background noise, your brain will start to also turn the tinnitus into background noise. Right away, it makes it so you can sleep, but also - over a few weeks (for me) or more, it makes the tinnitus just another background sound. Nonthreatening and easily ignored.
yep...activates fight or flight...limbic system overload
 

One-Off

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Jul 28, 2005
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I don't "suffer" from tinnitus but I have it.

When I watched these two videos , the first one I realized that none of the "types" of sound matches my own. BUT, when it it plays the sample of "tonal" I can't hear anything. Zero. I asked my daughter and she said there was definitely a sound.

Then I listened to the second video and when it got to 4000hz it matched the ringing in my ears and then disappeared. Like Surfdoc I have no high end hearing.