Tinnitus

I've had it for nearly 20 years, since I was 20, and I can tell you no over-the-counter remedy does anything for it. Don't waste money or hope on eardrops, etc.

I have heard that lymphatic drainage massage may help it *a little* in some people but I've had no success with that.

I have been diagnosed with Menière's disease and was initially put on a prescription diuretic but it made no difference, and I have hearing loss and tinnitus that always is worst in the spring, evidently due to allergic inflammation. I am presently 85%ish deaf in my left ear with constant chiming.

So sorry to hear that, R1. Will be thinking of you and sending good thoughts your way.

I’ve just started taking N Acetyl-Cysteine for something else, but in my research have seen it mentioned as easing tinnitus. Worth a look.

Mine ramped up last quarantine - I believe I was exposed to covid but asymptomatic. Anyway the way I dealt with it was to pop on the ear buds at night in bed and fall asleep to the music. Also stay away from aspirin as it tends to exacerbate it.

It took me a solid year of misery to learn to live with tinnitus after I developed through hearing loss from age. Eventually, the brain will capitulate to the annoyance and you'll be able to live with it, although it never goes away.

Until then I suggest medications to help cope. Internet Xanax and Ambien were my saviors. Most doctors won't prescribe them for tinnitus.

I have tinnitus due to 20 years on Donald Trump's favorite drug - Hydroxychloroquine!

There's hearing loss too, which I'd gladly take over tinnitus. Tinnitus keeps me up at night and I have to sleep with the TV on. But, the hearing aids I got last year distract me enough that the tinnitus isn't half as bad. Unfortunately, you can sleep with them.

(I took Hydroxychloroquine because of Lupus).

Thanks for all the info and good advice! Thinking of you all; I know tinnitus isn't easy to live with.

Poke a pencil through your eardrum.

Are you taking supplements? Cut out zinc and magnesium and other "metals" and see if it helps. It did for me.

r8 I know you're joking, but the eardrum has nothing to do with tinnitus. It's a brain disorder that is sparked by hearing loss.

I'd heard American diets were magnesium depleted so I started popping magnesium supplements and noticed ear ringing within days. Whoa. No more.

Have you tried the tapping thing? Could be worth a shot.

[quote]I started popping magnesium supplements and noticed ear ringing within days. Whoa. No more.

Prepare for constipation , R11

Have your thyroid checked. Thyroid issues go hand in hand with tinnitus.

I've had tinnitus since 1998. It's a hissing sound, mostly, though when it gets worse, I hear little, tiny wind chimes in my right ear.

I find that most medications exacerbate it, and I take a lot of them. I'm an ancientgay multipill mess, tinnitusly speaking. Another thing that really ramps up the volume is most white food: sugar, pasta, rice (the worst).

What bothered me most was listening to music in my former audiophile setup, over speakers that were eight feet across the room. The hiss seemed to take on a physical quality, filling the entire space between my brain and the speakers.

Fortunately, listening to music while online became a thing early this century, and I now listen with speakers just a foot and a half from my head. This is a much more enjoyable way to hear music. I sold my Bowers & Wilkins Matrix speakers and bought their MM1 computer speakers. I ripped all my CDs to iTunes, and I can listen to complete discs or put it on shuffle. Nearfield like this is my favorite way I've ever listened to music.

I've pretty much accepted that tinnitus is never going to go away. Fortunately, in my case, I am mostly able to ignore it, or listen past it, except when I encounter threads like this. Good luck to you and your ex, OP.

I have a mild one since forever and it occasionally bothers me when I got reminded about it.

So what do you hear? Bells? Sirens? Knocking? I hear static in only one ear.

White noise helps... get one on Amazon that has many different sounds.

So do any of you have it in both ears? I have it in my left ear and hope it never happens in the right one.

In my right ear - not constant, but when it decides to appear it’s a very high-pitched, almost electronic sound. (No, I’m not picking up alien transmissions!) Falling asleep to music helps, and during the day I can ignore it by focusing on other things.

My right ear has rang as long as I can remember but it was never that bad, just an annoying ringing then about 11 years ago it became severe along with dizziness, turned out I had a small noncancerous tumor on the nerve that runs from the inner ear to the brain, it is called an acoustic neuroma. I had more MRI's than I can remember until I just told the doctors I wasn't doing that anymore. I had radiation that killed the tumor and went deaf in that ear but the ringing is horrible and nonstop. You adjust at least I did, falling asleep which has never been easy for me became really hard, it is like trying to fall asleep with an alarm going off. What can you do other than just learn to live with it? I miss silence so much. Sometimes my left ear will ring also but in a different pitch, when that happens it is like ear ringing with stereo. Acoustic neuromas are pretty rare around 1 per 100,000.

The hardest part is trying not to focus on it. Brown noise (video below is 8hr long) can help at night, especially in the beginning. With time, your ex's brain will drown it out, but hopefully since it's Covid-related it might go away naturally. Don't lose hope and don't give in to the despair.

My tinnitus sounds like the string section of an orchestra.

Better that, I suppose, than a kazoo.

It's a ringing in the ears, similar to what you experience when you get a bad case of flu. It never goes away, but most people learn to live with it.

And those that...don't, rr25?

r5 What do you mean by internet Xanax and Ambien?

My husband has had it for about 8 years. Started out as tinnitus, then Meniere's diagnosis. He now has "profound hearing loss" and wears two hearing aids. He's been let go from some jobs that wouldn't or couldn't make an accommodation for the hearing loss. The doctor's he's seen have been useless. No one can come up with a reason for it or a treatment.

I’ve had it to varying degrees for about 10 years, ever since I had a very minor fender bender. It just jolted something. I find it only really kicks in when I eat junk, too much sugar or salt.

My tinnitus sounds like a million Cicadas going all at once mixed with an electrical current. It's horrible and I don't remember what life was lie before it hit. Wishing for a cure.

like^^

My (occasional, thankfully) bursts of tinnitus sound like a malfunctioning hearing aid: a high-pitched whine.

The top notes of violins are now unbearable to me.

r27 You can get prescriptions from a psychiatrist.

R6 are you, by chance, Miss Mary Flannery O’Connor of Milledgeville, Georgia?

R5 and r27, my tinnitus started when i started using benzodiazepine. My first was Xanax, but my doctor feared I’d get addicted, so switch to Klonopin and now what I’m current on Valium. So it is very surprising to see that they are used for treatment for tinnitus, since it was one of these that caused my tinnitus. Beware, taking these may make it worse.

I've had tinnitus for 35 years, due to an ear infection that wasn't properly treated by military doctors. I was in the field, and the infection lasted a month; I was left with some hearing loss and tinnitus in both ears. I'm lucky in the sense that it's the same constant pitch and volume; it's like a white noise most of the time.

I have to take magnesium oxide for muscle fasciculations (uncontrolled twitches) in my thighs that limit my sleep when not controlled. So, I'll continue taking that.

One of the concerning things about Covid and the vaccines is the possibility of new or worsening tinnitus. (The Texas Roadhouse steak chain founder committed suicide due to developing torturous tinnitus from a vaccine.)

I haven't gotten a shot yet for that reason. (I'm VERY isolated and will stay that way for awhile.) If my tinnitus worsens, I'll put the barrel of my 9mm in my mouth and blow out my brain stem. So, I'm in no hurry to get a 'shot' like that. I'll wait awhile to see if any of the vaccines are better than the others for this situation.

OMG, I completely forgot about that guy who killed himself over tinnitus caused by Covid. I've had shot #1 and no change, R36.

I've had Tinnitus for as long as I can remember so I guess I don't know life without it. I usually ensure there is background noise in my environment--TV, music playing in the background. When I'm going to sleep, I sleep with earbuds playing a background show, movie, or music.

[quote]He's been let go from some jobs that wouldn't or couldn't make an accommodation for the hearing loss.

Translator for the deaf? Press secretary? Phone operator for TIME magazine?

No, asshole. Things like assisted hearing device or being assigned to online support as opposed to phone support.

R39, you dumb motherfucker.

[quote][R39], you dumb motherfucker.

You must be new. It's what we do here.

I've had this for the past year thanks to Covid. Some things seem to make it worse like lack of sleep. I should see a specialist, but I worry they will tell me I have hearing loss.

R36 but he had COVID, not the vaccine, that’s what caused his tinnitus & eventual suicide. Me, I’ve had tinnitus for about 12 yrs, I’ve had tons of ear infections (30+?) & the symptoms started during a routine infection while I was using antibiotic ear drops. I thought that’s what caused the tinnitus but the dr said no. My dad’s had it most of his life, he thinks he had maybe one ear infection, ever. Mine sounds like cicadas, & wasn’t too bad until about 3 yrs ago, the volume amplified on its own, in the middle of the night, it woke me out of sleep! Im just scared it can change like that again, for the worse. Luckily my hearing hasn’t really been affected (yet). I take lipoflavonoids, on the off chance that they’re helping somehow, but am not confident they do anything.

One of my best friends has it. It drives him insane. He's almost killed himself over it, but thought better. Now he just drinks enough to put him to sleep and drown out the noise. He's easily the smartest human I've ever met and fucking tinnitus is destroying him.

Sorry for you're ex, OP. And your mom.

It truly sucks.

Mine is like when you leave a loud concert and your ears ring. I heard neck massages may help. I know I have hearing loss because I have a hard time hearing low, mumbling voices.

I was hit by a car and thrown several feet and had a middle ear concussion around 35 years ago. Minor hearing loss and tinnitus in one ear ever since. It used to drive me nuts and I hated losing silence, but I only notice it when it's really quiet. Doing a neck pressure point bathing can give me a break of a few seconds and that can help. Mine is kind of light whistle, pitched at a high b flat.

I did end up protecting my hearing after the accident and am now old enough that I now hear better than a number of my peers, so there's that.

I have tinnitus and the best thing to do is to IGNORE it. The more you pay attention to it or think about it, the more it will drive you nuts. There is no cure, only maybe stuff you can do to reduce it like not eating certain foods.

[quote]and the best thing to do is to IGNORE it. The more you pay attention to it or think about it, the more it will drive you nuts.

yes, I totally agree. I'm living with tinnitus since more than 20 years now and the best is indeed to embrace the damn thing.

Yes, and it will flare up when stressed so that's another reason to stop stressing about it, R49.

I had tinnitus in my late 20s when an ear canal collapsed. It and hearing loss lasted over a year. Last year - around the time I turned 50 it came back with a vengeance. I suspected asymptotic CoVid but had an antibody test at my last physical and have never had it.

My doctor sent me to an ENT got my hearing tested and have some high range loss. The ENT, who suffers from it himself, said it is likely your brain replacing information it is no longer getting from the hearing loss. But that there was nothing you could do beyond coping.

I am a year into what I now suspect will not go away. It’s all about coping. I spend as much time outside as possible.

I’ve had tinnitus for about 30 years. The best app I’ve found for masking it is myNoise. It has a very large number of sounds as well as the ability to customize as many as 10 subcomponents of the sounds. You can also blend sounds with each other. For example, I’ve got crickets (fine-tuned to mask my high frequency tinnitus) blended with what sounds like a musical instrument in which wooden tubes are tapped with soft mallets, which I find calming.

Most tinnitus is caused by ear infections that are never properly cured. Try eating xylitol to alleviate it.

So, I decided to get the Pfizer 2-shot series. Just had my first today, no side effects so far. I will get the second shot on May 21st.

Prior to deciding, I read some articles, tinnitus web sites, CDC fact sheets, and DL posts. Saw a few reports on tinnitus support sites of worsened tinnitus with all of the vaccines as well as Covid-19, per se.

Decided to get Pfizer. It's not likely to make the tinnitus worse; but if it does, oh well. I won't worry about anymore. If it happens, I'll deal with it then.

Sorry about all the tinnitus sufferers. I do not suffer, but have heard:

Avoid deep bending over, like to pick up things on the floor. Avoid that laying on your stomach, reaching under the bed blood rushing to your head feeling.

It may be allergy related. Take Claritin, Allegra, Xytec, Flonase. Benadryl (diphenhydramine) will make you sleepy, which you may like. Diphenhydraminesame is also the same ingredient in all those OTC sleep meds as well. Throw in a decongestant, like pseudophedrine, or phenylephrine (the current OTC decongestant) but they can increase blood pressure, so be careful with your own medical drug makeup.. You have to switch up between these medications, as the body gets use to them, and become ineffective. Couple these drugs with melatonin or even Ambien added in for nighttime sleep regimen.

Use padded headphones that cover the ears, designed for noise-canceling and try various tinnitus sound apps for both Android & iPhone.

Put warm to as hot as you can compresses on the fleshy sides of ears, just below ear canal opening, down the side of your neck. This may help relieve Eustachian tube pressure. Lay your head on a low heat "moist" heating pad that can wrapped the back and the sides of the neck near the ear canal can also work.

Avoid stimulants, caffeine etc. And smoking. New things I saw above were the metals in some supplements, such as magnesium. Multivitamins tend to have these metals, so take your vitamins separately, i.e. vitamin C, B-12 B-Complex, Calcium (w/o magnesium), Vitamin B & D & E etc.

Try different strains of Marijuana, toke or gummy to see if one helps diminishes the tinnitus. Hell, I would try low dosage mushroom often mentioned in DL if it would help diminish tinnitus.

Ask your doctor to prescribe various mood drugs, or anti depressants to see which one helps you with severe tinnitus. Klonopin has been already recommended above. Xanax also, but doctors are reluctant to prescribe an addictive drug. You could try St John's Wort.

Tinnitus can just be mixed up wiring in the middle, inner ears. I hope you can find something that at least can works for you!

Just thought I'd drop this link in this thread as it pertains. COMMENTS: Read about all these people who contracted Tinnitus after receiving the Covid vaccine. Pfizer, JJ, Moderna - it doesn't matter. They either developed Tinnitus after being vaccinated, OR their pre existing Tinnitus became much more pronounced/worse. At least one individual has killed himself because of it. Link:

The COVID vaccine made my always present tinnitus much worse, and it happened within 2-3 minutes of both shots. I'm now five days out from the second (had a severe whole-body reaction) and VERY LOUD tinnitus and night sweats remain.

Good grief, R57! I'm so sorry this has happened to you. I've suffered from ever-present Tinnitus since 2008, so I am very apprehensive about getting the vaccine. Do keep us posted should you experience any improvement in the future.