Hi Joel,
Yes, I have tinnitus in both ears. It's really only a problem when I first go to bed and everything is dead quiet. I have been to the Doctor...no fix beside a funky hearing aid set up to cancel the frequency ring....I passed.
Regards, |
I have had it for a couple of years in one ear. It was attributed to my attending too many rock concerts as a youth. Its very annoying to me. I've been to numerous ENT docs without any success. I was told to get rid of my stereo, especially the headphones. I still listen to my stereo but for only a limited time. Unfortunately, anymore than 1 CD and the hissing/ringing interferes with me hearing the music. |
Find a chiropractor who does AK Applied Kinesiology. That has been very helpful for me. Be careful though, most Chiropractors are as useless as most MDs! They don't bury their mistakes though. |
I too have Tinnitus, and it occurs at relatively low levels. When I'm talking with people or listening to music, I don't notice it at all. As far as I know, there are no "medical" methods of treating it, though you can find FAQ's on the web about how diet, prescription drugs, etc. may influence the ringing. Tinnitus is frequently associated with some high frequency hearing loss or comb filtering, so it is not just a neutral "added ringing". Its negative effects can get worse over time. For some people it can be relatively loud and distracting, or their hearing loss can be significant. I think I must compensate for any high frequency loss in my head, because I can't stand bright or aggressive sounding equipment. |
Hello Joeldoss,
I empathize with you, knowing that hearing problems become one of our dreaded nightmares.as an audiophile.
Firstly, there are many causes of tinnitus and it may come from the middle ear or inner ear and I suggest that you see an ear nose throat specialist. Some tinnitus are reversible, some may linger for awhile, others have it forever, all will be dependent upon its etiology.
You are right, sometimes we have to accept it and live with it, and this should not deprive you of your listening pleasure. Your brain has the capacity to adapt and all the more, encourage you to keep doing whatever keeps you going.
I too am suffering from similar complaints, and this was a recent thing. I thought I'd go crazy, I was ready to drop my passion as an audiophile.
I have to step back and realize that I could still hear. I still have tinnitus periodically, but my positive attitude has helped me tremendously.
I have set an exercise program for myself, jogging everyday, taking some multivitamins, avoiding excessive salt and sugar and caffeine, a healthy attitude and somehow, I notice a decline in the intensity of my tinnitus.
Tinnitus is a nuisance but it should not stop you and me to enjoy music.. |
Joel.
After a concussion in the summer I had Tinnitus for only 3 weeks (thankfully) in my left ear. Female voice and other high pitched freq. caused nasty buzzing. I thought about selling my gear, but rode out the short storm.
If this is a persisting problem you may want to seek the help of a recommended ENT (ear,nose,throat) specialist. They can help with all kinds of inner ear issues like vertigo and Minnears (?) disease which are usually caused by tiny 'stones' in your ears. Thankfully the British Columbia health care system pays for such specialists. I'm sure it's different in the US. Be advised, it takes painful amounts of time to see good specialists so be patient. Good Luck. |
I've had Tinnitus for a couple of years now...my father has had it for the past twenty or thirty years...I've been to a well respected ENT specialist and gone through hearing tests, etc...I'm told it could get worse or stay the same...they really don't know a great deal about it...they do believe heredity is a factor...more than a "ringing" sound, both my dad and I hear a very high pitched "hissing"...it's like being in an automobile and hearing "wind noise" continuously...sometimes it nearly drives me crazy...other times, it's not too bad...when it's really acting up, listening to my stereo does seem to aggravate it...I can only hope that it doesn't get much worse...I really enjoy music and my stereo and I would hate to give it up... |
I'm sure that most audiogoner's already know this,but any non-steroidal anti inflammatory(aspirin,ibuprofen ,etc) can bring on tinnitus. Just a thought. |
Hi Guys,
One thing all you people should try is to have your mercury silver amalgams -fillings removed from your teeth. They are deadly poisonous. They are banned in the Scandavian countries. I wonder why we are so slow to catch on. We are too industrial and not concerned that a huge amount of our population has mercury poisoning.
My 15 year old son tested positive for mercury and he didn't have amalgams.
Remember there is a solution for every health problem. Your friendly dentist and doctor unfortunately don't know a thing.
Anyone wants more info contact me through email.
Robert |
Learn to live with it is the only recommendation. Depending on how severe your tinnitus is this may be easy enough or quite difficult. Anarchy is wrong again, chiropractors offer nothing for tinnitus sufferers except the placebo effect brought about by the laying on of hands. You need to see a specialist since the cause may differ from one person to the other. Objective tinnitus is sometimes treatable, subjective tinnitus, on the other hand, normally is not. In very severe cases, a hearing aid adjusted to frequencies that mask the sound is a solution. If the sound is in the middle of your head, it most certainly is subjective tinnitus. Should the sound be in one ear only or on one side of the head more than the other, the possibility of a tumour in the area of the auditory nerve has to be ruled out. From what I was told, exposure to live or reproduced music even at high SPLs is not a very likely cause. Loud music can and does cause tinnitus, but those cases are mostly found in musicians or technicians and has to do with even greater SPLs and, what is most important, much longer periods of exposure. Depending on your case, music can remain an important part of your life. Tinnitus is usually masked by most music you can listen to. The condition may seem worse though after you have finished a longer listening session. Good luck, and see a specialist not a neck cracker! |
I get Tinnitus from listening to Steely Dan. It's more severe when I hear a CD by them nausea sets in as well. The vinyl pressings aren't quite as bad. Then I only hear a phone ringing. Does this qualify? I better have another cup of coffee.
On a more serious note, I developed tinnitus from not wearing ear plugs and operating power tools. As treatment I wear ear plugs when I have to listen to Steely Dan. |
All of the above sufferers have been to ENT doctors and told to learn to live with it. Imagine you have a loud hum in your amp and you go to your dealer and he says learn to live with it! You wouldn't put up with it for one moment. Why would you put up with what your doctor tells you? We have this overwhelming respect for doctors that is very misplaced.
Why would you respect him if he couldn't help you. There are answers out there if you want to really get rid of your tinnitus. |
Audio friends, thank you all for your advice and comments. I'm 54 and because my father had heart disease, I take a baby aspirin everyday. I'll cut that out for awhile. I also learned that there are several herbal treatments for Tinnitus that have had some success. One is Soya Lecithin, the other Gingko Biloba. I know that caffeine may increase the ringing but I have yet to give up my morning coffee.
As always, I enjoy this online dialogue and thanks Joman for the humor (or was it?) Joel |
Joel,
I hope my comments didn't offend anyone. Yes,I was trying to add humor to an otherwise inconvenient malady. |
Pbb perhaps you are willing to live with these things or you are just stupid. You know nothing about what you are saying. There are often physiological explanations for this problem which have been repeatedly alleviated by Chiropractic treatment.
Or maybe you are smarter than me and know better than I what has taken place in my own body! Amazing how you can argue against ones own experiences. It is hard to beleive that someone who spouts stupidity everytime they put their fingers to the keyboard could really best smart enough to make that evaluation. Why don't you try the plecebo effect of pretending you are human long enough to care and to try to help someone rather than stroking your own ego. |
I got tinnitis from taking celebrex. I had taken other anti-inflammatories before with no problems. The package insert lists tinnitis and deafness! as possible side effects. I find gingo bilboa is helpful for this condition (increases blood flow). Certain spicy foods & alcohol can aggravate this condition. Keep your weight & cholesterol under control & exercise regularly to keep the blood flowing in the ateries that supply the ears. Studies have shown hearing loss to be greater in couch potatoes. |
I have had tinnitus for about the last 6 years. It just started one morning (at least that is when I noticed it) and has never gone away. It is worst in the morning, but most of the time I don't even notice it. I have tried MDs, DCs, herbal treatments, diet changes, exercise, no caffeine and other remedies without any success. Fortunately, when I listen to music, I don't hear it. If anybody comes up with anything that has actually worked for them, I would love to hear about it as I am willing to try just about anything. |
Nrchy, Pbb didn't say that the placebo effect didn't work, only that that is what works with some people. Chiropractors can't cure hearing problems caused by physiological problems. As to whether chiros can cure other problems, well that is open to debate.
This smacks of the same old arguement used in audiophile circles of "if I hear a difference then it must exist and how dare you say that there isn't a difference".
The placebo effect is a very powerful thing |
I saw a cure for Tinnitus once on TV that is still experimental. The doctor tells the sufferer to listen to different tones until he hears the one that most closely matches the ringing that he hears. The doctor then treats the patient with the same tone except out of phase with the original. After about two weeks the inner ear repairs itself and no more tinnitus. |
Anarchy. Anarchy, Anarchy. I will leave your ad hominem arguments aside. I have reread my post and cannot find anything factually wrong with it. The most intelligent suggestion certainly is to see a specialist. Now if in your neck of the woods the chiropractor specializes in ear problems, so be it. I kind of thought you would lean towards chiropractors and alternative medicine. Unlike you, I never said you were stupid, only wrong. While someone's belief in the outer limits of things audio can only put a hole in ones wallet, not seeking the advice of a specialist for a health problem is another story altogether. If I firmly believed that something could be done to restore some very small and fragile part of the human anatomy located inside a bony structure do you think that even I, who is termed stupid because of some disagreements over audio and autos, would not seek treatment? One of my clients told me that someone he knows went to France for treatment of his tinnitus. I have yet to research that lead, but should I find anything of value I will surely mention it to all concerned. If your tinnitus has been "cured" by the chiropractor, great. The problem is that tinnitus often comes and goes and that there is a distinct possibility that, if indeed you started feeling better at the same time as you got chiropractic treatment, it could merely be a coincidence. You see a sample of one, taken without any controls, does not provide a very strong case. You can see that whether it is audio or cars, our two very distinct positions do not mesh very well. Like I said, when a question is one related to the health of a person, the debate ceases to be merely idle banter. Personal freedom means you can seek whatever treatment you want. On the other hand, that does not mean that people making money from a type of treatment should not be scrutinized and that their "practices", "medication" or "treatments" are simply a function of the individual right of a person to get whatever treatment he/she wants or the sacrosanct right of people to make a buck. |
Something you may want to look into!
I had it in my right ear- turns out it was likely caused by grinding my teeth in my sleep- which i only do when lying on my back. I try my best to only sleep on my side and amazingly the ringing has gone away. I still get a slight fullness in my ear like when taking off in an airplane. Doctor says i am getting a fluid build up in my right ear- put me on Allegra allergy medicine to take "as needed". That to has helped.
good luck with yours! |
Well, well, Pbb doesn't blame this malady on G.W. Bush and the USA? It's nice to know we aren't responsible for every ill effect that plagues the planet. |
Lugnut, Lugnut, Lugnut, now you are the one turning this into some sort of political issue. Why would I blame tinnitus on GWB or the USA? From my northerly vantage point, am I right to assume that GWB is not the USA and that the USA is not GWB? Good day. |
Now, now, Pbb. Nobody can blame me for poking you in the ribs. Just a little payback for your previous efforts. It WAS meant as a joke. |
Lugnut: OK, am I getting too sensitive in my dotage? Drop me an e-mail, we can discuss what we heve been listening to of late. Have a nice day. |
I've deveoloped tinnitus (hopefully temporary)from a sinus infection/clogged Eustachian tubes. The ringing is at a low enough level that I've been able to ignore it. I wonder if anyone else out there has ever suffered with their Eustachian closing up? This is been ongoing for two months and am on my second ENT for treatment and am hopped up and dizzy from steriods, allegy medication and anti-biotics. This has been aggravating and has dampened my enjoyment of listening to music. The good news is that my hearing test was above average. Thanks |
Design_1, I urge you to see a naturopath for your sinus infection. I had one so bad that I wanted to die. It was like my head was in a vice. After a week, I couldn't take it anymore and saw a naturopath for the first time in my life after being disgusted with the uselessness of the pharmaceutical driven "conventional medicine". He gave me accupuncture, a bottle of what he called "powerful herbs" and advised me to take vitamin C at the rate of 2g every two hours. I was feeling better in 24 hours, and was 90% better in 48 hours. If you use vitamin C in megadoses, always taper off slowly over several days, since your body will excrete it at the same rate you take it in once you are taking more than your body can use. If you get diarrhea, you're definitely taking too much, but besides that it's relatively harmless. Just reduce the dosage until it stops.
As a side note to pharmaceutical fans out there, 100,000 Americans die each year directly from "properly prescribed" pharmaceuticals. They are often a complete sham, and sometimes harmful or fatal, but they sure are profitable due to patent laws. Most doctors mean well, but they've been educated by a system owned by the pharmaceutical companies since the 1920s, so they prescribe what they know. |
How about the victims of "natural" products containing ephedrine used for weight reduction? Anybody who thinks that "natural" means innocuous is mistaken. As far as I know the venom from the Black Mamba is purely "natural". Another conspiracy theorist, no doubt. |
Pbb, to ridicule natural medicine is about as ridiculous an argument as anyone could make. How do you think you got here? It wasn't because we had hyper purified or synthetic medications to cure all your ancestors' ills. Most modern drugs that are effective are derived from or are synthesized versions of natural sources.
Unfortunately, compounds that provide balance and usability by the human body are often processed out of them, resulting in less effective or more highly toxic drugs. But no corporation is going to get rich promoting something that you can grow in your own garden. The capitalist system is not necessarily the most advantageous for the advancement of medicine. What's more profitable, healing the sick or maintaining their illnesses for the rest of their lives while suppressing the symptoms? I once read that, in China, doctors get paid only when you are well. Now that, if true, makes perfect sense and would be a positive feedback mechanism towards health for all, rather than the opposite which is what we have now in North America.
Any medication can be misused, I'm not saying that natural medicines are always harmless, just that they are underutilized in modern society due to economics.
"Higher doses of the concentrated synthetic analog of ephedra are still available, and in far higher doses per pill than the herbal form, as brought out by Allan Spreen, M.D. Sudafed stands for pseudo-ephedrine."
So why didn't they take Sudafed off the market? Another conspiracy theorist-theorist no doubt. |
I have periodic short episodes (minutes) of tinnitus in my left ear primarily, and had learned a while ago that ginger is helpful (blood thinning), but that most NSAIDS
(esp. aspirin) cause it. Garlic's anticoagulant properties are supposed to be of minor help too. I'll try to ask my acupuncturist next time.... |
Pbb once again your charges are simply wrong. Ephedrine was removed from the market and is synthetic. Ephedra which is natural was not the cause of the health problems. Close, but no cigar, even an organic one! |
Asdf, I never said that natural products could not be effective in certain cases, I have simply stated that this hairy fairy notion that because something is natural it is innocuous is at best untrue, and at worst dangerous. I knew the Chinese medicine reference would surely pop up. It is strange how you seem to believe that disease is unknown in China or well under control because of their traditional medicine. The last time I checked, SARS and avian flu were not being too well controlled with traditional medicine. There are certainly lessons to learn from the practices and generally from the way of thinking of other cultures or civilisations, both existing and gone, but I would stick to the work of Banting and Best, of J. Salk, Pasteur, A. Fleming and all who have followed and worked and still work to alleviate suffering and postpone our inevitable meeting with the Grim Reaper. The fact that governments in America are taking their distance more and more from regulating the drug industry and that we hear more often of research results that are played around with is disconcerting. The fact that the AMA is a lobbying group to keep the profession tooling around in 7 Series BMWs and living in gated communities is also alarming. Again, another issue, you have your problems we have ours. Natural remedies are now given a free ride and can be advertised with claims that cannot be substantiated. When dealing with a cable, preamp or speakers that practice is simply annoying, sometimes even uproarious. When dealing with health issues, I think people should draw the line. |
Anarchy, please read the following quote:
"These terms are used to refer to the same substance derived from the plant Ephedra. (There are many common names for these evergreen plants, including squaw tea and Mormon tea.) Ephedra is a shrub-like plant that is found in desert regions in central Asia and other parts of the world. The dried greens of the plant are used medicinally. Ephedra is a stimulant containing the herbal form of ephedrine, an FDA-regulated drug found in over-the-counter asthma medications.
In the United States, ephedra and ephedrine are sold in health food stores under a variety of brand names. Ephedrine is widely used for weight loss, as an energy booster, and to enhance athletic performance. These products often contain other stimulants, such as caffeine, which may have synergistic effects and increase the potential for adverse effects. Ephedra is often touted as the "herbal fen-phen."
I think this settles your latest case of foot in the mouth disease.
How about getting back to disagreeing on things audio, or, at the very least, on the secondary topic for the 'Gon: music.
Geez, at least with TWL we could annoy each other with things digital! |
Pbb actually your recent rant does nothing to clarify your incorrect position regarding the difference between efedrine and efedra. Your statement is like asking audioengineer to clarify the differences between interconnects--i.e. completely invalid.
Is it a coincidence that your user name starts with pb which is the sign for lead (a dense and toxic material)on the periodic table of elements? |
Anarchy, you are precious, ad hominem and all. |
Once again a complete avoidance of the issue and the truth. |
Hey, this is a perfect example of why I did what I did above. What Pbb needs is a shot of testosterone. The estrogen comes through loud and clear. Or, is this a Canadian malady? |
Protect your hearing, use earplugs and ear protectors, limit exposure to loud sounds such as power tools (this apples to everyone). I've has tinnitus about 20 years, it started as a result of falling asleep listening to headphones, woke up with it. Tinnitus can start with one exposure to loud sounds, protect your hearing, tinnitus can be pretty nasty (I know first hand) and it's a lot easier to protect your hearing than have to deal with the damage after the fact. |
Here is a toll free number with information on hearing:
877.828.7888 at the prompt dial:
#4682 Detecting a hearing loss
#4683 Hearing aids
#4684 Hearing loss from otosclerosis
#4685 Hearing loss in adults
#4686 Hearing loss in children
#4687 Hearing loss: Sensorineural
#4688 How noise affects hearing
#4689 Protect your hearing for life
#4453 Ear wax
The information given is pretty basic but there are a few useful tidbits. |
Buy the foam style earplugs (good ones can be had at Walgreens - Extreme Hearos brand - blue in color) and learn to get them deep into your ears. They should fit so well you have to reach in and pull out to remove. They should also reduce your hearing substantially. I wear them every night and the minor tinnitis I had about 4 yrs ago is barely noticable. My doctor suggested that ears need to relax and rest along with all other functions. Ear plugs allow that and I never have slept better. |
Worse in the morning. It got worse during a period where I neglected my exercise program.
I've found that by keeping cholesterol low and by getting 4 or 5 hours a week of cardio, it is nearly gone.
Yet another great reason to stay healty |
I have had it for 10 months in my right ear. I have found it has improved over that time period but very slowly.
I,like lemmycaution, have also found that rigorous regular excercise is helpful in reducing the volume of the tinnitus
significantly. I bought a treadmill just for that purpose.
It also reduces stress and stress is known to increase tinnitus volume. |
I've had tinnitus since 1998. The first ear doctor I went to suggested it was from taking Neurontin. His sister-in-law had gotten it that way, he said, and when she took it, it went away. I stopped taking it, gradually, but the ringing -- usually more a hissing, actually -- never went away.
As far as music goes, I'm more aware of the hissing when I listen to female vocals, particularly when I listen digitally. It's as if the high-pitched hissing sound fights the sound of treble audio for my brain's attention.
I find I like listening to records much more than CDs, but that was true pre-tinnitus.
Most times I don't notice it. When I eat foods with a lot of sugar and flour, the volume of the hissing goes way up, and can become more of a ringing (higher pitch than the hissing). I try not to eat too much of those foods, and I gave up drinking coffee. I think that helped. I don't notice the noise as constantly. I also notice the hissing/ringing more when I take aspirin or NSAIDs.
And listening to records instead of CDs seems to help me notice the hissing less.
Long story short: no sugar, no flour, no caffeine, no NSAIDs; yes vinyl. |
i have what i would call a mild but annoying case of tinnitus in the left ear. my wife read some health newsletter about washing out each ear with 10 drops of hydrogen peroxide (h2o2) to help eliviate mild cases of timitus. i tried it and it has reduced it to a point where it doesn't bother me anymore. basically you tip your head place 10 drops of h2o2 in the ear and let it set for 10 min then tip your head in the opposite direction and absorb the drainage with a cotton ball.repeat this procedure for about a week.
chuck |
Chuck, I just seem to have developed a case of tinnitus myself. Been to the ENT. No blockage or fluid; hearing test result was "perfect" in their words. They put me on Flonase, as I also have bad sinus congestion. In your use of H2O2 is it stright out of the bottle, or diluted with anything? |
Straight out of the bottle. |
Well I went to my doctor and he said ...learn to live with it ! Can an ENT really actually "do" anything ? I hate going back and forth for nothing real !
I have noticed that liquor increases the ringing . It seems to subside back to the normal amount after a while. Does anyone know if this is a commulitive affect ? Will the ringing get worse, as time goes by, whether I drink alcohol or not ? Will the alcohol make it get worse quicker ?
Thank You |
The tinnitus in my right ear came about in Early November 2000 when I forgot my ear plugs (stupid , stupid, stupid)going to a rehearsal and did'nt go back and get them as I was already half way there when I realized and it was too far back and I did'nt really have the time and it did'nt really matter that much as the studio we had booked was quite big and I would often not wear plugs in there anyway. Well the studio was double booked and we were relagated to the tiny drum rehearsal room with what is the loudest kit I have ever heard (not to mention the drummer was 100kg's and also a martial arts instructor). Well my ears (right ear)copped a beating.
The ringing in my right ear is audiable over most things although it does'nt drive me crazy, it really mostly annoys me when I'm listening to my system, anyway while studying music we were discussing tinnitus in class and one of the students said that her farther had suffered this after a lifetime working at the airport and was cured by a doctor who had prescribed some sort of (herbal?) ear drops. This was prior to my tinnitus and I hav'nt been able to contact her and could'nt dig up anything on this...until now.
I'm excited by the possibility of H2o2 and am going to give it a go, I'll keep you posted. |
Unfortunately there is no clinical evidence hydrogen peroxide will get rid of noise induced tinnitus.
It may work to get rid of ear wax and if ear wax is the cause of your tinnitus, may help. There are many causes of tinnitus and what an audiologist and ENT can help with is determine the cause of the tinnitus and where your hearing loss is, if any. Once you determine the cause you and your DR. can address that. Stress, alcohol, certain drugs, high noise levels, and other factors can increase tinnitus volume, usually temporarily. Unfortunately, there are only a few medical facilities in the US that specialize in tinnitus treatment and reduction. Most ENT's and audiologists just don't have the training to deal very effectively with tinnitus sufferers. The good news is that a high percentage of tinnitus sufferers will see a reduction in tinnitus volume over time as long as they don't incur futher damage to their auditory system. For some people, their tinnitus may go away completely.
|
Saki70
I have read that alcohol will cause the ringing to increase but that it will decrease as the alcohol burns off, same goes for aspirin. That has been my experience as well. I have also done some research on the web and have discovered that there is really nothing that can be done. If the tinitus is severe enough the ENT may suggest trying a hearing aid type device that is inserted in the ear and is tuned to the frequency of the ringing. The device then sends out a canceling signal there-by reducing ones sensitivity to the ringing. There is also a over the counter medication called "Ring Stop" that is said to help if not cure it. I do not know of anyone who has tried it so I do not know if it actually works. There is much information on the web concerning this subject you may want to peruse these areas and see what you come up with.
The H2O2 has minimized it for me but not totally eliminated it. Rockethouse if you find that herbal remedy please let us know what it is.
Chuck |
