Tinnitus... anyone ever dealt with it?

[riser4]

I have tinnitus. It doesn't really bother me most of the time.

[garyfromterrace]

I have tinnitus. It doesn't really bother me most of the time.

My friend's case is severe, and on occasion debilitating.

[riser4]

My friend's case is severe, and on occasion debilitating.

That sucks. I can see how it could be. Vibes for your buddy.

[Kopi_Red]

I have tinnitus. It doesn't really bother me most of the time.

Same thing here. I'm able to block it out most of the time.

[BobMc]

Yup, lifetime of impact wrenches and banging hammers on things has my ears ringing constantly. Went to a lot of concerts in my youth but I’ll bet the years of a loud workplace are the cause.

Shit sucks.

[old goat]

I have no personal experience with the drug (I do have tinnitus but am able to ignore it almost all the time). From my googling it appears to be very safe, and there are several studies that show it reduces but doesn't eliminate the tinnitus. Seems like it would be worth a try. Since it is made from pork guts it is neither halal nor kosher.

[yeahman]

My friend's case is severe, and on occasion debilitating.

Ask him if he's ever had any severe neck trauma. The inner ear is closely related to the upper cervical, and if the "atlas" (where the skull rests on top of the spine) is out of whack, that can caused ear ringing because the nerves get irritated. I had it for a couple years and finally one day I was at my chiropractor's office and I saw a pamphlet about the "Blair technique" helping alleviate tinnitus. He said he had about a 50% success rate of helping the situation by doing a gentle adjustment to the atlas. He started doing that adjustment on me and it fixed it. Once or twice a year if I start to hear some ringing, I go back and let him know and he'll do an adjustment of the atlas. Always clears it up for me. I know it sounds crazy. All I can say is it worked for me. This link has some info. As I said, this only helps if the ringing is caused by neck trauma. If your friend has hearing loss and tinnitus caused by to much exposure to loud noises, I don't think it can help with that (although if it were me I'd sure try). Good luck to your friend.

I remember when I first started having the problem I went to a audiologist and was told "sorry, nothing we can do, don't let it drive you crazy." Then this chiro fixed it in a couple sessions. Sure am glad I didn't take the ear doc's assessment as the final word.

[Cono Este]

I developed chronic tinnitus March 2019 on a drive to Co. it’s never stopped since.

I’ve spoke with some other mags about this, and shared some info.

Yes, chronic tinnitus is debilitating. And I would never have believed it existed before I got it. I’ve never worked so hard on my health and to beat it than anything before. The concept that your head will ring 24/7 is enough to literally kill you. It’s terrible.

What I’ve learnt.

Cut your sodium intake, cut your caffeine. Fix any other health problems. You ENT is worthless, he will order tests to make sure it’s not a tumor and look at you like your crazy. At least that’s what happened to me.

It took 9 months to cope. I learnt that being at the ocean helps. Barometric pressure changes seems to make it worse, like migraines. I’m fucked in St. Louis. I almost packed it in and move to SD just to try.

Medication can cause it. There are otoxic meds that screw up your ears. I took lexapro for 4 days after my dog died and some other stress and it started. If you’re on any meds be very careful to taper off them. I quit most everything, even Advil. There is a long list of otoxic meds.

Recently, I’ve found that my daily allergy meds help. Flonase, and Allegra. I went off them July 1st and it became hellish again, then back on and I’m better.

Mostly it’s a state of mind. If it’s chronic, you must live a stress free, happy life, you have no choice. People have probably noticed I’ve mellowed out around here, and that’s why. Stress flares it up right away.

Your friend needs to change his life if he is to live with this for the rest of his life.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[garyfromterrace]

That sucks. I can see how it could be. Vibes for your buddy.

Thanks brother, I appreciate that.

Same thing here. I'm able to block it out most of the time.

Hope is that could come. Ain't there yet

Yup, lifetime of impact wrenches and banging hammers on things has my ears ringing constantly. Went to a lot of concerts in my youth but I’ll bet the years of a loud workplace are the cause.

Shit sucks.

Sorry you have to deal with it Bob.

I have no personal experience with the drug (I do have tinnitus but am able to ignore it almost all the time). From my googling it appears to be very safe, and there are several studies that show it reduces but doesn't eliminate the tinnitus. Seems like it would be worth a try. Since it is made from pork guts it is neither halal nor kosher.

Thanks very much for chiming in OG, I was hoping you would. Appreciate you also taking the time to look at some of the literature out there, means a lot to me and certainly it appears as though it may be a course of action to try (even if it's in desperation) as there doesn't seem to be many accepted treatments out there. A reduction (when he has a flair up) would be a godsend. My friend is neither muslim or jew so no worries about the pork content.

Ask him if he's ever had any severe neck trauma. The inner ear is closely related to the upper cervical, and if the "atlas" (where the skull rests on top of the spine) is out of whack, that can caused ear ringing because the nerves get irritated. I had it for a couple years and finally one day I was at my chiropractor's office and I saw a pamphlet about the "Blair technique" helping alleviate tinnitus. He said he had about a 50% success rate of helping the situation by doing a gentle adjustment to the atlas. He started doing that adjustment on me and it fixed it. Once or twice a year if I start to hear some ringing, I go back and let him know and he'll do an adjustment of the atlas. Always clears it up for me. I know it sounds crazy. All I can say is it worked for me. This link has some info. As I said, this only helps if the ringing is caused by neck trauma. If your friend has hearing loss and tinnitus caused by to much exposure to loud noises, I don't think it can help with that (although if it were me I'd sure try). Good luck to your friend.

I remember when I first started having the problem I went to a audiologist and was told "sorry, nothing we can do, don't let it drive you crazy." Then this chiro fixed it in a couple sessions. Sure am glad I didn't take the ear doc's assessment as the final word.

Thank you yeahman, there is a very good likelyhood that he's experienced neck trauma in the past (given some of the exploits I know of attributed to him), the severity of which I'm not sure. I will pass this on however. Much appreciated, it's good to have some additional options at very least.

I developed chronic tinnitus March 2019 on a drive to Co. it’s never stopped since.

I’ve spoke with some other mags about this, and shared some info.

Yes, chronic tinnitus is debilitating. And I would never have believed it existed before I got it. I’ve never worked so hard on my health and to beat it than anything before. The concept that your head will ring 24/7 is enough to literally kill you. It’s terrible.

What I’ve learnt.

Cut your sodium intake, cut your caffeine. Fix any other health problems. You ENT is worthless, he will order tests to make sure it’s not a tumor and look at you like your crazy. At least that’s what happened to me.

It took 9 months to cope. I learnt that being at the ocean helps. Barometric pressure changes seems to make it worse, like migraines. I’m fucked in St. Louis. I almost packed it in and move to SD just to try.

Medication can cause it. There are otoxic meds that screw up your ears. I took lexapro for 4 days after my dog died and some other stress and it started. If you’re on any meds be very careful to taper off them. I quit most everything, even Advil. There is a long list of otoxic meds.

Recently, I’ve found that my daily allergy meds help. Flonase, and Allegra. I went off them July 1st and it became hellish again, then back on and I’m better.

Mostly it’s a state of mind. If it’s chronic, you must live a stress free, happy life, you have no choice. People have probably noticed I’ve mellowed out around here, and that’s why. Stress flares it up right away.

Your friend needs to change his life if he is to live with this for the rest of his life.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Great (though sobering) information Cono. Thanks so much for posting. I'll pass this on. At this stage, I just want to provide my buddy with more options as they seem to be limited with this affliction. I consider myself very lucky not to have this especially given the many concerts, live music gigs and heavy equipment I've been around my entire life.

Let me also say, you guys are allright. This place never ceases to impress me (usually). Cheers lads!

[UTpowder]

Cono is right on track with his advice. I'm an audiologist and while I don't profess to be an expert I have quite a bit of experience with tinnitus. Cono if you were told by an audiologist there is nothing that can be done, it's time to find a new audiologist. For many years that's what we were taught in school and pretty much everybody just gave the standard "nothing we can do, just live with it" answer. I think there are a couple reasons for this. First lack of knowledge and second there is little to no reimbursement for treatment (so why try if your not going to get paid for it?). For most audiologists the sale of hearing aids is their primary revenue stream. We have to compete with hearing instrument specialists (HIS) who's education in most states requires them to have a high school diploma, attend a training class as short as three days and pass a basic knowledge test. An audiologist requires a doctorate degree(AuD.). Because of the revenue is mostly from hearings why bother with learning anything else or spending the time and resources to treat it? AuD's can all become Board Certified by the American Board of Audiology (ABA). Many do not because it brings very little benefit financially, but requires double the continuing education requirements which have to be tested and not just showing up and sleeping through a class, and increased certification expense. Last I looked I was one of 8 board certified audiologists in the state of UT. The ABA offered a certificate course in tinnitus management beginning about three years ago. There has been little interest. In fact I am the only AuD in the state that has completed the course. Theres just no incentive to do so. I am in the process of implementing a Tinnitus management program but it is far from being complete. I help manage tinnitus for at least a couple dozen patients but I haven't seen a dime of extra income despite the added workload.

For your buddy, It's important to let him know and make sure he understands that while tinnitus cannot be cured it can be successfully managed. I follow the Progressive Tinnitus Managemnt approach (PTM). Is what this includes is starting with the lest interruptive solution first and increasing management techniques as needed.

It begins with a thorough comprehensive hearing evaluation and referral to the proper medical doctor(s) to rule out any underlying medical or physiological concerns. I also administer a Tinnitus Handicap Inventory test. It is a subjective test but gives us a starting point on which to measure progress.

Depending upon test results I may recommend a few things. If the patient has normal hearing I will recommend them trying a sound masking machine. They are cheap on amazon, and there are also several phone apps that free or cheap. Use these through Bluetooth heaphones or speaker usually at bedtime if sleep is a problem or whenever is needed through out the day. I also recommend the patient attend some kind of meditation/relaxation class to learn to quite their mind and not focus on the tinnitus. As Cono said stress is no bueno. If the patient has hearing loss I will usually recommend a hearing aid with a tinnitus masking feature built into the hearing aid. Most hearing aids have this feature, some brands are better then others. At first I do not activate the tinnitus masking feature in the hearing aid. There is sufficient evidence to show that around 80% of tinnitus patients will notice a reduction in tinnitus volume simply by using a hearing aid. I have experienced this myself with my own tinnitus. In some patients I never need to turn on the tinnitus feature. I have found the most success with just using a HA with patients that have noise induced hearing loss. If the patient is still experiencing bothersome tinnitus I will turn on the tinnitus masker function. I will also at some point (sometimes early on) instruct them to stream the bluetooth masking apps through their hearing aids. I think it is very important to show them how to use all of these tools that are available but give them the control to find what works best for them. I can tell them what I have experienced but in no way do to I know exactly what they are hearing and more importantly their reaction to it.

Out of the couple dozen patients I have seen I have not had to progress any further. If I did need to the next step would be to involve a psychologist specializing in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Tinnitus builds upon itself. Its a circle that continues to expand. You hear it, it bothers you, because it bothers you you pay attention to it and hear it more, it bothers you more and on and on. That cycle needs to be broken.

I can't guarantee it will go away, it will not. But its not a lost cause. Proper diagnosis, proper management techniques, attainable goals, and measurement of progress need to be included in the plan. It may not sound like something to be concerned with to somebody that has never experienced it. But there have been several instances of suicide due to tinnitus. As mentionable it can become quite debilitating. Great to see you looking out for your friend. Let him know that all hope is not lost. He can manage it, if he has the right tools

[garyfromterrace]

^^
Thank you so much. And, you don't even have a DDS... wow.

[Gcooker]

I developed chronic tinnitus March 2019 on a drive to Co. it’s never stopped since.

I’ve spoke with some other mags about this, and shared some info.

Yes, chronic tinnitus is debilitating. And I would never have believed it existed before I got it. I’ve never worked so hard on my health and to beat it than anything before. The concept that your head will ring 24/7 is enough to literally kill you. It’s terrible.

What I’ve learnt.

Cut your sodium intake, cut your caffeine. Fix any other health problems. You ENT is worthless, he will order tests to make sure it’s not a tumor and look at you like your crazy. At least that’s what happened to me.

It took 9 months to cope. I learnt that being at the ocean helps. Barometric pressure changes seems to make it worse, like migraines. I’m fucked in St. Louis. I almost packed it in and move to SD just to try.

Medication can cause it. There are otoxic meds that screw up your ears. I took lexapro for 4 days after my dog died and some other stress and it started. If you’re on any meds be very careful to taper off them. I quit most everything, even Advil. There is a long list of otoxic meds.

Recently, I’ve found that my daily allergy meds help. Flonase, and Allegra. I went off them July 1st and it became hellish again, then back on and I’m better.

Mostly it’s a state of mind. If it’s chronic, you must live a stress free, happy life, you have no choice. People have probably noticed I’ve mellowed out around here, and that’s why. Stress flares it up right away.

Your friend needs to change his life if he is to live with this for the rest of his life.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Yeah Cono, glad to hear the Flonase/allergy pill mix worked a bit. I ran out of Flonase on a road trip and sure as shit my left ear is buzzing again. I hear no bass, just high pitched sounds, it’s annoying as fuck but a couple days back on the allergy meds and it clears right up.

[old goat]

I have been avoiding nasal steroids on the completely unproven possibility that the nasal steroids could reduce the innate immune response to virus inhaled through the nose. I emphasize that there is no evidence that this is so but the possibility concerns me. Anecdotally, I seem to get a cold every spring when I'm using nasal steroids (probably not every spring but it seems that way), and rarely other times of the year when I'm not using them, which might suggest weakened immunity, or be complete coincidence. Flonase is a nasal steroid.

[Cono Este]

Yeah Cono, glad to hear the Flonase/allergy pill mix worked a bit. I ran out of Flonase on a road trip and sure as shit my left ear is buzzing again. I hear no bass, just high pitched sounds, it’s annoying as fuck but a couple days back on the allergy meds and it clears right up.

It’s crazy man. I work from home, live alone, and whenever I’m home it’s buzzing. But, if I take a trip, am around others, it’s almost not noticeable sometimes.

The first 3-6 months of chronic tinnitus can kill a person. Especially if you have some existing depression. What I found is that after I got control of my health and diet I started to have better days. 1 after 6 months of hell! But that’s enough to know all is not lost.

It’s real hit and miss with the experience. I keep a diary.

Life is trip.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Cono Este]

Cono is right on track with his advice. I'm an audiologist and while I don't profess to be an expert I have quite a bit of experience with tinnitus. Cono if you were told by an audiologist there is nothing that can be done, it's time to find a new audiologist. For many years that's what we were taught in school and pretty much everybody just gave the standard "nothing we can do, just live with it" answer. I think there are a couple reasons for this. First lack of knowledge and second there is little to no reimbursement for treatment (so why try if your not going to get paid for it?). For most audiologists the sale of hearing aids is their primary revenue stream. We have to compete with hearing instrument specialists (HIS) who's education in most states requires them to have a high school diploma, attend a training class as short as three days and pass a basic knowledge test. An audiologist requires a doctorate degree(AuD.). Because of the revenue is mostly from hearings why bother with learning anything else or spending the time and resources to treat it? AuD's can all become Board Certified by the American Board of Audiology (ABA). Many do not because it brings very little benefit financially, but requires double the continuing education requirements which have to be tested and not just showing up and sleeping through a class, and increased certification expense. Last I looked I was one of 8 board certified audiologists in the state of UT. The ABA offered a certificate course in tinnitus management beginning about three years ago. There has been little interest. In fact I am the only AuD in the state that has completed the course. Theres just no incentive to do so. I am in the process of implementing a Tinnitus management program but it is far from being complete. I help manage tinnitus for at least a couple dozen patients but I haven't seen a dime of extra income despite the added workload.

For your buddy, It's important to let him know and make sure he understands that while tinnitus cannot be cured it can be successfully managed. I follow the Progressive Tinnitus Managemnt approach (PTM). Is what this includes is starting with the lest interruptive solution first and increasing management techniques as needed.

It begins with a thorough comprehensive hearing evaluation and referral to the proper medical doctor(s) to rule out any underlying medical or physiological concerns. I also administer a Tinnitus Handicap Inventory test. It is a subjective test but gives us a starting point on which to measure progress.

Depending upon test results I may recommend a few things. If the patient has normal hearing I will recommend them trying a sound masking machine. They are cheap on amazon, and there are also several phone apps that free or cheap. Use these through Bluetooth heaphones or speaker usually at bedtime if sleep is a problem or whenever is needed through out the day. I also recommend the patient attend some kind of meditation/relaxation class to learn to quite their mind and not focus on the tinnitus. As Cono said stress is no bueno. If the patient has hearing loss I will usually recommend a hearing aid with a tinnitus masking feature built into the hearing aid. Most hearing aids have this feature, some brands are better then others. At first I do not activate the tinnitus masking feature in the hearing aid. There is sufficient evidence to show that around 80% of tinnitus patients will notice a reduction in tinnitus volume simply by using a hearing aid. I have experienced this myself with my own tinnitus. In some patients I never need to turn on the tinnitus feature. I have found the most success with just using a HA with patients that have noise induced hearing loss. If the patient is still experiencing bothersome tinnitus I will turn on the tinnitus masker function. I will also at some point (sometimes early on) instruct them to stream the bluetooth masking apps through their hearing aids. I think it is very important to show them how to use all of these tools that are available but give them the control to find what works best for them. I can tell them what I have experienced but in no way do to I know exactly what they are hearing and more importantly their reaction to it.

Out of the couple dozen patients I have seen I have not had to progress any further. If I did need to the next step would be to involve a psychologist specializing in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Tinnitus builds upon itself. Its a circle that continues to expand. You hear it, it bothers you, because it bothers you you pay attention to it and hear it more, it bothers you more and on and on. That cycle needs to be broken.

I can't guarantee it will go away, it will not. But its not a lost cause. Proper diagnosis, proper management techniques, attainable goals, and measurement of progress need to be included in the plan. It may not sound like something to be concerned with to somebody that has never experienced it. But there have been several instances of suicide due to tinnitus. As mentionable it can become quite debilitating. Great to see you looking out for your friend. Let him know that all hope is not lost. He can manage it, if he has the right tools

Thanks so much for all you do. I’ve never seen an audiologist, I saw an ENT.

I will probably be visiting you when I come out to PC this yr. if, the place opens.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[ötzi]

My ears are constantly ringing but I only notice it when it's quiet, it's basically something I'm just used to. I attribute it to too much loud music, I worked in loud clubs for a long time. Now if I get in a situation with very loud music it literally hurts if it's loud enough.

If it ever gets worse I'll refer back to UTPowder's informative post, thank you for that, man. Couldn't you set up some sort of fee-for-service tinnitus consulting practice, though? It seems like people would pay good money, even out-of-pocket, for help with debilitating cases.

I'm also interested in the Atlas maneuver yeahman mentioned. I've had back and neck trauma repeatedly and my whole spine is pretty fried. I always thought of chiros as quacks for whatever reason but a few months ago I was in a lot of pain and I went to see one but it really sketched me out that this yahoo wanted to x-ray my spine and hips. Partially because I've had so much radiology done over the past few years that I probably glow but also because he's not a doctor and the x-ray machine looked like it was from the 1930's. I just walked out saying nah, nah, nah, no thanks. Just kept going.

But I've read enough to think a good chiro might be able to help me if If I'd let them. How do you find a good chiro? The one I found I got to through google and reading reviews and I convinced myself his reviews were made up or paid for.

[riser4]

He's not iceman, he's glow in the dark man. Chernobyl man.

[mattig]

Thanks for all the wisdom and solidarity in this thread, mags.

Great points above that I totally agree with:

- drives ya pretty crazy
- only noticeable in silence
- ENTs are generally entirely worthless
- I do think there's a barometric pressure component for me, but haven't kept a detailed log

Mine is a rumbling noise only, like a diesel truck idling a half a block away. When it first started I would walk outside and check.

What a fucking rabbit hole of research and 'maybes' trying to get to the bottom of it.

Had massive neck trauma in 2017 but didn't notice this rumbling get bad until 2019. That said, it's faint enough that I may not have noticed at first.

ENT did all the tests (but refused to do MRI until I did a 2nd hearing test because he lost the first one). Same ENT ruled out middle ear issue. All 3 ENTs have been self righteous twats that are clearly puzzled by my case, unwilling to admit it, and thus just want to shuffle me out the door.

Things I've wondered about:

- mainly my CPAP. There's some evidence for middle ear issues from CPAP. I got a new one in 2019 and it ramped up way too aggressively. Entered factory settings menu and limited the max pressure and I believe the rumbling is much better than it was. First clue on the CPAP is that the issue was generally worse first thing in the morning, but then again, that's also the quietest time of day.

- CPAP cleaner. It's one of those ozone generator thingies. Not sure if it gets 100% flushed out when I let it run for 30 seconds before putting it on? Anyway, I stopped using it 3 months ago, and things seem to be improving.

- allergies, but it wasn't markedly worse during allergy season. Flonase didn't help

- Tensor Tympani issue. Previous research suggested this as most likely cause, but no one knows anything about it (or rather, how to fix it if it is the cause)

- Bloodflow-related? Pretty much ruled out. I have low BP and the noise isn't pulsatile, even though it definitely feels like a physical sensation more than an auditory one (like if you "flex" your ear muscles as if to try to make them pop, but keep straining until you can hear the blood rushing in your head... The internet says only a low percentage of the population can do this, but I've never talked to anyone who couldn't).

- Earwax in middle ear ("glue ear" according to google). ENT says no. But again, he just wants me to leave, it seems.

Anyway, after dialing down the CPAP and ditching the ozone, it's gotten better enough to not drive me crazy.

The inner ear is closely related to the upper cervical, and if the "atlas" (where the skull rests on top of the spine) is out of whack, that can caused ear ringing because the nerves get irritated.

Dude, if this is the lead that fixes mine, you shall not want for beer and bacon the next time I'm in MT. I'm going to ask my Chiro buddy about this.

[DeathRaven]

Yeah Cono, glad to hear the Flonase/allergy pill mix worked a bit. I ran out of Flonase on a road trip and sure as shit my left ear is buzzing again. I hear no bass, just high pitched sounds, it’s annoying as fuck but a couple days back on the allergy meds and it clears right up.

Look into CBT as UTpowder mentioned. The onset of the tinnitus with a high stress part of your life may not be a coincidence. Stress and emotional distress are common causes of tinnitus. The nocebo effect of having an ENT tell you there is nothing you can do can be a VERY powerful suggestion. As insane as it may sound (at least it did to me) mindfulness, meditation and CBT may very well bring you a lot of relief. I've got a shitload of issues, but I no longer include tinnitus among them. My tinnitus had a very "logical" onset according to traditional wisdom. The gov't issued shitty hearing protection and I was immersed in an environment with a lots of shooting and explosions. Bingo, 8 years of ringing. The existence of my family is the only thing that prevented me from making it go away permanently for the cost of a bullet - I know how fucking maddening it can be. It took nearly a decade, and I had basically given up on finding relief from the ringing when a new PTSD therapist picked that as the 'low hanging fruit' to prove/convince me that a CBT program could vastly improve my life and give me relief from tinnitus, PTSD and chronic pain. Like I said, the tinnitus is GONE - thru CBT, meditation and mindfulness. Basically learning to de-stress and think differently on both a conscious and unconscious level. The same process has also given me significant relief from chronic pain, and has made managing PTSD a helluva lot easier. Here are a couple of resources that helped me the most:

https://www.va.gov/PAINMANAGEMENT/do...ist_Manual.pdf

https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/

These are focused on pain management, but are exactly what helped my tinnitus. To translate, when the materials refer to 'pain' the pain they are referring to is the ringing in your head.

Good luck, and godspeed.

[yeahman]

But I've read enough to think a good chiro might be able to help me if If I'd let them. How do you find a good chiro?

That's a really good question. I've been using chiropractic to manage back pain for 25+ years, after being injured working in a lumber mill. I was lucky and got recommended a good one right off the bat, when I couldn't even get out of bed due to pain. But in the years since, I've moved around and probably been to a dozen or so chiros. I'd say only two or three have been effective for me. Chiropractors adhere to different practices and techniques, and you need to find one that is trained in the technique that benefits your specific pain. The only way to do that is to talk to people, ask for recommendations, and go to different chiros until you find one that helps. As for the x-rays, I hear you on being skeptical, but the only way a chiro can really tell what's going on with your spinal alignment is through x-ray. I'd be more worried about a chiro who didn't do an x-ray.

In the case of the Blair Technique, not many chiros are trained in this. It requires a specific set of x-rays that focus on the Atlas, aka the very upper cervical area. Yeah, it's scary shit trusting yourself to these chiros. It's a personal decision. I guess it often has to do with how desperate you are to get out of pain (or tinnitus). A lot of people don't believe in the concept that a properly aligned spine takes pressure off nerves that are causing pain (or ringing). My brother is a lawyer, and whenever I mention how much chiropractic has helped me, he smiles smugly and calls it a placebo. Then again he's never done manual labor and had severe back pain.

Dude, if this is the lead that fixes mine, you shall not want for beer and bacon the next time I'm in MT. I'm going to ask my Chiro buddy about this.

Definitely talk to your chiro buddy. However, if your buddy doesn't practice the Blair Technique, then at least make an appointment to consult with one who does. Different chiropractic techniques help different types of pain, at least that's been my experience. But I'm just one person. It's hard to give people advice on this stuff because you always worry they are going to have a negative experience. So we all need to do our own research and trust our own gut as to what will help us. But if you do try it, good luck, I hope it helps.

[mattig]

Yeah, I don't know if he does, but he is one of the few good ones (even my neurosurgeon approved).

Funny, I've also had my personal injury attorney buddy scoff at chiro, but the fact remains I couldn't tilt my head to the left after my accident and chiro fixed that in 5 minutes.

He'll be the first to tell you that most of the industry is a joke.

[riser4]

There's some good stuff in here. I have no idea when mine first started. And I usually tune it out. I tick a lot of the boxes regarding cause. It's good knowledge to have in case it does get worse, I'll know where to start. And it's a good reminder to maybe take care of some issues with a little more attention. Mine sounds like the high pitched wine of an electric motor with a bad bearing, but fortunately it's pretty quiet. Unless I read threads like this one. Thanks guys. lol

[ötzi]

... Mine sounds like the high pitched wine of an electric motor with a bad bearing, but fortunately it's pretty quiet. Unless I read threads like this one. Thanks guys. lol

Same exact thing. I can't look at the thread without hearing it but most of the time I don't really notice it. But every night when it's quiet it's right there.

[Ted Striker]

My ears are constantly ringing but I only notice it when it's quiet, it's basically something I'm just used to. I attribute it to too much loud music, I worked in loud clubs for a long time. Now if I get in a situation with very loud music it literally hurts if it's loud enough.

I have some noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as a sensitivity to certain sounds/frequencies. One of the doctors I've seen said it's called Hyperacusis.

[ötzi]

It's interesting because I have really good hearing, like actually amazing, last time the doc didn't believe it and re-tested me.

Maybe the whine is actually there and only some of us special folk can hear it.