Tinnitus... anyone ever dealt with it?

[DeeAre]

So I've had this obnoxious ringing in my right ear since 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon. Hasn't let up and my hearing has been compromised in that ear, so I went to the doc last night. Evidently, I have tinnitus and need to see an ENT. Bummer to hear I have hearing loss at 27. Fucking lame.
Anyone have experience with this condition?

[jmf]

Pretty much my whole family. My uncle was deaf at 45, my dad at 55... I have ringing that comes and goes - when it comes, I'm basically deaf in that ear. Luckily, it only last for about 30 seconds at a clip and usually not more than 1 or 2 times a week. Unfortunately, while they've come up with some nifty ways of making shit louder, there is no treatment for deafness...

[dumpy]

I'm 31 and have had gradual hearing loss and the occasional ringing since ~25.
I haven't been officially diagnosed yet (or even gone to the dr's about it) and my ears are still very functional, but my father also has this condition (diagnosed) and I know it's only a matter of time before it becomes much worse.

I guess thats what years of dirt bikes, punk/hardcore shows, walkmans and power tools in my youth has led to. People may make fun of ear protection in loud environments (especially concerts), but it's not always a bad idea.

[mock vomit]

I just did a bit of looking to see possible causes... mainly because I wanted to see if the cochlear implant method I saw replayed on Scientific American Frontiers the other day might address a deafness that began with tinnitus;

I was surprised to see the vast number of potential causes or contributing factors; http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tin...SECTION=causes

Edit: I've always been one of those nerds who felt live music is way too loud about 99% of the time... If the band was shooting metal shards into the crowd putting eyesight at risk, the health department would shut them down. But with music much too loud, no one seems to give a rats ass because that doesn't lead to people being carried out on a stretcher during the event. [/rant]

[dumpy]

Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Tinnitus
A number of health conditions can cause or worsen tinnitus. In many cases, an exact cause is never found.

A common cause of tinnitus is inner ear cell damage. Tiny, delicate hairs in your inner ear move in relation to the pressure of sound waves. This triggers ear cells to release an electrical signal through a nerve from your ear (auditory nerve) to your brain. Your brain interprets these signals as sound. If the hairs inside your inner ear are bent or broken, they can "leak" random electrical impulses to your brain, causing tinnitus.

Other causes of tinnitus include other ear problems, chronic health conditions, and injuries or conditions that affect your auditory nerves or the hearing center in your brain.

Common causes of tinnitus
In many people, tinnitus is caused by one of these conditions:

Age-related hearing loss. For many people hearing begins to worsen with age, usually starting around age 60. Loss of hearing can cause tinnitus. The medical term for this type of hearing loss is presbycusis.
Exposure to loud noise. Loud noises can damage your ability to hear. Heavy equipment, chain saws and firearms are common sources of noise-related hearing loss. Portable music devices, such as MP3 players or iPods, also can cause noise-related hearing loss if played loudly for long periods. While short-term exposure, such as attending a loud concert, usually causes tinnitus that goes away, long-term exposure to loud sound can cause permanent damage.
Earwax blockage. Earwax protects your ear canal by trapping dirt and slowing the growth of bacteria. However, when too much earwax accumulates it becomes too hard to wash away naturally (cerumenal impaction), causing tinnitus or problems with hearing.
Changes in ear bones. Stiffening of the bones in your middle ear (otosclerosis) may affect your hearing and cause tinnitus. This condition, caused by abnormal bone growth, runs in families.
Other causes of tinnitus
Some causes of tinnitus are less common. These include:

Meniere's disease, an inner ear disorder. Doctors think it's caused by abnormal inner ear fluid pressure or composition.
Stress and depression. This is an especially common diagnosis when hearing tests are normal and no other cause of tinnitus can be identified.
Head injuries or neck injuries. These neurological disorders affect nerves or brain function linked to hearing. Head or neck injuries generally cause tinnitus in only one ear.
Acoustic neuroma, a noncancerous (benign) tumor. Acoustic neuromas develop on the cranial nerve, which runs from your brain to your inner ear and controls balance and hearing. This condition is also called vestibular schwannoma. It generally causes tinnitus in only one ear.
Blood vessel disorders linked to tinnitus
In rare cases, tinnitus is caused by a blood vessel disorder. This type of tinnitus is called pulsatile tinnitus. Causes include:

Head and neck tumors. A tumor that presses on blood vessels in your head or neck (vascular neoplasm) can cause tinnitus and other symptoms.
Atherosclerosis. With age and buildup of cholesterol and other fatty deposits, major blood vessels close to your middle and inner ear lose some of their elasticity — the ability to flex or expand slightly with each heartbeat. That causes blood flow to become more forceful and sometimes more turbulent, making it easier for your ear to detect the beats. You can generally hear this type of tinnitus in both ears.
High blood pressure. Hypertension and factors that increase blood pressure, such as stress, alcohol and caffeine, can make tinnitus more noticeable. Repositioning your head usually causes the sound to disappear.
Turbulent blood flow. Narrowing or kinking in a neck artery (carotid artery) or vein in your neck (jugular vein) can cause turbulent blood flow, leading to tinnitus.
Malformation of capillaries. A condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which occurs in the connections between arteries and veins, can result in tinnitus. This type of tinnitus generally occurs in only one ear.
Medications that can cause tinnitus
A number of medications may cause or worsen tinnitus. Generally, the higher the dose of medication you take, the worse tinnitus becomes. Often the unwanted noise disappears when you stop using these drugs. Medications known to cause or worsen tinnitus include:

Antibiotics, including chloramphenicol, erythromycin, tetracycline, vancomycin and bleomycin.
Cancer medications, including mechlorethamine and vincristine.
Diuretics — water pills — such as bumetanide, ethacrynic acid, furosemide.
Quinine medications used for malaria or other health conditions.
Chloroquine, a malaria medication.
Aspirin taken in uncommonly high doses (12 or more per day) may cause tinnitus.
Risk factors
Symptoms
See Also
Meniere's disease
Hearing loss
High blood cholesterol
Arteriosclerosis / atherosclerosis
High blood pressure (hypertension)
TMJ disorders

Well time to lay off the Gin and Tonics...

[DeeAre]

I've always been one of those nerds who felt live music is way too loud about 99% of the time... If the band was shooting metal shards into the crowd putting eyesight at risk, the health department would shut them down. But with music much too loud, no one seems to give a rats ass because that doesn't lead to people being carried out on a stretcher during the event. [/rant]

Great point moc, even if it's unpopular. (Can we just call you MacVomit? That's what I see when I read your name... oh hell, I'm dyslexic too)
Must have been the hippie-jam-band show I was subjected to last weekend... my right ear is pissed at me, and if I go to another show like it, my left one will follow suit.
(For the record, the only reason I went was because my homeboy plays base in the band... I do not condone hippie jam band shit. Although they did cover Shakedown Street, which was good.)

[UTpowder]

Deafness does not begin with tinnitus. In most cases the tinnitus comes as a side effect to hearing loss. This is due to the damage to the hair cells located in the the cochlea (primarily the outer hair cells). Not always the case though, but noise induced hearing loss is almost always accompanied by tinnitus.

There is not a well understood cause. I have had several ancedotal reports from patients that have stated as soon as thy stopped drinking diet coke the tinnitus went away. Not saying that is the cause but there are many unknown factors. They have even gone as far as cutting the auditory nerve (making the person completely deaf) and they still hear it in some cases. This indicates something central is also going on.

A hearing aid is one of the best things available right now to treat it. They used to think it was because the circuit noise from the heraing aid was masking some of the noise. However the new digital circuits are so quite this is unlikely what is happening.
In about 60-80% notice a significant reduction in the tinnitus.

Tinnitus retraining therapy, and the nueromonics system are showing some promise. These basically produce a sound that is matched to the persons tinnitus. They listen to this sound constantly for a long period of time and reduces the limbic response to the the tinnitus.

[UTpowder]

Great point moc, even if it's unpopular. (Can we just call you MacVomit? That's what I see when I read your name... oh hell, I'm dyslexic too)
Must have been the hippie-jam-band show I was subjected to last weekend... my right ear is pissed at me, and if I go to another show like it, my left one will follow suit.
(For the record, the only reason I went was because my homeboy plays base in the band... I do not condone hippie jam band shit. Although they did cover Shakedown Street, which was good.)

Sounds like a temporary threshhold shift (TTS). Most likely you will be back to normal within a week. However if it happens enough it will become permanent.

[fez]

a buddy of mine used tinnitus as his excuse for getting a medical marijuana card, so hey, you got that going for you.

[DeeAre]

Sounds like a temporary threshhold shift (TTS). Most likely you will be back to normal within a week. However if it happens enough it will become permanent.

[Note to self: avoid jam bands at all cost]

Thanks UTpow.

And fez, goddamn that's a great idea.

[Tippster]

I've had moderate tinnitus for at least 10 years. It waxes and wanes, but if I pay attention it's always there. I still hear fine, tho, albeit not as sensitive as my wife & kids.

[grapedrink]

i have tinnitus from playing drums, and going to shows without earplugs for about ten years. when i realized i had constant ringing in my ears it immediately got worse (in my mind) because once i was aware of the problem i focused on it and would hear the ringing all the time. once i stopped thinking about it, i stopped hearing it. i can't remember the last time i noticed it without intentionally trying to hear it.. really doesn't bother me at all anymore despite the fact that its still there if i listen for it..

i got custom molded earplugs made and wear them whenever i'm playing drums and at shows. best $150 i ever spent, attenuates all frequencies evenly so its like turning down a volume knob.. i have two inserts, -15db and -25db. i can't stand regular earplugs that pretty much just cut all the high frequencies leaving a muddled mess in your ears, fine for power tools but pretty useless for music. in extreme cases of tinnitus some people actually commit suicide because of the ringing in their ears..

[snow_slider]

I have Meniere's disease and get tinnitus after I have a bout of vertigo. Happens once a month or so, lasts a couple days after the initial attack goes away.

[Tippster]

i got custom molded earplugs made and wear them whenever i'm playing drums and at shows. best $150 i ever spent, attenuates all frequencies evenly so its like turning down a volume knob.. i have two inserts, -15db and -25db. i can't stand regular earplugs that pretty much just cut all the high frequencies leaving a muddled mess in your ears, fine for power tools but pretty useless for music. in extreme cases of tinnitus some people actually commit suicide because of the ringing in their ears..

Ooooh - link or more info plz!

[grapedrink]

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/erme.aspx

[iceman]

Ooooh - link or more info plz!

To the earplug part or the suicide part?

[UTpowder]

http://www.westone.com/index.php?loa...ex&page_id=190

other manufactures make similar things as well.

[grapedrink]

http://www.westone.com/index.php?loa...ex&page_id=190

other manufactures make similar things as well.

there are a bunch of labs that manufacture them
http://www.etymotic.com/pro/emlab.aspx

[emtnate]

Too many years of punk and hardcore shows followed by working around rollercoasters at an amusement park then sirens and power tools at my current job have left their mark on my ears.

After my ears bled during a show, I purchased these. Not as good as custom fitting earplugs, but still allowed the music to sound good. I can't hear real high frequencies any more, so I wish I would have not been as concerned with my friends making fun of the earplugs a little sooner.

Lesson learned and being paid for by being young.

[atomicboy]

I have been hearing a lot of it coming and going with the food you eat. My wife watches Dr Oz (he is actually really good) and he did a segment last week or so about food and the condition. He mentioned foods to eat and foods to stay away from. I have not the link yet but I found this.

How Sugar Metabolism Affects Tinnitus

http://www.tinnitusformula.com/infoc...r_met_all.aspx

[grrrr]

Been living with it since I was 18.

The biggest problem I have is the loss of high frequency hearing really impairs my ability to distinguish conversation in a noisy environment. Basically, if I'm at a bar or party smiling and nodding it's because I can't hear shit. Either that or I'm ignoring you.

I got mine from work-related noise, but also suffered short term tinnitus as a kid until we discovered I was hypersensitive to aspirin. I overdose on one.

[grrrr]

I developed the practice of bumming cigs at shows when I was younger. I'd break off the filters and shove them in my ears.

[dumpy]

a buddy of mine used tinnitus as his excuse for getting a medical marijuana card, so hey, you got that going for you.

[Note to self: avoid jam bands at all cost]

Thanks UTpow.

And fez, goddamn that's a great idea.

catch 22 dude, catch 22.

[emtnate]

Been living with it since I was 18.

The biggest problem I have is the loss of high frequency hearing really impairs my ability to distinguish conversation in a noisy environment. Basically, if I'm at a bar or party smiling and nodding it's because I can't hear shit. Either that or I'm ignoring you...

I have this same problem as well. I figure I'll need hearing aids at some point.

[iceman]

I don't have tinnitus, and I hear very well, including high frequencies. However like Grrr I can't distinguish sounds in a loud environment (in particular I can't tell what one person is saying to me at a party, etc.). I always thought this was called "nerve deafness" but I just looked it up and I guess I was wrong. Wonder what it is.