General Question

Cat4thCB's avatar

How do you cope with your Tinnitus?

Asked by Cat4thCB (477points) January 3rd, 2009
Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

24 Answers

queenzboulevard's avatar

I don’t have it, so I don’t cope with it.

that answer is for Magnus if he’s out there

judochop's avatar

I have it. It drives me nuts. I can almost always hear it. In the morning. When I stand in nature. When I go bed. Ugh.

simone54's avatar

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

PupnTaco's avatar

I’ve had a constant loud high-pitched ringing tone 24/7 for four years. Sometimes it drives me crazy, I wish it would stop even for just a minute or two so I can hear silence again.

Mine is the result of nerve loss beyond the mechanics of the inner ear, so there’s nothing that can be done. I just live with it.

Vinifera7's avatar

I used to have impacted ear wax which caused tinnitus. If you think that might be the case, I’d suggest grabbing an ear cleaning syringe from your local drugstore (or a bulb syringe if you can’t get the special one for cleaning out earwax).

Before you use the syringe, put a few drops of olive oil in each ear and let it set for a few hours. This will soften up the impacted wax and make it much easier to flush out. Drug stores sell other stuff for this purpose, but the olive oil is much cheaper and does the trick.

Oh yeah, and when you use the syringe, try to use water that is a few degrees warmer than room temp. You’ll be squirting it deep into your ear canal, so you won’t want it to be very hot or cold.

hanhak's avatar

I agree with vinefera7. Try cleaning your ears first. Works for me :)

judochop's avatar

My doctor suggested nuronomics. It emits a sound wave that trains your brain to not hear the ringing. I have not tried it. Also, did you know that some people born without eardrums also have tinnitus?

RandomMrdan's avatar

@dave, I laughed when I read your answer….“so I can hear silence again” =) lurve to you.

I don’t think I have Tinnitus, on occasion I do get a ringing in my ear…but I don’t think it’s caused by Tinnitus.

jholler's avatar

Mine is damage induced (16 years of blowing things up for Uncle Sam), and I really don’t notice it anymore unless I am in an absolutely quiet environment. It’s always there, I can always hear it, but I know I can’t do anything about it so I choose to ignore it unless something calls my attention to it. Thanks for bringing it up.

Cardinal's avatar

Mine is from expending a jillion rounds of gum ammo in my mis-spent youth, mainly 3” mag 12ga shells and .357/38 rounds. Get used to it, it’s yours forever, kinda like the Hotel Callifornia, you (‘it’) can never leave.

TitsMcGhee's avatar

Sometimes just pressing on my ear works. Not instantly, but within a few seconds, it subsides. I also listen to music at a very low volume, which gives me something to listen to instead of the ringing.

Mr_M's avatar

After having it for 20 years in one ear, lately the sound changes sometimes to a “ticking” or a “bell”. Scared me so I went to my ENT. Apparently that frequently happens. Another thing that frequently happens is you loose hearing from that ear, and that’s happening to me too (unfortunately).

simone54's avatar

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

hearkat's avatar

I don’t know how I missed this question 3 months ago!

I remember being put down for my nap as a very young child and laying there… listening to my ears ring… and watching my floaters against the whit ceiling. I assumed everyone had such things. I didn’t know tinnitus was abnormal until I was in Audiology 101 as an undergrad. I’ve never known what silence is…

Now I have been an Audiologist for nearly 17 years and there is still much that is not known about tinnitus. It is a cochlear (inner ear) and/or auditory nerve issue… so that is why people without external or middle ear structures can still have it. It is likely that there are different causes and structural/functional impairments involved in tinnitus, which is why there is so much variability in what people experience.

Unfortunately the inner ear structures are so miniscule, we can not actually see them at work with out current imaging technologies. They can be examined under an electron microscope following an autopsy, but that isn’t very helpful. Some of the functional MRI type of imaging is helping understand the nerve aspect, but the cochlear component is still a mystery.

Some people (more than you would think) actually hear music rather than the typical tones, hissing, humming, or buzzing sounds that most people consider tinnitus. And many people are so aggravated that they can not sleep, which can contribute to issues of anxiety/depression and even some to suicide.

I saw and listened to Neuromonics at a convention when it was first coming out. The audiologist performs tinnitus-matching (time consuming and inexact attempts to match the pitch and volume of the patient’s tinnitus); and the device plays the matched noise in the background of some music. I was not too impressed—especially considering the cost (over $2000 I recall)! I have a colleague who has run a tinnitus support group for many years, and she has not come across any success stories in the 2 years since its release.

As suggested, listening to low-level music, white noise or other low-level sounds wrks for most of us to mask the tinnitus and help us sleep or focus on other things. The majority of people do tend to get accustomed to having it there, and so only notice it when they stop to think about it or when there is very little ambient noise to drown it out.

When a person experiences hearing loss—whether from a blockage of sound (e.g., wax build-up or head cold) or from inner ear loss (e.g. noise damage or aging)—they will perceive the tinnitus as getting louder, because there is less ambient noise available to the brain to drown out the tinnitus. For those with permanent hearing loss, the use of hearing aids is beneficial in not only making speech louder and clearer, but also in amplifying those ambient noises where the individual’s hearing is the worst (which very often correlates to the pitch of the tinnitus).

You may also see ads in the backs of magazines and products at health food stores with dietary supplements claiming to reduce tinnitus. The only supplement that I have seen authentic scientific results showing a fairly successful reduction in tinnitus is gingko biloba. However, ginko biloba does have side effects such as thinning the blood, so one must use caution, and really should consult their physician prior to beginning a supplement regimen. In addition, supplement manufacturing is not regulated, so there is no way of knowing of you are actually consuming what is listed on the label.

That having been said, I have been taking this supplement for almost 2 months, and I have noticed some reduction in my tinnitus. I decided to try it after I was informed that one of the physicians in the group I work for has recommended it. I won’t recommend something until I’ve tried it, so I wrote an email to them, and the President of the company very honestly told me that since my tinnitus is a lifelong condition, it is highly unlikely that I will experience much reduction. He said that the most I could hope for would be a a minimal reduction of the increases that I have noticed in recent years, and hopefully to keep it from progressing as rapidly with age. I appreciated his honesty, and was also impressed by the testimonials on the website. I am not endorsing this product, and have no business relationship with them. I am mentioning it as an option, because it seems to be a quality product as compared to others you might find. Again—check with your physician first to see if it is safe before you to take ANY dietary supplements!

For more information: The American Tinnitus Association

simone54's avatar

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

hearkat's avatar

@simone54:
My right ear is: iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
while my left is: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

YARNLADY's avatar

@hearkat Hubby uses ear plugs when our grandson is around because of the high screeching. In addition to the magnesium and ginko biloba, he also takes the suppliment you mentioned above.

Our son doesn’t allow any noisy toys in the house because it hurts his ears, which have been sensitive ever since he was born. He now hears click-click from time to time, so might have a form of tinnitis also.

hearkat's avatar

@YARNLADY: The supplement I take is Ginko Biloba with Zinc and Garlic. So if your husband takes this along with another Ginko supplement, he may be taking too much. Ginko can thin the blood, so please double-check the dosage he’s taking as compared to what his Physician recommended for him.

YARNLADY's avatar

@hearkat thank you for the advice. I will ask him as soon as he gets home. I looked at the array of stuff on his shelf, but I’m not sure what it all is.

YARNLADY's avatar

Ok, I talked to him. I mistook the enzyme he takes to counter the statins as a type of ginko, but it isn’t. His doctor is aware of everything he takes and is OK with it. thank you for your concern.

hearkat's avatar

@YARNLADY: Cool. Better safe than sorry!!

KungFuPanda's avatar

I have read that tinnitus is curable. Don’t have personal experience with this but this is the procedure: only 2–3 drops of helichrysum italicum oil (it’s from aromatherapy) on a cotton and put it in your ears during the night time and slowly your tinnitus problem goes away. Might be worth trying out.

Aster's avatar

Thanks. I looked it up and it says not to put on mucous membranes. Is inside the ear considered a m membrane?

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