Tinnitus

Yes, Iā€™ve read in several different places the more attention one pays to it, the worse it seems and this applies to both rocking and tinnitus.

3 Likes

Mine is fluctuates like that too, so weird I always wonder why it does that! I am going for a hearing aid consult too, I have heard the same thing that is can help with tinnitus! Keep me updated!

I will. You too Sarah.

Hi Jessyka,
What are you doing thatā€™s bringing relief from the ear fullness? Itā€™s driving me nuts. Even more so than the tinnitus! Thank you

The ā€˜ear fullnessā€™ is so closely linked to the condition as to almost be diagnostic. Such a common symptom but any tolerated preventative should control it as it controls other symptoms. It can take some time though. Like Jessica I take Propranolol and that eventually stopped my ā€˜ear fullnessā€™ and my tinnitus. My ears are now usually completely clear unless I have a few off days, as I am currently, and then I tend to get tinnitus in my right ear. Going on past experience that will disappear as soon as Iā€™m back to baseline. Helen

Read only the other day the only thing doctors can offer is CBT!! Then I saw this. Thereā€™s hope maybe one day
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7958991/Seven-million-Britons-including-Susanna-Reid-Coldplays-Chris-Martin-suffer-tinnitus.html

1 Like

In case this is of any use to tinnitus sufferers who have Amazon Alexa:
Alexa has a ā€˜skillā€™ specifically for tinnitus :slight_smile:
Just ask Alexa to play tinnitus therapy. You can adjust the volume to suit. There is a variety of noises to choose from.
I have it quite loud (donā€™t want to wear headphones or earplugs) so Iā€™m now waiting for one of the other people in the house to come and investigate what the awful noise is :joy: Welcome to my world mwa ha ha ha.
I used to listen to white noise to get to sleep so in some respects my tinnitus doesnā€™t overly bother me.
Itā€™s at its worst when I sit in the quiet after Iā€™ve been active or talking etc (no sh*t, SherlockšŸ˜‚) and I donā€™t particularly like listening to music just to drown out my tinnitus - sometimes I just want to ā€˜beā€™.

2 Likes

Thanks @Bemahan I donā€™t have Alexa, but I found a tinnitus calmer app on Google Play that is quite nice called Belltone.

Just in time too. Itā€™s one of those days when all systems are going haywire on me :exploding_head:

1 Like

Iā€™ve had tinnitus since 1995 when the hearing switched to low in my left ear. It used to only be in the left ear, but now am hearing it in the right as well. The odd thing is I tune it out most of the time. Itā€™s there, but my brain has learned to ignore it, that is until I hear or see the word tinnitus. Weird isnā€™t it?

Iā€™ve tried hearing aids, but they just make the unintelligible noise in my ear louder. I tried a cross connect hearing aid and while it did nothing for my tinnitus, it did restore the hearing of my left ear by presenting the sound to my right ear.

I have an ENT consult tomorrow to see if a cochlear implant will fix my hearing problem. Medicare doesnā€™t pay for hearing aids, but they donā€™t pay for implants. (Go figure).

Not really. By association of ideas youā€™ve just reminded your brain to look out for it. The more attention paid to symptoms the worse they will seem. Distraction with another subject, in the case of tinnitus listening to music maybe, can make symptoms appear less prominent

I agree with the distraction part. But music really sets it off. I havenā€™t been able to really enjoy music sine 1995 when it began. I do listen to a lot of talk radio, just to have something to occupy my subconscious while Iā€™m driving.

Loud music often causes it I understand and many musicians do go on to develop tinnitus, which then prevents them from working. Frustrating.

2 Likes

Reading this, I am now aware of tinnitus in both of my ears.

Iā€™ve had persistent tinnitus in my left ear since 2014 following a middle ear infection, but over time my brain learned to tune it out mostly.

My right ear with act up occasionally and, like you said, reading or hearing the word tinnitus will trigger it.

I have recently been experimenting with this app called Belltone that has a bunch of different settings and found it helpful, especially at night.

3 Likes

Thanks for telling me about Belltone. Iā€™ve downloaded it and given it a look. Iā€™ll try it tonight.

Interesting, I had the same happen to me in 2010. I tune it out now as well.

Same with me, initially I tried one for a couple days and hated it. But then earlier this year I tried one again and got used to it although it took about a week. Now I can carry a conversation pretty well on my left side. My brain has got used to the hearing aid just like it got used to tinnitus. The hearing aid didnā€™t help MAV or tinnitus, but hey I can converse more easily and all around feel a bit happier.

I know its a bit off topic, but hearing aids seem to help lessen the aging process, probably because your brain gets more input: Wearing hearing aid may help protect brain in later life | ScienceDaily
I guess cochlear implants would do the same so thatā€™s great you are investigating that option.

I did trial a BICROS aid from Sharkey. It helped with my comprehension, but it got in the way of using a phone, so I gave it back.

If I end up doing the hearing aid thing, it will have to be a BICROS with Bluetooth capability so that I donā€™t have to use handsets or external headphones. Thatā€™s one of the reasons Iā€™m looking at an implant. Not only are the covered under Medicare and coinsurance, the are Bluetooth capable. I would only need an earpiece for my right ear to listen to music or talk on the phone with stereo hearingā€¦but then you donā€™t need stereo hearing for the phone.

Iā€™m revisiting the hearing aid thing again. This time Iā€™ve ordered a pair of Phonax BICROS aids so that I can not only move the sound over from my dead left ear, but also try to fill in the missing high frequencies in my right ear. The aids will link to my iPhone via Bluetooth so that I can take phone calls as if they were an earphone, so that will resolve the one complaint I had previously. Since I no longer work in the office, I now use my iPhone 100% of the time so that should work well. I also picked up a pair of Bose headphones that will cover the aids when I put the headphones on, so that should also help. The headphones are also Bluetooth and have a microphone in them so that I can either listen to videos or take phone calls.

The tinnitus continues to be a non issue. I have it 24-7, but like the aborigines, Iā€™ve learned to ignore it. The only time the tinnitus and I donā€™t play well together is when I get extremely tired and a particular frequency hits my left ear. Funny how a deaf ear can still react to sound.

My Tinnitus seems to have a two different pitches the high pitched last 5 to ten seconds the other is more of a screaming sound in right ear and only when yawning or over exerting myself I can trigger it by holding my nose and trying to exhale to be honest in fact Iā€™m not even sure if this type can be described as Tinnitus?