Anyone else suffering tinnitus?

[bluhoodie]

I've had it for about 4 years now. Lately it's been pretty bad, louder than before. I've had hearing tests, which have come out normal, but the first doctor said it was probably "early hearing loss." I don't quite believe that dx.

Today I went for a brain MRI. Sent there because of several symptoms, this being one of them.

Anybody else want to chime in on the topic of tinnitus?

[sandnsea]

1. Mine was hypothyroid

I do have a problem in my inner ear. But the tinnitus got significantly better once I got on thyroid medication. Now it's just a very mild buss which I can ignore. Before it was like an airplane engine in my head, or a whole range of sounds actually. Never got boring at least.

[bluhoodie]

2. I'm hypothyroid too but meds fixed that

and my tinnitus is worse now. I wonder if there's any connection.

[sandnsea]

3. Really?

Have you had a blood test in a while? Maybe it's shifted again. One of the first things I notice when mine isn't right is the tinnitus gets worse. Mine has taken a while to get regulated. I'm still not sure my dosage is exactly right, but I feel better again at least. I also have otosclerosis so I always have a little tinnitus. But there is also definite hearing loss with that. I know how annoying it can be. It's frustrating when doctors are kind of dismissive about these things.

[Liberty Belle]

15. I got tinnitis from thyroid medicine, a generic version.

When I switched back to the brand name, Synthroid, I was fine.

Sometimes too high a dosage can cause a ringing in the ears, too.

[purplestate]

4. causes of tinnitus

There are many causes of tinnitus. One of them is drug side effects. I got it from large doses of aspirin. Apparently, it caused some kind of nerve damage. Now that I have it, I have found many things make it worse. Chief among the culprits are other drugs. Additionally, I have found sugar and also Aleve make it worse.

You might try to reduce your sugar intake. And discontinuing one drug at a time to see if it is making your symptoms worse. Good luck, Purplestate

[Radio_Lady]

5. We've both had tinnitus for years. After thinking we'd go insane, we got used to it.

I'm on Aleve right now for a ? failed root canal in one of my molar teeth and it's gotten much worse on that drug.

Once, in Stamford, Connecticut, I was at a training meeting in mid-summer when the cicadas came out. Their chirping in the background finally drowned out the tinnitus!!!

It's miserable, to be sure. I use an mp3 player with ear buds and the sound of the sea to drown it out at night when I'm trying to fall asleep.

[Eurobabe]

6. Have your thyroid levels checked, echoing sandnsea

Tinnitus is a symptom of hypothyroidism. I used to get it, infrequently -- along with tingling fingertips, or pins and needles in my arms, they would fall alseep at night. Come to find out I had Hashimoto's thyroiditis (auto-immune) Getting on thyroid meds cleared up pretty much everything. :hi:

[peacebuzzard]

7. I have had tinnitus for decades.

It is much worse when I focus on the ringing(whistles-high pitch).

And my experience is: all doctors will diagnose it differently. When I first noticed it, at the ripe young age of 21, my mom took me to an ENT specialist who turned out to be a dirty old physician that preyed on me and overcharged my poor mother with a tonsillitis. The operation did not help at all. But, because of the experience I just forgot about it and my young busy life proceeded on with the tinnitus and I only really noticed it at night with the silence.

I am now still with the tinnitus...34 years later and have had it get worse with the use of anti-depressants which I immediately discontinued because of the deafening effect. It went back to the usual hum which gets overridden by other sounds (unless I focus in on the ringing). Now, I am conscious about prescription drug use or even some mood enhancers (over the counter supplements) which seem to affect it.

I also suspect my mercury amalgams which I am considering the removal procedures. I have been allergic to metal and it seems to make sense. This condition for me dates back to when mercury was used more extensively in the fillings w/o the improved mixtures to avoid the poisoning. I have also been tested for the mercury (hg) and the test showed high mercury levels.

Hope this helped.

[Ms. Toad]

8. If you have tinnitus only on one side,

or it is worse on one side than the other, get it checked out.

There is a brain tumor that the most common symptom for is tinnitus and/or hearing loss in one ear. MRI is one of the diagnostic tools for the tumor.

[mvd]

9. I have tinnitus worse on one side, and..

had a CAT scan. No tumor shown. That would be enough? I'm still wondering that something is up because my tinnitus has been worse during my recent fatigue.

[Ms. Toad]

13. Don't know about a CAT scan

The "gold standard" is an MRI with contrast.

Just had one - it came back clear.

[sam sarrha]

10. mines's E sharp, pretty loud... 59, worked in factories, listened to loud music..

[MorningGlow]

11. I have a mild case

And I'm hypo as well. But Mr. MG has a very severe case and has struggled with it for years. I just posted a health report for a friend's Web site about recent research that showed if tinnitus is caused by "overactive touch-sensing nerves" in the ear, acupuncture can help a lot.

[OhioChick]

12. My Kid Has Had Tinnitus for Years....

BACKGROUND: A total of 189 patients with tinnitus, Meniere's disease, and sudden hearing loss underwent manual therapeutic examination at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the setting of an interdisciplinary program for the management of patients of the tinnitus daycare center and inpatients of the ENT department of the Charité Medical School. METHOD: In all patients, global and segmental joint mobility of the cervical spine, cervicothoracic junction, first rib, and craniomandibular system was assessed using standardized documentation. Muscle extensibility and trigger points were determined for the sternocleidomastoid muscle, the descending part of the trapezius muscle, the levator muscle of the scapula, and the masseter muscle. RESULTS: Results of the statistical analysis show that patients with tinnitus have characteristic and specific patterns of abnormalities in the joints and paravertebral muscles. The dominant finding is an overall impairment of cervical spine mobility, to which various factors contribute. These include disturbed function of segmental joints of the head and the cervicothoracic junction as well as muscular imbalances of the shoulder and neck muscles. CONCLUSION: Our results corroborate the clinical significance of manual therapeutic findings as part of the diagnostic workup for tinnitus. They show that a uniform and standardized examination protocol is needed, and that appropriate physical therapeutic measures should be incorporated into the interdisciplinary therapeutic management of patients with tinnitus.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16328201?dopt=Abstract

[RebelOne]

14. I've had it as long as I can remember.

I have learned to ignore it. They only time I am aware of it is when my head is silent, which isn't often. I have buzzing, clicking and ringing constantly.