The struggle of tinnitus

How many of my fellow ATSers have tinnitus? Its the ringing in your ears. Its non stop 24/7 365. How do you cope with it? How bad is your ringing?

For me personally, silence isn't silence. I need background noise, always. I run a box fan 24/7 (even during the winter) while I sleep. If its pitch quiet, my ears ring at their loudest. Its not painful, its just extremely annoying. Ive had this condition ever since I had a concussion playing Football back in High school (I was 17 at the time) and a week after I was concussed, my left ear starting ringing constantly. Several years later, it moved to my right ear while leaving the left ear. So strange. Anyway, these days its back in my left ear again and my right ear is back to normal. Ive noticed that when it switches, I get bouts of vertigo for 1-2 weeks afterwards and then it kind of settles down.

Ive read studies that around 55% of earths population suffers from some form of tinnitus. Its not life threatening and from my knowledge, no cure has been found. Its just learning how to cope with it and deal with it.

Some cases though are so bad and loud that its driven people to suicide. That is a scary thought.........

I actually read an article once that made me laugh. It said that people should embrace tinnitus and treat it as an orchestra in your ear, LOL

I also heard that Jesse Ventura has an extreme case of it. He said its so loud at times that he cannot even hear himself think, much less hear people 3 foot in front of him.

Anyway, does anyone else share the constant ringing? I'd like to hear your story on how and when you got it and how you cope with it.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

i suffer with it had it for years now i think mine stems from when i was a bouncer in my younger years standing too clost to the speakers in the night clubs. Some days its worst than others and when i eat if i open my mouth wide it gets louder like you said when its silent thats when its loudest mine also changes pitch and some times it can turn on it sounds like someones trying to tune in to something ive never had it confirmed to be tinnitus though but i presume it is it can be annoying.

But if you want to get into the strange and conspiracy side of it, you have people that believe folks with tinnitus were implanted and have a chip in their head giving off these weird frequencies. A form of mind control.

I'm pretty certain I don't have a chip in my head

....at least I hope not haha

originally posted by: zedy63
a reply to: Bloodydagger

i suffer with it had it for years now i think mine stems from when i was a bouncer in my younger years standing too clost to the speakers in the night clubs. Some days its worst than others and when i eat if i open my mouth wide it gets louder like you said when its silent thats when its loudest mine also changes pitch and some times it can turn on it sounds like someones trying to tune in to something ive never had it confirmed to be tinnitus though but i presume it is it can be annoying.

Yeah, you hear about a lot of cases from people saying it was due to constantly being around loud music or loud machinery of some kind. You oftentimes hear stories about band members having it.

My father suffers from it too. But he was in the Military (USMC) and served a term in Vietnam. He said his case is from constant loud explosions and close range gun fire and firing his weapon.

a reply to: Bloodydagger Mine started about 12 yrs ago. I too get vertigo to the point I can't stand up without appearing drunk. Mine may be from too much Metallica in the 80's. You remember the saying? If it's too loud your too old!

ETA; Working around small engines, and having a band did not help.
I was too cool for ear plugs ya know.

originally posted by: Im2keul
a reply to: Bloodydagger Mine started about 12 yrs ago. I too get vertigo to the point I can't stand up without appearing drunk. Mine may be from too much Metallica in the 80's. You remember the saying? If it's too loud your too old!

Yeah, I'm also a fellow MetalHead and I still play my music loud, tinnitus be damned! lol

a reply to: Bloodydagger I doo to but not as often or for long periods, my lip reading isn't as good as it used to be.

Also, I believe mine is more Meniere's. www.mayoclinic.org...

Some people have had good experiences with Ginkgo Biloba extract. It boosts the blood circulation in the brain and somehow reduces the effect of tinnitus. It doesn't cure tinnitus, but helps some people.

a reply to: [post=18994171]Bloodydagger[/
yeah ive had that said to me about aliens im not closed minded at all and i do belive in alien life even visistig us now
i have often thought mabe its true but im not nieve either lol sorry about the spelling wrighting isnt my best forte.

originally posted by: Thebel
Some people have had good experiences with Ginkgo Biloba extract. It boosts the blood circulation in the brain and somehow reduces the effect of tinnitus. It doesn't cure tinnitus, but helps some people.

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this

a reply to: Thebel

Im going to tryn that thanx for mentioning it

I am hearing impaired so tinnitus is a constant 24/7 problem for me. I hear ringing, pulsing, high-pitched pinging, roaring, and sometimes talking.

Occasionally I'll wake up in the middle of the night thinking my radio is on because I'm hearing music, but when I put my hearing aids in there is no sound at all coming from the radio/alarm. Those incidents spook me.

a reply to: texasgirl

Hi there! Its nice to see a fellow Texan here

And yeah, I can only imagine being hearing impaired and having tinnitus. I feel for you. I am terribly sorry you're going through that.

Can you hear music through headphones? If so, I suggest getting a CD with pleasant sounds on it. Like a water fall. Or a bubbling brook. Perhaps a certain animal type sound that is pleasing for you personally. Just any "pleasing" noise and play it while you go to sleep. I bet you'd sleep better.

.....or just simply play music I go crazy without any background noise when its bed time. I cannot sleep when its pitch quiet.

I've got it, 4 years now, both years, pain in the deriere. It's affecting my hearing in that I talk louder sometimes.
As a therapist, I have treated others by suggesting they use Lavender oil, a drop behind each ear every day. It has worked for them. Unfortunately, I can't use Lavender oil as it lowers blood pressure, I already have low blood pressure! When I used lavender just one drop on the pillow to help my son sleep through the night due to a chest infection, and I let him sleep with me, my blood pressure dropped to.......65/45!!!!! I should have been comatose! That was only after 4 nights smelling it! Never occured to me...and I'm the therapist in the room...doh!
Anyway...if you don't have low blood pressure, not pregnant and not taking any iron supplements, you could give it a go.


Jane

a reply to: angelchemuel

Is it a drop IN the ear itself? Or directly behind the ear?

And thanks for the reply.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

I've got it so bad that if I let myself think about it it can drive me crazy. My doctor said it's damage from loud noise and I don't have any age related hearing loss. I played guitar in rock bands in the 70s to the present and only wore earplugs for the last 10 years I guess. Thing is, the ringing has gotten really bad in the last 10 years. Left side is really loud, sounds like cicadas.

originally posted by: texasgirl
I am hearing impaired so tinnitus is a constant 24/7 problem for me. I hear ringing, pulsing, high-pitched pinging, roaring, and sometimes talking.

Occasionally I'll wake up in the middle of the night thinking my radio is on because I'm hearing music, but when I put my hearing aids in there is no sound at all coming from the radio/alarm. Those incidents spook me.

Try having your fillings checked. It has happened (but it is rare) that a filling can act to receive radio signals much like a crystal set does.

P

a reply to: Bloodydagger

I've had tinnitus my whole life, without ever realizing it. I was hit by a car when I was two, so I also suffer from constant migraines. XD Growing up, I knew that if there was complete silence, that my ears would ring. So much, in fact, that I hate complete silence. It's nerve-wracking. lol Thankfully I grew up in a house with lots of yelling, and tv's on in all rooms. lol So I never had to worry about the ringing.

I didn't know that it was an actual condition until I met my g/f. She has it, too. I'd have to say it's either worse for her, or she can't stand the ringing more, because she needs white noise constantly. But, lucky for her, I can't sleep without watching something, and we have both of our computers in our room, so the constant sound of the fans keeps our tinnitus at bay.

Other than that, we've just learned to deal with it. As long as there's sound, we don't notice any ringing at all, and we're both gamers, so there's almost always some sort of sound going on. If not games, music, tv, etc.....then it's our dogs playing. XD

a reply to: Necrobile

You bring up something extremely interesting and Ive heard about this before.....

You only realize its ringing if you pay attention to it and dwell on it. But this could be for the moderate to low cases of Tinnitus and not the horrible loud cases some poor folks have.

In other words, if you don't pay attention to it, you wont notice it. If that makes any sense.

But then again, Ive heard that some people cope with it by focusing on it and it forces their mind to get bored and tired of it and it shifts to something else.....and you forget about it that way.

Who knows I guess.

originally posted by: Bloodydagger
a reply to: Necrobile

You bring up something extremely interesting and Ive heard about this before.....

You only realize its ringing if you pay attention to it and dwell on it. But this could be for the moderate to low cases of Tinnitus and not the horrible loud cases some poor folks have.

If other words, if you don't pay attention to it, you wont notice it. If that makes any sense.

But then again, Ive heard that some people cope with it by focusing on it and it forces their mind to get bored and tired of it and it shifts to something else.....and you forget about it that way.

Who knows I guess.

I honestly don't hear it unless there's pure silence. Same with the mrs. So if people can hear it even without silence, I feel bad for them.

I have actually tried meditating in pure silence, to see if I can just not focus on the tinnitus. Unfortunately, though, I haven't reached that point in mental strength, so I still tend to use binaural beats. lol